This year is a totally different year with the College Football Playoff Rankings as the Committee now has a new set of rules and a new format to deal with. The weekly rankings by the Committee will be more important to track than ever as the expanded field could lead to some chaos down the stretch of the season.
When are the College Football Playoff rankings released?
While the AP and the Coaches' release their polls weekly, the College Football Playoff committee doesn't start releasing their rankings until November. Here are the official dates and times where the College Football Playoff committee will release their rankings:
- November 5th, 2024 - 7:00 - 8:00 PM Eastern Time on ESPN
- November 12th, 2024 - 8:30 - 9:00 PM Eastern Time on ESPN
- November 19th, 2024 - 7:00 - 8:00 PM Eastern Time on ESPN
- November 26th, 2024 - 8:00 - 9:00 PM Eastern Time on ESPN
- December 3rd, 2024 - 7:00 - 7:30 PM Eastern Time on ESPN
- December 8th, 2024 - 12:00 - 4:00 PM Eastern Time on ESPN (Selection Sunday)
Who gets into the College Football Playoff?
This year is the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff as we go from seeing four teams in the Playoff to Twelve. The four highest ranked Conference Champions are guaranteed the first four seeds so if the top two teams come from the SEC, the highest that the team that lost the Conference Championship can be ranked is 5th.
There are seven bids given to at-large teams meaning the the Committee will chose the seven best teams to fill out the Playoff meaning a team that loses the Conference Championship doesn't have its playoff hopes fully crushed.
Which Bowl Games are a part of the College Football Playoff?
The new format has added a fun wrinkle where the top four teams get a bye week while teams ranked 5th through 12th will matchup with teams ranked 5th through 8th hosting home games during the College Football Playoff opening round. In the quarter finals the traditional bowl games the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Peach Bowl and the Sugar Bowl will play host to games. In the semifinal the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl will be the games the remaining four teams play in.
Where will the National Championship be played?
This year the College Football National Championship game will be played in Atlanta, Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This is the second time that the game will take place in Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the venue also hosted the 2017 game. In the 2017 National championship, Alabama beat Georgia 26-23 in overtime as Tua Tagovailoa found Devonta Smith for a touchdown on 2nd and 26.