College Football Playoff format, explained: New rules, tiebreakers and more about CFP's 12-team bracket

College football is back. But the four-team playoff is dead.

The College Football Playoff has an expanded form starting with the 2024 season. And the new format is set to give even more fan bases across the country reason for hope deep into the year.

The new format overhauls the entire playoff schedule, incorporating more bowl games, putting greater emphasis on winning a conference title and even giving certain teams home games in the first round.

Here's a look at the new College Football Playoff format and how it all breaks down in 2024.

MORE: Changes to know ahead of 2024 college football season

New College Football Playoff format

In 2024, 12 teams will make the College Football Playoff, with four receiving a bye to the quarterfinals and seeds No. 5-12 playing in the opening round.

The top four seeds will be the top four conference champions, as ranked by the selection committee. In all likelihood, that means the winners of the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC will receive a top-four seed and a bye regardless.

Teams 5-12 will be chosen by the selection committee, with one caveat: one team will have to come from outside the Power Four conferences, a rule that could give a major advantage to the No. 5 seed if No. 12 is a team that wouldn't have made the playoff based on rankings alone.

First round games will be hosted by the No. 5-8 seeds. For example, if the 12-team format were in place in 2023, Florida State, Ohio State, Georgia and Oregon all would have hosted first-round games in front of their own crowds.

Every game from the quarterfinals onward will be held at a neutral site. All six "New Year's 6" bowl games will now be part of the College Football Playoff, as opposed to just two being involved each year. No other bowl games are part of the playoff.

The semifinal bowl games will still rotate between the "New Year's 6" bowls. The Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl will serve as this year's semifinals, while the remaining four are the quarterfinal games. That means a team can theoretically play in both the Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl just a week apart.

College Football Playoff bracket

First round

No. 5 vs. No. 12

No. 8 vs. No. 9

No. 6 vs. No. 11

No. 7 vs. No. 10

Quarterfinals

No. 1 vs. No. 8/9

No. 4 vs. No. 5/12

No. 3 vs. No. 6/11

No. 2 vs. No. 7/10

Semifinals

Semifinalist vs. Semifinalist

Semifinalist vs. Semifinalist

National championship

Finalist vs. Finalist

MORE: Deion Sanders talks to SN about Colorado's 2024 expectations

How does the 12-team playoff work in college football?

The College Football Playoff will be made up of the top four conference champions, the next seven ranked teams as chosen by the selection committee and the top-ranked team from outside the power conferences.

The top four conference champions will be seeded 1-4 and given a bye to the quarterfinals, while teams 5-8 will host first round games in their home stadiums against seeds 9-12.

Each quarterfinal game will be a "New Year's 6" bowl, while the semifinal games will be the remaining two "New Year's 6" bowls. The bowls will rotate yearly as they already were for the semifinals.

Here are the dates to expect for this season's College Football Playoff.

College Football Playoff schedule 2024

First round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

National championship

College Football Playoff predictions

Under the new format, it's quite possible, if not likely, that the top four seeds are not the four best teams in the nation. Based on the preseason AP Poll, Georgia, Ohio State, Florida State and Utah would be the top four seeds as the top teams in their respective conferences, though Florida State's Week 0 loss would likely slide Clemson into the ACC's projected slot.

SN's Bill Bender preseason playoff projections had Georgia, Ohio State, Utah and Florida State as the top four seeds, in that order, followed by Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon, Alabama, Clemson, Ole Miss, Michigan and Memphis.

Based on those projections, Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon and Alabama would all host home games in the first round. Just one SEC team can receive a bye under the current format, so at least two of Georgia, Alabama and Texas would be forced to win four games to win a national championship.

MORE: SEC projections for 2024 season

Memphis is Bender's pick to earn the Group of Five's playoff spot as the No. 12 seed, though that would get the Tigers a first round matchup with mighty Texas in Austin.

Georgia and Ohio State are projected to reach the national championship game in SN's predictions, in what would be a rematch of the classic New Year's Eve semifinal matchup between the Bulldogs and Buckeyes from two seasons ago.