5 things you should know about the confusing College Football Playoff bracket, from seeding to schedule | Sporting News

The 12-team College Football field will be unveiled Sunday, and we have three easy predictions before the games start. 

LIVE: Latest updates on final College Football Playoff bracket reveal

There will be excitement for the teams who get in. There will be controversy for the teams who get left out. And, of course, there will be confusion for everyone who takes this experience in for the first time.

From the seeding to the bye weeks to the playoff dates themselves, there are new wrinkles to the 12-team College Football Playoff that you might not know heading into the final College Football Playoff rankings. 

We’re here to help with the answers to all your playoff questions? 

MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NEWS:

Why is the seeding in the bracket so confusing? 

Because the math does not add up. The seeding does not match the College Football Playoff rankings. 

In the 12-team College Football Playoff, the five highest-ranked conference champions are given automatic berths to the college football playoff. That means the winners of five of the nine conference championships will be eligible for those sports. 

In this case, the winners of the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Mountain West Conference and SEC conference championship games earn automatic berths, but that is not all. 

The FOUR highest conference champions will receive the top four seeds and a first-round bye. 

Why is there confusion? Those teams ARE NOT ranked accordingly. Below is a look at the top 16 teams in the latest College Football Playoff rankings and their corresponding seeding in the bracket. 

Oregon (Big Ten), Texas (SEC), SMU (ACC), Boise State (Mountain West) and Arizona State (Big 12) are the five highest-ranked conference champions in this example. SMU is No. 8 in the rankings, but as the third-highest projected conference champion they would get the No. 3 seed. 

Arizona State is ranked No. 15 – which would fall outside the top 12 if they were not one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. Miami is ranked No. 12 – but they are not in the 12-team field because they are the eighth-highest ranked at-large team. 

*Denotes projected conference champion. 

This is what the latest projected bracket look like as a result: 

How do at-large berths work? 

The fifth-highest ranked conference champion and seven at-large teams that are selected by the College Football Playoff committee make up the other EIGHT teams in the bracket. Those teams will play in the first round of the College Football Playoff, and the higher-ranked seed will host a home game on campus. One of those games will be played on Friday, Dec. 20, and a triple-header will be played on Saturday, Dec. 21. 

Here is how that first round would look according to the latest CFP projections at Sporting News:

MORE: Full schedule for the 2024 College Football Playoff

Why is Notre Dame in the top four without a first-round bye? 

The Fighting Irish are 11-1 this season and are ranked No. 4 in the latest CFP rankings. That would seem to indicate that Notre Dame should get a bye week, right? 

Wrong. As part of the 12-team College Football Playoff agreement, Notre Dame is not eligible for a first-round bye because they do not play in a conference championship game. 

“We cannot qualify for a bye. It’s limited to the four highest-ranked champions,” Former Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said on the College Football Playoff teleconference on June, 10, 2021. “I look forward to never hearing again about how we played one less game or don’t have a conference championship.”

You will still hear about it. The Irish do not play in a Power 4 conference and have a five-game arrangement with the ACC, and they beat those opponents by an average of 27.4 points per game this season. Notre Dame also lost to Northern Illinois in Week 2. The Irish, however, have not lost since and will be a regular in this format with two losses or less. 

Why don’t the top four seeds get a home playoff game? 

The New Year’s Six Bowls – which are the Fiesta Bowl, Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl Classic – will be the sites for the second round (quarterfinals) and third round (semifinals) in the 12-team College Football Playoff. That means the top four seeds will not host a playoff game on campus. 

If the highest-ranked Big Ten champion is a top four seed, then that team – in this case No. 1 Oregon – will be in the Rose Bowl Game this year. If the highest-ranked SEC team is one of the top four seeds – in this case No. 2 Texas – then that team will be at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in the quarterfinal rounds. 

MORE: Full college football bowl schedule for 2024-25

When are the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game? 

The first round of the College Football Playoff will be played on the weekend of Dec. 20-21. Here are the dates and times for those games. Here is a look at the date, site, time and TV for those games. 

The quarterfinals will be played on Tuesday, Dec. 31 and Wednesday, Jan. 1 – the traditional New Year’s Day slot. Here is a look at the date, site, time and TV for those games. 

The semifinals will be played on Wednesday, Jan. 8 and Thursday, Jan. 9 so they do not go head-to-head against the NFL Wild Card weekend. Here is a look at the date, site, time and TV for those games. 

The College Football Playoff championship game will be on Monday, Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Here is a look at the date, site, time and TV for those games.