The College Football Playoff (CFP) is set to unveil its 12-team bracket, with extensive coverage planned leading up to and following the reveal. ESPN’s selection show will kick off at noon, running for four hours, but that marks just the beginning of a day filled with programming dedicated to the playoff results.
During the first half hour of the show, fans will learn which teams have secured spots in the 12-team field, with the complete CFP top 25 rankings revealed within the first hour. ESPN will also feature a two-hour pre-show that starts at 10 a.m. on ESPN2 and ESPNU, along with a trio of post-show discussions from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN2.
In addition to the main coverage, the SEC Network will air a two-hour show starting at 6 p.m. and the ACC Network will follow with its analysis starting at 8 p.m. Moreover, ESPN will return to screens for another 2.5 hours of comprehensive playoff coverage at 8:30 p.m.
Digital content will also be abundant, with ESPN launching shows on its College Football YouTube channel and Facebook page at 1 p.m. focusing on selection reactions and at 3 p.m. for a broader championship overview.
As for the seeding process, the playoff will include 12 teams, but the selection does not mean that merely the top 12 in the final standings will be included. Instead, five of the highest-ranked conference champions have guaranteed entry into the field, while the next seven highest-ranked teams will fill the remaining slots. This means that if a highly-ranked conference champion falls outside the top 12, teams that finished within the top 12 could potentially be left out of the playoff.
This year, speculation suggests the Big 12 champion may not be positioned within the top 12, which could imply that the No. 12 team, currently Miami, could be excluded. Additionally, the four highest-ranked conference champions will receive the top four seeds. For instance, even if Boise State does not end up in the top four, they would be assigned at least the No. 4 seed while Notre Dame, as an independent, cannot be ranked higher than No. 5.
Seeds 1 through 4 will receive byes for the first round, while seeds 5-12 will engage in first-round matchups, with the higher seeds hosting. The playoff bracket will be firmly established on Sunday; for matchups, the No. 1 seed faces the winner of the 8 vs. 9 match, No. 2 faces the 7 vs. 10 winner, No. 3 plays against the 6 vs. 11 winner and No. 4 takes on the 5 vs. 12 winner.
Playoff games are scheduled to commence on December 20 and conclude on January 20, featuring a total of 11 nationally broadcast matches.
The first-round games are slated as follows: on December 20 at 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN) and on December 21 at noon (TNT), 4 p.m. (TNT), and at 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN). The quarterfinals will take place on December 31 with the Fiesta Bowl at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN), and on January 1 with the Peach Bowl at 1 p.m. (ESPN), the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. (ESPN), and the Sugar Bowl at 8:45 p.m. (ESPN). Semifinal matchups will occur on January 9 for the Orange Bowl at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) and on January 10 for the Cotton Bowl at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN). Finally, the national championship is set for January 20 in Atlanta at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN).
The College Football Playoff selection committee, responsible for determining the tournament field, consists of 13 members and is chaired by Warde Manuel, the athletic director from Michigan. The committee includes a mix of former coaches, players, and athletic directors, such as Chris Ault (former Nevada coach), Chet Gladchuk (athletic director at Navy), Jim Grobe (former Wake Forest coach), and others representing various colleges and institutions.
