What is the College Football Playoff?
The College Football Playoff decides the national champion of major college football (NCAA Division I FBS): twelve teams — conference champions and at-large picks ranked by a selection committee — in a bracket played through the great bowl games to a title game each January. Indiana won the 2025 season's championship, 27–21 over Miami at Hard Rock Stadium, the Hoosiers' first in program history.[1] [2]
How does it work?
The five highest-ranked conference champions qualify automatically, joined by seven at-large teams; first-round games are on campus, with quarterfinals and semifinals rotating through the New Year's Six bowls. The format expanded from four teams to twelve in 2024, replacing two decades of BCS and four-team playoffs.[1] [3]
| Season | Pool / Format | Host cities |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Indiana | Final: Miami Gardens — 27–21 vs Miami (first title) |
| 2024 | Ohio State | Final: Atlanta — 34–23 vs Notre Dame (first 12-team CFP) |
| 2023 | Michigan | Final: Houston — 34–13 vs Washington |
| 2022 | Georgia | Final: Inglewood — 65–7 vs TCU |
| 2021 | Georgia | Final: Indianapolis — 33–18 vs Alabama |
| 2020 | Alabama | Final: Miami Gardens — 52–24 vs Ohio State |
| 2019 | LSU | Final: New Orleans — 42–25 vs Clemson |
| 2018 | Clemson | Final: Santa Clara — 44–16 vs Alabama |
| 2017 | Alabama | Final: Atlanta — 26–23 (OT) vs Georgia |
| 2016 | Clemson | Final: Tampa — 35–31 vs Alabama |
National champions of the last ten seasons (CFP era).
Why does it matter?
College football is America's second-biggest sport in its own right, and the CFP is its summit — the championship pursued by the conferences profiled across this site, from the SEC and Big Ten down. Beneath FBS, the NCAA runs FCS, Division II and Division III championships, with NJCAA and NAIA titles extending the ladder.[2] [4]
References
- College Football Playoff — official site. Accessed August 2026.
- NCAA — Indiana defeats Miami to win the CFP National Championship. Accessed August 2026.
- CFP — 2026 National Championship recap. Accessed August 2026.
- NCAA — Football championships. Accessed August 2026.