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College Football Playoff 12-team format: Bracket, schedule, game sites, who will make it

Craig Meyer, USA TODAY NETWORK
·6 min read
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Monday night’s game between Michigan and Washington will do more than just determine a national champion for the 2023 college football season.

It will mark the end of an era in the sport.

The matchup between the Wolverines and Huskies will be the final game of the four-team College Football Playoff format, a system that has been in place since the 2014 season, when it replaced the much-maligned Bowl Championship Series. Replacing it next season will be a 12-team playoff.

REQUIRED READING: How did Michigan football get to the cusp of a national title? Start with Jim Harbaugh's staff

The change will be a welcome one for many, providing more programs access to the sport’s biggest and brightest stage while giving fans more high-stakes games with significant national interest. Still, the switch will be something of a jolt for many who have grown accustomed to the four-team setup and how it operates, leaving many with questions about what awaits in this brave new world for college football.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 12-team College Football Playoff:

What teams will make the 12-team College Football Playoff?

The selection of the four teams for the current playoff format encountered few snags over the course of its existence, but as this season showed with Alabama’s much-debated nod over Florida State for the No. 4 seed, there were inherent flaws in the system. The setup was meant to reward conference champions, but when there are only four available spots and five major conferences, it leaves open the inevitability a team with a deserving resume will get excluded.

While it almost certainly will still be subject to criticism, the 12-team model includes more teams and should theoretically have fewer glaring omissions.

So who will make up the field?

As things currently stand, six automatic berths will be granted to the six highest-rated conference champions, as determined by the playoff committee rankings. The final six spots will go to the next six highest-rated teams. (However, as reported by Yahoo Sports, the CFP committee is expected to formally adopt a "5+7" model with the Pac-12's dispanding, one in which the top five conference champions and seven at-larges make it).

In a 6+6 model, the playoff would have included:

  • No. 1 Michigan (Big Ten)

  • No. 2 Washington (Pac-12)

  • No. 3 Texas (Big 12)

  • No. 4 Alabama (SEC)

  • No. 5 Florida State (ACC)

  • No. 6 Georgia (at-large)

  • No. 7 Ohio State (at-large)

  • No. 8 Oregon (at-large)

  • No. 9 Missouri (at-large)

  • No. 10 Penn State (at-large)

  • No. 11 Ole Miss (at-large)

  • No. 12 Liberty (Conference USA)

REQUIRED READING: Michigan football, Washington show new path to national championship game — finally

12-team College Football Playoff game locations

One of the most interesting and exciting wrinkles of the 12-team format will be that it will feature one of the most cherished aspects of college football: games played on campus in front of passionate, sold-out home crowds.

The four first-round matchups will take place either at the home field of the team with the better seed, or at another site designated by the team with the better seed.

Beginning with the quarterfinals, bowls will be involved in much the same way they are now, with a particular bowl game and site serving as the venue for the contest. The same will hold true for the semifinals.

Here are what the quarterfinal and semifinal bowls will be for the first two seasons of the 12-team playoff:

2024

  • Quarterfinals: Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl

  • Semifinals: Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl

2025

  • Quarterfinals: Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl

  • Semifinals: Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl

The championship host site, as is the case now, will be determined based on a bidding process, with prospective venues and cities putting in an application to host. Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be the championship game host site for the 2024 college football season, whereas Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, will host the title game for the 2025 season.

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College Football Playoff 12-team bracket

A four-team playoff bracket is easy enough to explain and visualize. There are two semifinal games, with the winners of those matchups meeting in the championship.

How will it work with 12 teams?

For the first time in FBS history, the playoff will feature byes, which will be earned by the four highest-rated conference champions. It’s worth noting here that independent programs such as Notre Dame cannot be considered a conference champion and thus cannot receive a first-round bye.

From there, it becomes a traditional eight-team bracket, with each of those four bye teams meeting the winners of the first-round games.

First round

  • No. 1 team (bye)

  • No. 2 team (bye)

  • No. 3 team (bye)

  • No. 4 team (bye)

  • No. 12 team at No. 5 team

  • No. 11 team at No. 6 team

  • No. 10 team at No. 7 team

  • No. 9 team at No. 8 team

Quarterfinals

  • No. 1 team vs. No. 8/9 team

  • No. 2 team vs. No. 7/10 team

  • No. 3 team vs. No. 6/11 team

  • No. 4 team vs. No. 5/12 team

This past season, the playoff would have looked like this:

First round

  • No. 12 Liberty at No. 5 Florida State

  • No. 11 Ole Miss at No. 6 Georgia

  • No. 10 Penn State at No. 7 Ohio State

  • No. 9 Missouri at No. 8 Oregon

Quarterfinals

  • No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 8 Oregon/No. 9 Missouri

  • No. 2 Washington vs. No. 7 Ohio State/No. 10 Penn State

  • No. 3 Texas vs. No. 6 Georgia/No. 11 Ole Miss

  • No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 5 Florida State/No. 12 Liberty

REQUIRED READING: Michigan DBs know matchup with Washington passing attack is 'gonna come down to us'

College Football Playoff dates 2024

Here is what the schedule will be for the 2024 College Football Playoff, with times of each game yet to be determined:

First round (on-campus games)

  • Friday, Dec. 20 (one game)

  • Saturday, Dec. 21 (three games)

Quarterfinals

  • Tuesday, Dec. 31 (Fiesta Bowl)

  • Wednesday, Jan. 1 (Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl)

Semifinals

  • Thursday, Jan. 9 (Orange Bowl)

  • Friday, Jan. 10 (Cotton Bowl)

National championship

  • Monday, Jan. 20 (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta)

College Football Playoff dates 2025

First round (on-campus games)

  • Friday, Dec. 19 (one game)

  • Saturday, Dec. 20 (three games)

Quarterfinals

  • Wednesday, Dec. 31 (Cotton Bowl)

  • Thursday, Jan. 1 (Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl)

Semifinals

  • Thursday, Jan. 8 (Fiesta Bowl)

  • Friday, Jan. 9 (Peach Bowl)

National championship

  • Monday, Jan. 19 (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida)

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 12-team College Football Playoff: Bracket, schedule, sites, more to know