Nov 24, 2025
·Max Meyer
College football fans, get ready—postseason drama just got even bigger. Since 2014, the College Football Playoff (CFP) has been the ultimate stage where teams battle for the sport’s most coveted prize: the national championship. Before the CFP, crowning a champion was often messy, full of debate, split titles, and “what if” scenarios thanks to polls, rankings, and computer formulas. Now, with the Playoff expanding to 12 teams in 2024, more programs can chase glory, and fans get more chances to cheer, gasp, and celebrate unforgettable moments.
Here’s a closer look at how the College Football Playoff works and key dates to know for the 2025-26 edition.
How College Football Has Decided Its National Champions
Prior to the College Football Playoff, the process of selecting a champion was often controversial, relying on polls, rankings and computer formulas.
Poll Era (1936–1990): The AP and Coaches Polls selected champions, often before bowl games. Split titles were common when polls disagreed.
Bowl Coalition / Bowl Alliance Era (1991–1997): Attempted to match the top-ranked teams in postseason bowls to produce a clear champion, but restrictions like the Rose Bowl’s conference tie-ins sometimes prevented No. 1 and No. 2 teams from meeting, so split titles still occurred occasionally.
BCS Era (1998–2013): Combined human polls and computer rankings to create a national championship game between the top two teams. Controversy still followed some selections.
CFP Era (2014–present): A Playoff determines the champion on the field, starting with four teams and expanding to 12 in 2024. Alabama won the first CFP in 2015, and recent champions include Clemson, LSU, Georgia, and Ohio State.
How the 12 College Football Playoff Teams Are Selected
The expanded Playoff keeps things simple: earn your way in through a conference title or prove you're one of the best teams in the country. Here’s how the field is built:
Automatic Bids
The five highest-ranked conference champions receive automatic berths—no matter where they fall in the rankings.
At-Large Bids
The remaining seven spots go to the highest-ranked teams that did not earn an automatic bid. There’s no cap on how many teams a single conference can send.
Seeding and Committee Criteria
The top four teams (conference champions or at large) are seeded 1–4 and earn a first-round bye.
A 13-member CFP Selection Committee—made up of former coaches, ADs, and media members—evaluates teams based on:
conference championships
strength of schedule
head-to-head results
performance trends
key injuries and player availability
How the Voting Works
Committee members independently submit top-30 ballots. Using a seven-round, secret-ballot format, the committee builds the rankings from clustered evaluations. Members must recuse themselves from discussions involving schools with which they have conflicts of interest.
Format by Round for 12-Team CFP
The expanded College Football Playoff uses a fixed bracket with no reseeding, so every team’s path is locked in from Selection Sunday through the championship game. Each round follows a consistent structure:
First Round (Mid-December)
Seeds 5–12 open the postseason with on-campus matchups hosted by the better-seeded team.
The four games follow a set pairing:
No. 12 vs. No. 5
No. 11 vs. No. 6
No. 10 vs. No. 7
No. 9 vs. No. 8
Winners advance to face one of the top four seeds, all of whom receive a first-round bye.
Quarterfinals (Around New Year’s)
The quarterfinals shift to the New Year’s Six bowls — Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose, and Sugar — with each bowl taking turns hosting.
With a fixed bracket, matchups always line up as:
No. 1 vs. winner of No. 8/No. 9
No. 2 vs. winner of No. 7/No. 10
No. 3 vs. winner of No. 6/No. 11
No. 4 vs. winner of No. 5/No. 12
Semifinals (Early January)
Two of the New Year’s Six bowls rotate into semifinal duty each year, usually played about a week after the quarterfinals.
Winners advance to the title game.
National Championship (Mid-January)
The season concludes with a standalone Monday night national title game at a neutral host city. It’s typically held about a week and a half after the semifinals to allow extended prep and travel time.
Key Stadiums for the CFP (The Big Six)
The College Football Playoff rotates through six of the sport’s most iconic venues—each with its own atmosphere, history, and tradition. These bowls serve as hosts for quarterfinals and semifinals each season.
Cotton Bowl – Arlington, Texas A state-of-the-art venue known for hosting headline matchups and delivering some of the most memorable games in modern postseason history.
Fiesta Bowl – Glendale, Arizona A sleek, modern stadium with outstanding fan amenities and a reputation for producing high-scoring thrillers.
Orange Bowl – Miami, Florida One of college football’s classic postseason stages, rich with tradition and decades of championship moments.
Peach Bowl – Atlanta, Georgia A major national showcase that blends tradition with one of the newest and most technologically advanced stadiums in the sport.
Rose Bowl – Pasadena, California The legendary “Granddaddy of Them All,” famous for its unmatched scenic backdrop, pageantry and historic significance in college football.
Sugar Bowl – New Orleans, Louisiana Known for its electric atmosphere and fan-friendly city, the Sugar Bowl consistently delivers high-energy postseason showdowns.
How to Buy College Football Playoff Tickets at SeatGeek
If you’re hoping to be in the stadium when the stakes are highest and the crowds are loudest, getting CFP tickets is all about timing, strategy and knowing where to look. Here’s how to lock in your seats before kickoff.
1. Find your game Open the SeatGeek app or hit the website, search “College Football Playoff,” and choose the matchup you want—whether it’s the first round on campus or the National Championship.
2. Browse the available seats SeatGeek shows all-in pricing upfront, so you know exactly what you’re paying before you commit. No surprises, no mystery fees—just the true cost of being part of the Playoff drama.
3. Use filters to lock in your ideal spot Sort by price, section, row or Deal Score, and use the interactive seat map to get the perfect angle. You’ll see real views and seat details so you know exactly what you’re getting.
4. Pick your seats and check out Once you’ve found your perfect setup, tap “Checkout,” enter your payment info, and confirm your order. The best seats don’t last long, so move quickly if something catches your eye.
5. Get your confirmation and be Playoff-ready You’ll get an instant confirmation email, followed by your tickets once they’re ready to download or access through the SeatGeek app. Everything lives under My Tickets, so you’re fully set for the biggest games of the year—tailgates, fight songs, goosebumps and all.