Tomás Yelmini
The year 2023 is approaching, and with it, the event that all football fans are waiting for: the NCAA playoffs. Since this is a division with a large number of teams sorted into conferences that then play against each other, we decided to put together a report on how the college football playoffs work so that you have the facts straight.
To comprehend it, one must first “zoom out” and consider the larger picture, then take it in, before learning about the NCAA playoffs.
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How Are the American NCAA College Football Playoffs Conducted? | Everything You Need to Know
A brief summary of how college football works
In the US, there are hundreds of universities with strong football programs. Since it would be difficult to organize a tournament with all of them, the NCAA created Division 1, which is separated into FCS (with 140 teams) and FBS (with 130 teams).
The FBS boasts the better teams of the two, but we still have the issue that there continue to be tons of teams in each of them. These 130 teams, which are naturally all associated with the NCAA, are split up into 10 conferences, each one with a maximum of 10 to 14 teams. In this way, the number becomes more manageable.
After the regular season, which begins at the end of August, the leader of each conference plays a game against its rival from another conference. This game is called Bowl. As you might imagine, there are many Bowls, but these are six of the best:
- Rose Bowl
- Fiesta Bowl
- Cotton Bowl
- Sugar Bowl
- Peach Bowl
- Orange Bowl
Which teams now compete in the major NCAA Bowls? These will be the top American teams, those from the top five conferences in the country:
- Atlantic Coast
- Big Ten
- Big 12
- PAC 12
- SEC
The Big 10 and PAC 12 leaders compete in the Rose Bowl, while the Fiesta Bowl is only open to the best teams from a select few of the five aforementioned conferences. These teams are chosen by a Council made up of former players, coaches, athletic directors, university administrators, and members of the specialized press.
Are you confused? Ok, as you will see, this may be more complex than it seemed, but for now there is no need to delve into further details, because what we are really interested in today is getting to understand what the American College Football Playoffs are like.
What Are the College Football Playoffs Like?
After going through the aforementioned information, we may go on to this article’s main topic: the college football playoffs. The winners of each Bowl are already known, but who among them is the best? The College Football Playoff (CFP), which chooses the greatest team, the sole and undisputed winner of all college football in the United States, was established in 2014 to determine this.
You might be thinking that the six winners of each Bowl get into the playoff… No, it’s not that simple.
Every year, different teams qualify for the college football playoffs. The winner of the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl made up the final when this system was first used in 2014. The Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl took their turn in 2015, and the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl semifinalist teams completed the round in 2016. The round was then repeated.
In other words, the final of each Bowl could be considered a playoff semifinal, since the winner would qualify for the final of the finals, the CFP National Championship.
Which Are the 2022 College Football Playoff Teams?
Recall how we mentioned a Council that selects the Bowl’s finalists? The College Football Playoff semifinals will feature the Georgia Bulldogs, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, and TCU Horned Frogs, according to the announcement made by that council or committee.
Reviewing each team’s season, it is important to note that Georgia, which will take on Ohio State, finished top in the season standings. On December 31 at 8 PM E.T. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA, the two will compete in the Peach Bowl championship game.
Michigan is ranked second and TCU is ranked third and will be in the Fiesta Bowl. The game will be played that same New Year’s Eve day but at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ, at 4 PM E.T.
The grand finale will take place on January 9, 2023 at 7:30 PM E.T. at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, after the results of both games have been determined.
Given that the number of teams competing in the American football playoffs will increase to 12 (Yes, 12!) starting in editions in 2024, we hope you have found this research informative and now have a better understanding of how they work.
