How Does The College Football Playoff Work? Everything To Know About The CFP

Power Four (SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12) will occupy four of the 12 CFP spots, but a conference title doesn’t guarantee a first‑round bye — the top four teams in the final CFP rankings get those byes.
The highest‑ranked Group of Six team earns an automatic spot (regardless of being conference champ), and Notre Dame also gets an automatic bid if it’s inside the final top‑12.
Teams seeded 5–12 play first‑round games at the higher seed’s site (5 vs.12, 6 vs.11, 7 vs.10, 8 vs.9), which makes selection/tiebreaker calls — like last year’s Miami vs. Notre Dame debate — hot talking points.