College Football Playoff expansion: How a 12-team bracket would have looked for 2022 postseason

Just one more season of the four-team College Football Playoff field remains before the sport undergoes a historic shift. Beginning in the 2024 season, the CFP will adopt a 12-team format that includes byes, automatic bids and on-campus games as part of a historic change in how college football‘s national champion is determined.

Though we’re still a couple years away from expansion, the criteria for how the bracket will be composed is already known, and that allows us to take a hypothetical look at what a 12-team CFP would look like in 2022. The top six conference champions would each receive automatic bids, meaning AAC champion Tulane would have made it this season even though the Green Wave are ranked No. 16 in this year’s CFP Rankings.

Also, Clemson and Utah would be the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively, in the 12-team format since the top four conference champions are slated to earn automatic byes. As multi-loss teams, neither had a shot at cracking the four-team field this year under the current system, which only grants at-large bids.

The expedited change to adopting a 12-team format became official when the CFP’s Board of Managers formally approved it on Dec. 1, and we’ve already explored how the 12-team format would have looked in previous years. Now, let’s look at how things would have shaped up in 2022 under the 12-team CFP structure that will be implemented in 2024.

Criteria

• 12-team bracket: Six highest-ranked conference champions (no minimum ranking requirement) plus next six highest-ranked teams
• Rankings system: CFP Selection Committee will continue to determine weekly rankings with criteria to be reevaluated
• Bracket placement: Four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded 1-4 with first-round byes; four highest remaining seeds will host lower seeds at sites to be determined
• Scheduling: First-round games will be played at campus sites on either the second or third weekend in December, at least 12 days after conference championship games
• Bowl relationship: Quarterfinal and semifinal games will be played at rotating bowl sites subject to agreements being reached; national championship will continue being played at neutral sites; existing conference relationships with bowls will be considered for game placements

Byes

These are awarded to the four highest-ranked conference champions.

1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. Clemson
4. Utah

Rest of field

5. TCU
6. Ohio State
7.