The CFP crowns college football's national champion, which means every fan base wants to be there to cheer their team on to victory. The playoff includes the two National Semifinal games, which are played in place of a bowl game, and the CFP Championship Game which follows a week later. The location of those games this year are listed here. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is played each bowl season to determine the college football's Division I National Champion. The CFP includes the two national semifinal games, which are played at bowl games, and the CFP Championship Game (aka: College Football's National Championship Game). The winners of the semifinal games advance to play each other in the College Football Championship Game, which is played after other bowl games are done.
The four teams in the CFP will be voted on by the selection committee at the end of the season, using strength of schedule, head-to-head wins and record as the criteria. The location of the CFP championship will move around to different host cities, but the national semifinals will rotate among the “New Year’s Six” bowl games: Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
The College Football Playoff started in 2014 and replaced the BCS (1998-2013). The BCS would select the two college football teams to play for the National Championship, while the CFP selects the four teams that will compete for a spot in the championship game. The CFP also established a separate championship game, modeled after the NFL's Super Bowl, which awards the game to a host city/venue rather than rotating the championship game among top bowl games like the BCS did. The College Football Playoff is moving to 12 teams in playoff for 2024 and beyond.