“The selection committee’s task will be to select the best teams, rank the teams for inclusion in the playoff and assign the teams to the playoff sites.”
That was the mission outlined by College Football Playoff ahead of the 2024 season, the first in the expanded 12-team format. The 13-member College Football Selection Committee decides which teams will be involved in the postseason competition and assigns rankings throughout the season.
On Monday evening the CFP committee released the fifth set of rankings for 2024, the final update ahead of the finalisation of the playoff field this weekend. Essentially the five highest-ranked conference champions will qualify, as will the next seven highest-ranked teams in the national standings.
Check out the full College Football Playoff Top 25 for games played through Saturday, November 30.
Where does your team rank as we head toward conference championship weekend and Selection Day?#CFBPlayoff 🏈🏆 pic.twitter.com/59djj3tbfp
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) December 4, 2024
The top four seeds – currently Oregon Ducks, Texas Longhorns, SMU Mustangs, Boise State Broncos – will receive a first round bye. Alabama snuck in on Tuesday’s penultimate update, forcing Miami out of the postseason picture as it stands.
Who are the College Football Playoff Selection Committee members?
The Selection Committee is a mixed group which draws from a variety of different elements of the college game. There are a total of six sitting athletic directors, with one each from the Power 4 leagues. There are also six former coaches and players and one former sportswriter.
College Football Playoff Selection Committee members
Warde Manuel (Committee chair) – Michigan athletic director
Chris Ault – Former Nevada coach
Chet Gladchuk – Navy athletic director
Jim Grobe – Former Wake Forest coach
David Sayler – Miami (Ohio) athletic director
Kelly Whiteside – Former sportswriter
Will Shields – Former All-American Nebraska lineman
Gary Pinkel – Former Toledo and Missouri coach
Mack Rhoades – Baylor athletic director
Carla Williams – Virginia athletic director
Hunter Yurachek – Arkansas athletic director
Mike Riley – Former Oregon State and Nebraska coach
Randall McDaniel – Former Arizona State All-American guard
From early November, members of the committee meet every Monday and Tuesday to determine the weekly rankings. These all-important rankings are issued at six points down the stretch of the regular season, taking multiple factors into account.
Of course, the comparable records of teams is a key metric but with the college game fractured into many disparate conferences more factors need to be considered. Members will also take into account the strength of schedule; head-to-head meetings; outcomes against common opponents; availability of key players and any championships won.
In many ways it’s more art than science and each individual committee member will choose how to weight the myriad factors. The final rankings vote is done in secret and typically includes seven rounds of ballots, continuing until the top 25 teams have been placed in order.
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The final rankings of the 2024 College Football regular season will be released on Sunday, December 8. We’ll bring you full updates of those all-important final rankings and the postseason fixture schedule.
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