The wait is almost over.
In one day, the first look at the College Football Playoff rankings will be released, putting 10 previous weeks of debate and conversation to rest and starting the conversation of which teams in college football have some work to do in the final weeks of the regular season.
Teams like Oregon and Miami have been in the driver’s seat of their respective conferences for quite some time, and should be rewarded for their 9-0 starts with top-five rankings come Tuesday. While teams like Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee and Penn State have been some of college football’s strongest teams through 10 weeks but have a loss on each of their schedules.
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Indiana and BYU have been two of the more surprising teams in college football this season, adding to the fun and new look of the 12-team field this season. In past years, the Hoosiers and Cougars may not be in the conversation for a CFP spot despite their 9-0 and 8-0 starts respectively. But with the expanded field, which includes seven at-large bids, additional teams will get a taste of postseason football.
Here’s what you need to know on when the first College Football Rankings come out, including how to watch, how many teams are in the CFP this season, current projections and more:
The first unveiling of the College Football Playoff rankings will be on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. ET.
Here’s a look at the full list of when the six CFP rankings will be released:
All times Eastern
* The second set of College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled between games at the Champions Classic.
Tuesday’s first release of the College Football Playoff rankings will take place at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Here’s a look at USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer’s latest CFP prediction and projection for Tuesday’s top-12 CFP ranking:
Overall record in parentheses
Tuesday’s unveiling of the first CFP rankings will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. You can also stream Tuesday’s show on the ESPN app (by logging in with your TV provider credentials) or on Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.
This year’s College Football Playoff will consist of 12 teams for the first time in the College Football Era: five automatic qualifiers and seven at-larges.
By now, it’s been well documented that the College Football Playoff will look different this year. On top of the expanded field from four to 12 teams, there will also be first-round byes, automatic bids and home games.
The five highest-ranked conference champions, i.e. the Power Four champions and one Group of Five champion, will each receive an automatic bid. From there, the five conference champions, the four highest ranked will receive seed 1-4 and a first-round bye. The Group of Five champion will be seeded in at the No. 12 spot, if it is not among the top 12 teams in the final CFP poll.
From there, seven at-large teams will make up the remainder of the field, beginning with No. 5 and concluding with, presumably, the No. 11 team. Seeds 5-12 will play in first-round games either at the home of the higher-ranked team or at another location of their choice.
No. 5 will host No. 12; No. 6 will host No. 11; No. 7 will host No. 10; and No. 8 will host No. 9. From there, winners of the first-round games will advance to the quarterfinals to take on the top four seeds.
Of note: Once the final bracket has been revealed, there will be no “re-seeding” to ensure the highest-ranked team faces the lowest-ranked remaining team. That means No. 1 will play the winner of the No. 8/9 game; No. 2 will play No. 7/10; No. 3 will play No. 6/11 and No. 4 will play No. 5/12.
The CFP committee also will not make special arrangements to ensure teams that met in the regular season will avoid playing in the postseason.
The quarterfinal games this year will take place in the Fiesta, Peach, Rose and Sugar bowls, with preferential bowls given to the highest-ranked teams. For example, No. 1 Oregon would likely prefer the Rose Bowl, leaving either the Sugar or Peach Bowls to No. 2 Georgia, and so on.
The semifinal games will take place in the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl, and the 2025 College Football Playoff championship game will take place in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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