What Is College Football Network’s College Football Playoff Predictor?
College Football Network’s College Football Playoff Predictor is a tool that allows you to play out various weekly scenarios to see how the CFP picture changes with each scenario. The combination of actual game results from the college football season, along with user-selected game picks and AI-simulated results, provides you with a unique CFP bracket.
CFN’s Playoff Machine is updated within minutes of the conclusion of each college football game to allow you to test out an unlimited amount of playoff scenarios in real time to see how your favorite team is impacted in the College Football Playoff picture.
How Does CFN’s College Football Playoff Machine Work?
The College Football Network College Football Playoff Machine is updated in near-real time at the conclusion of every college football game. From there, you can opt to pick every remaining game yourself or only select the games that are of interest to you. Once you make your picks, you can choose to simulate that week only or the rest of the season. CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor includes a proprietary, state-of-the-art algorithm that will simulate and predict the outcomes of the games you have not already selected.
From there, you can see the projected playoff field and manipulate any of the game results to see how they affect the playoff picture. Once your CFP bracket is set, you can select the winners of each playoff matchup from the first round through the National Championship.
How Many Teams Make the College Football Playoffs?
A total of 12 teams make it into the playoffs. The 12-team field consists of the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked programs. There is no limit on the number of participants from a single conference, and the top four teams will receive a first-round bye to the quarterfinals.
How Do the College Football Playoffs Work?
The college football regular season is a 14-week endeavor. Most FBS teams play 12 regular-season games, eight or nine of which are against conference opponents. The remaining contests are non-conference matchups, which are scheduled by the colleges themselves, sometimes years in advance. At the conclusion of conference championships (Week 15, Dec. 1-7), the selection committee sets the playoff field.
The committee releases its first of six rankings on Nov. 5 and then one each following Tuesday, with the final ranking publishing on Dec. 8.
Once the final ranking is announced, the five-highest-ranked conference champions will immediately lock in their placements, with the four highest-ranked champions earning first-round byes. The fifth will earn the No. 5 seed, with the final seven spots going to the committee’s next seven-highest-ranked programs.
In the first round, the higher seeds will host the lower seeds (No. 5 vs. No. 12, No. 6 vs. No. 11, No. 7 vs. No. 10, No. 8 vs. No. 9) either on campus or "at other sites designated by the higher-seeded institution."
The winners advance to the Quarterfinals to challenge the No. 1-4 seeds: No. 4 plays winner of No. 5 vs. No. 12, No. 1 plays winner of No. 8 vs. No. 9, No. 3 plays winner of No. 6 vs. No. 11, and No. 2 plays winner No. 7 vs. No. 10.
The winners of the Semifinal games (the Capital One Orange Bowl and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic) will face off in the CFP National Championship.
When Do the College Football Playoffs Start?
The 2024-25 College Football Playoff begins with the first round, which consists of two games on Friday, Dec. 20, and another two on Saturday, Dec. 21.
Will the College Football Playoff Expand?
The College Football Playoff will expand for the first time since 2014, growing from four to 12 teams in 2024. According to reports, the CFP is expected to expand once again in the 2026 postseason, this time from a 12-team field to 14. The College Football Playoff’s current deal with ESPN ends following the 2025 season.
Who Is on the College Football Playoff Committee?
The College Football Playoff Committee consists of 13 members who serve three-year terms: six former coaches and players, six sitting athletic directors representing seven conferences (including one from each Power 4 league), and one former sportswriter.
The current College Football Playoff Committee includes:
- Michigan AD Warde Manuel (committee chair)
- Former Nevada coach Chris Ault/li>
- Navy AD Chet Gladchuk
- Former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe
- Miami (Ohio) AD David Sayler
- Former sportswriter Kelly Whiteside
- Former All-American Nebraska lineman Will Shields
- Former Toledo and Missouri coach Gary Pinkel
- Baylor AD Mack Rhoades
- Virginia AD Carla Williams
- Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek
- Former Oregon State and Nebraska coach Mike Riley
- Former Arizona State All-American guard Randall McDaniel