The selection committee’s picks are in, and the College Football Playoff kicks off on December 19. Twelve teams will compete in a single-elimination tournament in their quest to claim college football’s top prize.
In just its second year with a new format, the College Football Playoffs requires a bit of an explainer. Here we’ll break down who gets in and why, who selects the teams and where the tournament might be headed next year and beyond.
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How Do the College Football Playoffs Work?
The College Football Playoff is a 12-team tournament composed of some of the best college football teams in the country.
A scaled-down version of the March Madness basketball tournament, the College Football Playoff ranks 12 teams by their overall strength and puts them in a bracket-style, single-elimination tournament to determine a national champion.
Like in March Madness but unlike in other sports, the College Football Playoff does not reseed between rounds.
Keep up with the 2025-26 College Football Playoff with this schedule guide.
What Teams Make It into the College Football Playoff?
The four highest ranked teams, regardless of how they finish in their conference, will earn a top four seed and a bye week in the College Football Playoff. This year Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia and Texas Tech claimed the top spots.
In general, the five highest ranked conference champions will receive automatic bids in the College Football Playoff. This year, that meant Indiana (Big 10), Georgia (SEC), Texas Tech (Big 12) and James Madison (Sun Belt) claimed automatic spots.
The seven other teams are voted on by a selection committee. Normally, these teams are among the top ranked in the nation according to AP Polls and college football’s computer rankings. Both of these ranking systems incorporate factors like strength of schedule and a team’s final record.
The seven at-large teams selected in 2025 are: Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama, Miami and Tulane.
Who Picks the Teams in the College Football Playoff?
A 13-person selection committee makes the final picks for the College Football Playoff. Members of the committee include one current athletic director from each of the four major conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC) along with a group of former coaches, players, athletic directors and administrators. The committee also has a retired member of the media.
Members serve for a three-year term and are meant to be geographically representative of the country.
How Many Rounds Is the College Football Playoff?
The College Football Playoff is four rounds. With the top four teams on a bye, the first round is the only round where one team plays at their home stadium.
For the quarterfinals and semifinals, the games are held at the neutral sites of the New Year’s’ Six bowl games:
- Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)
- Sugar Bowl (Caesar’s Superdome, New Orleans)
- Orange Bowl (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami)
- Cotton Bowl (AT&T Stadium, Dallas)
- Peach Bowl (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta)
- Fiesta Bowl (State Farm Stadium, Glendale)
The National Championship game will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
What Teams Are in the 2025-26 College Football Playoff?
The following twelve teams will compete for the National Championship in the College Football Playoff. Teams in bold will receive a first round bye.
1. Indiana
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon
6. Ole Miss
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma
9. Alabama
10. Miami
11. Tulane
12. James Madison (JMU)
History of the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff was born out of a desire to name a “definitive” national champion. For years, college football used a mix of independent ranking sources, namely the Associated Press, and computer rankings to identify the top teams and place them in the appropriate bowl.
Those rankings led to heated debate about the ironclad validity of the playoff system, a problem that has still not been solved with the advent of the CFB. Just ask Notre Dame.
The first College Football Playoff was held in 2014 when four teams were selected by a committee to play in college football’s first multi-game playoff system.
Four teams was not enough for many fans of college football, and after a decade of debate and deliberation, the NCAA decided to expand the playoff to 12 teams in 2024 and 2025.
How many teams will be featured in 2026 and beyond remains a mystery. There are already rumors of expanding to at least 14 teams. Surely then there can be unanimous agreement among college football fans about whether all of the deserving teams get their rightful shot at the title.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does the College Football Playoff bracket work?
The College Football Playoff is a bracket-style, single-elimination tournament featuring twelve of the best college football teams in the country. The top four teams receive a first round bye and the remaining eight teams will compete for a shot in the quarterfinals. The first round is the only round played at the home stadium of the higher seeded team. From the quarterfinals on, the games will be played at the sites of the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl.
What is the new format for the College Football Playoff?
The College Football Playoff is a bracket-style, single-elimination tournament featuring a dozen of the best college football teams in the country.
Who are the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff?
The following twelve teams will compete for the National Championship in the College Football Playoff. The top 4 schools receive a first round bye. 1. Indiana 2. Ohio State 3. Georgia 4. Texas Tech 5. Oregon 6. Ole Miss 7. Texas A&M 8. Oklahoma 9. Alabama 10. Miami 11. Tulane 12. James Madison (JMU)
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