How the new 24-team College Football Playoff will work

The College Football Playoff will increase to 24 teams next season, ESPN and college officials announced Monday.

A look at what we know so far:

The field

The 24-team field will be comprised of the four conference champions from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC (as determined by their respective conferences), the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, or Sun Belt; and the 19 highest-ranked remaining teams in the final CFP selection committee ranking.

Seeding and playoff scheduling

• Seeds 1-8 will each earn a first-round bye and will host a second-round game on their respective campuses 
• Seeds 9-16 will each host a first-round game on their respective campuses against seeds 17-24
• First- and second-round games will be played on the Thursday-Saturday of their respective weekend

Sign up for Kirk Bohls’ newsletter

Sign up for Kirk Bohls’ new newsletter for news, exclusive analysis and insights on University of Texas sports.

Quarterfinals and semifinals

The quarterfinals and semifinals will continue to be played at the six CFP bowl partners:

• Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
• Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
• Capital One Orange Bowl
• Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
• Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential
• Allstate Sugar Bowl

Future championship sites and dates

• Las Vegas: Monday, Jan. 25, 2027 (12-team playoff)
• New Orleans: Monday, Jan. 24, 2028 (first edition of the 24-team playoff)
• Tampa, Fla.: Monday, Jan. 22, 2029 (24-team playoff)

Strength of schedule

The CFP management committee has adopted scheduling standards that will enhance the regular season by encouraging scheduling of additional compelling non-conference, regular-season matchups.

• Each team in the Power 4 (ACC, Big Ten, Big  12 and SEC) will be expected to play at least 10 qualifying regular season games consisting of the following: conference games and non-conference games versus other Power 4 conference opponents and Notre Dame.

• Each Group of 6 team institution will be expected to play at least 10 qualifying regular-season games consisting of the following: conference games and non-conference games against a G6 or Power 4 opponent, Notre Dame or independent institutions other than Notre Dame

The CFP Selection Committee will not give any weight to a win over more than one (1) FCS opponent per season.

Sign up for Cougar Confidential

You’ll get get in-depth news and analysis about UH’s basketball and football teams from reporter Joseph Duarte by signing up for the Cougar Confidential newsletter.

Conference title games

• Decisions on the future of conference championship games rest with each conference. The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC have announced theirs will end. 

First week of December

This week was traditionally the conference title games. Instead, it will now be an off week for teams in the playoff.

It will also include the Army-Navy game and Heisman Trophy presentation.

Other bowl games

No announcements have been made on the impact on the other 35 bowl games, including the Kinder’s Texas Bowl at Reliant Stadium.

Subscribe

There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.

This article originally published at How the new 24-team College Football Playoff will work.