College Football Playoff Odds: Lines, Schedule, Bracket For 12-Team CFP

Written By Road to CFB | Last Updated at October 27, 2025

This coming season introduces the 12-team College Football Playoff. It's one of the most drastic changes to NCAA football and one with no shortage of controversy. One of the biggest changes expansion has is to College Football Playoff odds. No longer is the list of potential champions limited to three or four teams. While still unlikely for a true unknown to win the playoff, teams just left out of the four-team field now have a shot to make a run. National title odds are already reflective of that.

Get ready for an entirely new postseason schedule. Playoff dates, locations, and more are brand new for the 2024 - 2025 college football season.

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College Football Playoff Odds

Find odds for each College Football Playoff first round matchup below. Click on odds to place a bet now. No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Georgia, No. 9 Boise State, and No. 12 Arizona State get first-round byes as the four highest-ranked conference champions.

No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame

Friday, Dec. 20, 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)

Opening odds: Notre Dame -8.5, O/U 51.5

No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State

Saturday, Dec. 21, 12 p.m. (TNT)

Opening odds: Penn State -8.5, O/U 52.5

No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas

Saturday, Dec. 21, 4 p.m. (TNT)

Opening odds: Texas -9.5, O/U 52.5

No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State

Saturday, Dec. 21, 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)

Opening odds: Ohio State -6.5, O/U 46.5

What is the 12-team format for the CFP? 5-7 Model ExplaineD:

The College Football Playoff adds two rounds under the new format. The four highest-ranked conference champions – likely the Power conference champions from the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC – receive a first-round bye. Eight other teams square off in the first round, hosted by the higher seed of the matchup. For example, if we get a matchup between #12 Penn State and #5 Texas, the Longhorns would host the Nittany Lions in Austin.

Even if a non-power champion wins its conference, they likely would fall outside the top half of playoff seeds (as demonstrated by recent CFP rankings) and play a road playoff game against a top-eight national team. That note makes it incredibly difficult for non-power underdogs to make a run in this format.

The quarterfinals move to four of the New Year's Six bowls. Those are selected on a rotating basis, like under the previous four-team format. In 2024, the Fiesta, Rose, Sugar, and Peach bowls host the four quarterfinals. It's unclear whether those bowls will be set with the bracket or determined by regional proximity for the higher-ranked team.

The semifinals consist of the two remaining NY6 bowls. This returns us to the existing four-team format, with the National Championship played at a neutral site. In 2024, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta hosts the title game.

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Who gets in the College Football Playoffs?

The 12-team playoff was in the the works and confirmed long before the 2023 CFP selection show. However, last year presented perhaps the biggest controversy in the four-team era when undefeated Florida State was left out of the field.

This year, the top five ranked conference champions receive a bid. The other seven entrants are at-large and depend on CFP rankings. Like the four-team playoff, teams are ranked and selected by the CFP Ranking Committee.

Brush up on the full list of conference realignment moves for the 2024 season

12-Team College Football Playoff Locations, Dates

All listed kick times are in Eastern. ESPN holds the rights to broadcast all CFP games.

First Round: Dec 20-21, 2024

No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame, Friday, Dec. 20, 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)
No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State, Saturday, Dec. 21, 12 p.m. (TNT)
No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas, Saturday, Dec. 21, 4 p.m. (TNT)
No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State, Saturday, Dec. 21, 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)

Quarterfinals

Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ): Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA): Jan. 1, 1:00 p.m.
Rose Bowl (Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, CA): Jan. 1, 5:00 p.m.
Allstate Sugar Bowl (Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA): Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m.

Semifinals

Capital One Orange Bowl (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL): Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl (AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX): Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m.

National Championship

Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA): Jan. 20, 7:30 p.m.

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