Ohio State would host the No. 12 team in CFP's new format
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – If the college football season were to end today, Ohio State would make the College Football Playoffs…. in 2024.
The Rose Bowl, one of six major bowls, was the last in the group to agree to amend its current contract for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, allowing the current four-team playoff format to expand to a 12-team format.
According to Collegefootballplayoff.com, the first round of the playoffs in 2024 will take place the week ending Saturday, December 21, at either the home field of the higher-seeded team or at another site designated by the higher-seeded school (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7, and No. 9 at No. 8.).
For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the four quarterfinal games and two semifinal games will be played in bowls on a rotating basis. The 2024 quarterfinals will take place in the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, while the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl will host the Playoff Semifinals. The 2025 quarterfinals will take place in the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, while the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will host the Playoff Semifinals. Specific dates for all quarterfinal and semifinal games will be announced later.
Under the new format, but using this week’s rankings, No. 5 Ohio State would play host to No. 12 Washington. If the Buckeyes were to win, they would advance to play No. 4 USC in a quarterfinal match at one of the rotating bowl games. If Washington were to win, it would play against top-seeded Georgia.
The current College Football Playoff pits the No. 1 ranked team versus the No. 4 team while No. 2 plays No. 3 in semifinal games at one of six rotating six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game.
Expansion is expected to produce about $450 million in additional gross revenue for the conferences and schools that participate.
The plan to expand the playoff originated in June 2021, but the conference commissioners who manage the CFP could not come to the unanimous consensus to push the proposal forward. Talks of expansion for the 2024 season stalled in February.
2024/2025 College Football Playoff format
First round
- No. 1 team (bye)
- No. 2 team (bye)
- No. 3 team (bye)
- No. 4 team (bye)
- No. 12 team at No. 5 team
- No. 11 team at No. 6 team
- No. 10 team at No. 7 team
- No. 9 team at No. 8 team
Quarterfinals
- No. 1 team vs. No. 8/9 team
- No. 2 team vs. No. 7/10 team
- No. 3 team vs. No. 6/11 team
- No. 4 team vs. No. 5/12 team
The Associated Press contributed to this story