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The top four teams in NCAA football will face off in the CFP semifinals on New Year’s Day with the final set for January 8 in Houston, Texas.
The top four teams in NCAA football will face off in the CFP semifinals on New Year’s Day with the final set for January 8 in Houston, Texas.Roger SteinmanAP

NCAA FOOTBALL

Does college football have playoffs? When are they and how do they work?

The top four teams in NCAA football will face off in the CFP semifinals on New Year’s Day with the final set for January 8 in Houston, Texas.

As college football comes to its conclusion, we prepare for the College Football Playoff (CFP). The top four teams will compete to decide the national champion within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The top four teams this year who will play in the semifinals are:

  • No. 1 Michigan
  • No. 2 Washington
  • No. 3 Texas
  • No. 4 Alabama

The New Year’s Six

The top four teams were determined by a selection committee. Then, there is also something called the New Year’s Six (or NY6), which are six bowl games: the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl. These top-tier bowl games are played every year on or around New Year’s Day. Two of these bowl games represent the CFP semifinals on a three-year rotating basis - this year, it’s the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl hosting the semifinals.

The top four teams will play in those two bowl games and the rest will be considered non-playoff bowl games, called Selection Committee bowl games, played by the rest of the top 12 teams.

When the CFP expands to 12 teams next year, the NY6 will host both the quarterfinals and semifinals rounds.

New Year’s Six full schedule:

Date Time Teams Game
Friday, December 29 8 p.m. ET No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 7 Ohio State Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
Saturday, December 30 12 p.m. ET No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Penn State Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

Saturday, December 30

4 p.m. ET No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 5 Florida State Capital One Orange Bowl
Monday, January 1 1 p.m. ET No. 23 Liberty vs. No. 8 Oregon
State Farm Stadium
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl

 

CFP Schedule

The CFP semifinals will be played on New Year’s Day, Monday, January 1, 2024. The title game will be played one week later on Monday, January 8. Here is the complete schedule:

Date

Time Teams GAME
Monday, January 1 5:00 p.m. ET No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama Rose Bowl (CFP Semifinal)
Monday, January 1  8:45 p.m. ET No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal)
Monday, January 8 7:30 p.m. ET Winners of Semifinals will play each other CFP National Championship Game (Houston, Texas)