The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2023 season will be revealed on Tuesday, Oct. 31 as the Selection Committee convenes. It's going to be a fascinating year for the College Football Playoff given the parity throughout the sport and, perhaps, the lack of a truly dominant team in the sport -- something Georgia has been as reigning back-to-back national champions.
Amid rampant conference realignment over recent years, though, College Football Playoff expansion has long been a topic of discussion. More than that, it is for sure coming as the field is going to expand to 12 teams.
With all of that newcoming buzz for the CFP abound, though, some fans are asking how many teams will make the College Football Playoff for the 2023 season? We have the answers you need.
How many teams make the College Football Playoff this year?
As has been the case since the CFP's inception in 2014-15, there will be four teams in the College Football Playoff for 2023-24. Expansion has not yet gone into effect for the Playoff format this year, so we will once again be getting the top four teams in the final rankings from the Selection Committee, which amounts to four at-large bids into the semifinal games with a shot at a national championship.
The No. 1 seed in the four-team CFP will play the No. 4 seed and choose which semifinal it wants to play in (usually whichever bowl is a geographic advantage). That then leaves the No. 2 and 3 seeds facing off in the other location for the semifinals.
When does the College Football Playoff expand to 12 teams?
The College Football Playoff will expand to 12 teams in the 2024 season for the 2024-25 CFP. As that's when most conference realignment will take place, that's when we will see the Playoff move to the new 12-team format, making 2023 the last year of the four-team Playoff.
Under the forthcoming 12-team College Football Playoff, the structure will also be much different (and could still be changing). As of now, the Selection Committee will use a 6-and-6 model for the Playoff, meaning the six highest-ranked conference champions followed by six at-large bids, or the highest-ranked non-champions remaining.
The four highest-ranked conference champions will earn the four highest seeds and a first-round bye in the 12-team CFP format. The remaining eight teams will then play in the first round of games, which will be hosted on-campus by the higher seed.