How the College Football Playoff works
Twelve teams, four rounds, one champion. This is the third season of the 12-team format, and the rules for who gets in changed again for 2026.
Who gets in
Four Power 4 champions. The SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 champions get in automatically, no matter where they are ranked.
One Group of 6 team. The highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, the MAC, the Mountain West, the Pac-12 and the Sun Belt gets a spot. Reports differ on whether that team must also be its conference champion; the simulator takes the highest-ranked team either way.
Notre Dame, if it’s top 12. Notre Dame has no conference, so it gets an automatic bid only when it finishes in the top 12 of the final rankings.
At-large spots. The highest-ranked teams left fill out the 12.
A selection committee decides the rankings. It releases a top 25 each week in November and a final ranking after conference championship weekend, and that final ranking sets the field.
How the bracket is seeded
Teams are seeded 1 through 12 in ranking order. The top four seeds get a bye straight to the quarterfinals. Since 2025 that has gone to the four highest-ranked teams, not the four highest-ranked conference champions as in 2024, so a champion can be in the field and still play in the first round.
In the first round, seeds 5 through 8 host seeds 12 through 9 on campus. The winners meet the top four seeds in the quarterfinals: the 8–9 winner plays No. 1, the 5–12 winner plays No. 4, the 6–11 winner plays No. 3 and the 7–10 winner plays No. 2. From the quarterfinals on, games are at bowl sites.
2026–27 schedule
| Round | Date | Where |
|---|---|---|
| First round | Dec. 18–19 | Campus of the higher seed: 5 vs 12, 6 vs 11, 7 vs 10, 8 vs 9 |
| Quarterfinal | Dec. 30 | Fiesta Bowl |
| Quarterfinals | Jan. 1 | Cotton, Rose and Peach Bowls |
| Semifinal | Jan. 14 | Orange Bowl |
| Semifinal | Jan. 15 | Sugar Bowl |
| National championship | Jan. 25 | Las Vegas |
What changed for 2026
In 2024 and 2025, the five highest-ranked conference champions got automatic bids. For 2026 the four Power 4 champions are guaranteed, plus one Group of 6 team and Notre Dame if it’s in the top 12. Plans to grow the field to 16 or more teams didn’t reach agreement, so it stays at 12 for 2026.
Try it in the season simulator to see who would make it.
Sources: NCAA.com, Yahoo Sports.