How Do the College Football Playoffs Work?

How Do the College Football Playoffs Work?
Last night, #9 Alabama and #8 Oklahoma played the first College Football Playoff game of the season, and the Tide is moving on to face #1 Indiana on New Year’s Day… How’d we get here?

Let’s start with how teams are ranked.
Starting in November, College Football Playoffs’ 13-member Selection Committee reveals a weekly top-25 list, culminating with the official playoff bracket after conference championships.

Rankings are based on strength of schedule, head-to-head results, outcomes against common opponents, and other factors, like injuries or coaching absences. Committee members review statistics and game film, then vote in seven rounds of secret ballots.

Who’s on the committee?
This year: former and current athletic directors, a sports journalist, and former coaches and players (see the roster). A member with a conflict of interest doesn’t participate in votes or deliberations about their team. Members are unpaid and serve one three-year term.

Who can get into the playoffs?
Any FBS team is eligible, there’s no limit on how many can come from one conference, and no team qualifies automatically without earning it on the field. (Visualize the process here.)

Final rankings must include the five highest-ranked conference champions plus the next seven highest-ranked teams.

Aren’t the playoffs new?
It’s the second year of the 12-team playoff. Before that, only four teams were bracketed. And before that—from 1998 to 2013—college football relied on polls and the controversial BCS system, which infamously snubbed undefeated teams (Boise State, Utah, Auburn) and heavily favored major conferences, making it nearly impossible for “mid-major” teams to rise.

When are the games played?
First-round games continue today. Quarterfinals kick off on New Year’s Eve, followed by semifinals, then the National Championship on Monday, January 19. (See the schedule.)

Want to hear more on the CFP, including this year’s controversy and how the Ivy League fits into all of this? Listen to today’s episode of the TPO Explains podcast to hear us dig a little deeper!

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Whether we’re college athletes, newsletter writers, business people, or teachers, we have an opportunity every day to honor God in our work with the gifts He’s given us, and to show the love of Christ to those around us as we do.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31 (CSB) (read full passage)

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