Over the years, College Football Playoffs and Championships have changed. In 2014, they played the first “College Football Championship” under the new 4-team system. For ten years, four teams would compete in varying bowl games like the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, leading to the final game: the “College Football Championship.” Starting with the 2024-2025 College Football season, the playoff series will move from a 4-team to a 12-team format. Many were often critical of the 4 team system because it was often only a select handful of teams that would repeatedly appear almost every year in the College Football playoffs, with Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia largely dominating the series. Ohio State has also appeared a few times, and Oregon has appeared in the game once. This domination has left many other teams without a chance to make the playoffs. 

What makes it even more interesting is that this year, our local and undefeated Washington Huskies made their first appearance in the National College Football Championship final game under the playoff format.

All of the above has led to the announcement of a new 12-team format starting with the 2024-2025 football season to make the playoffs more accessible to other Division I College Football teams. The playoff series will continue to include “The New Year’s Six” bowl games, like the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, and they will continue holding the National Championship at a neutral site. The top six conference champions will automatically get a bid into the playoffs, and many factors associated with overall rankings will determine the remaining six teams. The series includes a quarter-finals round, a semi-finals round, and finally, the National Championship. The bowl games will trade who does quarter finals and semifinals from year to year. Currently, they scheduled the 2025 National College Football Championship game to be in Atlanta, Georgia, in January, and they will play the January 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. 

The world of College Football is continuing to change. From conference realignment to postseason changes, a lot is happening, and college football will continue to be interesting both on and off the field for years to come.