The landscape of college football is ever-changing. With NIL and the transfer portal, there is constant movement among the players. Starting in the 2024 college football season, we will see more change with the introduction of the 12-team playoff field.
For years many wanted to move away from the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and in 2014 came the College Football Playoffs. The top four teams would play for the CFP trophy. Since that date, we have heard countless arguments to expand to eight, 12, or even a 16-team field.
In 2017 the argument centered around Alabama vs Central Florida, which is the national champion. Under the new guidelines for the playoff, it would have been settled on the field. In an opening-round matchup, we would have No. 5 Alabama vs No. 12 Central Florida. Who wouldn’t love to see that game? At least in hindsight.
The new format will have the top four conference champions earning a bye week. Teams who win their conference will be rewarded. The remaining Power Five champion will earn a guaranteed spot as well as the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. The remaining six spots will be at large selections.
With all of that said, Buckeyes Wire went back to 2014 to see what those 12-team fields would look like. Ohio State was the only football team that would have qualified every single year. Alabama missed out in 2019 to give them the second-most appearances.
2014 Field
First Round Byes
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Oregon Ducks
- Florida State Seminoles
- Ohio State Buckeyes
First Round Matchups
- No. 5 Baylor Bears vs No. 12 Boise State Broncos
- No. 6 TCU Horned Frogs vs No. 11 Kansas State Wildcats
- No. 7 Mississippi State Bulldogs vs No. 10 Arizona Wildcats
- No. 8 Michigan State Spartans vs No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels
Second Round Matchups
Alabama vs Michigan State-Ole Miss winner
Oregon vs Mississippi State-Arizona winner
Florida State vs TCU-Kansas State winner
Ohio State vs Baylor-Boise State winner
2015 Field
First Round Byes
- Clemson Tigers
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Michigan State Spartans
- Oklahoma Sooners
First Round Matchups
- No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes vs No. 12 Houston Cougars
- No. 6 Stanford Cardinal vs No. 11 TCU Horned Frogs
- No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes vs No. 10 North Carolina Tar Heels
- No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs No. 9 Florida State Seminoles
Second Round Matchups
Clemson vs Notre Dame-Florida State winner
Alabama vs Ohio State-North Carolina winner
Michigan State vs Stanford-TCU winner
Oklahoma vs Iowa-Houston winner
2016 Field
First Round Byes
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Clemson Tigers
- Washington Huskies
- Penn State Nittany Lions
First Round Matchups
- No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes vs No. 12 Western Michigan Broncos
- No. 6 Michigan Wolverines vs No. 11 Florida State Seminoles
- No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners vs No. 10 Colorado Buffaloes
- No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers vs No. 11 USC Trojans
Second Round Matchups
Alabama vs Wisconsin-USC winner
Clemson vs Oklahoma-Colorado winner
Washington vs Michigan-Florida State winner
Penn State vs Ohio State-Western Michigan winner
2017 Field
First Round Byes
- Clemson Tigers
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Ohio State Buckeyes
First Round Matchups
No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide vs No. 12 Central Florida Knights
No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers vs No. 11 Washington Huskies
No. 7 Auburn Tigers vs No. 10 Miami Hurricanes
No. 8 USC Trojans vs No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions
Second Round Matchups
Clemson vs USC-Penn State winner
Oklahoma vs Auburn-Miami winner
Georgia vs Wisconsin-Washington winner
Ohio State vs Alabama-Central Florida winner
2018 Field
First Round Byes
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Clemson Tigers
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Ohio State Buckeyes
First Round Matchups
No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions
No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs vs No. 11 LSU Tigers
No. 7 Michigan Wolverines vs No. 10 Florida Gators
No. 8 Central Florida Knights vs No. 9 Washington Huskies
Second Round Matchups
Alabama vs Central Florida-Washington winner
Clemson vs Michigan-Florida winner
Oklahoma vs Georgia-LSU winner
Ohio State vs Notre Dame-Penn State winner
2019 Field
First Round Byes
- LSU Tigers
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Clemson Tigers
- Oklahoma Sooners
First Round Matchups
No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs vs No. 12 Memphis Tigers
No. 6 Oregon Ducks vs No. 11 Utah Utes
No. 7 Baylor Bears vs No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions
No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers vs No. 9 Florida Gators
Second Round Matchups
LSU vs Wisconsin-Florida winner
Ohio State vs Baylor-Penn State winner
Clemson vs Oregon-Utah winner
Oklahoma vs Georgia-Memphis winner
2020 Field
First Round Byes
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Clemson Tigers
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Oklahoma Sooners
First Round Matchups
No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs No. 12 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies vs No. 11 Indiana Hoosiers
No. 7 Florida Gators vs No. 10 Iowa State Cyclones
No. 8 Cincinnati Bearcats vs No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs
Second Round Matchups
Alabama vs Cincinnati-Georgia winner
Clemson vs Florida-Iowa State winner
Ohio State vs Texas A&M-Indiana winner
Oklahoma vs Notre Dame-Coastal Carolina winner
2021 Field
First Round Byes
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Michigan Wolverines
- Cincinnati Bearcats
- Baylor Bears
First Round Matchups
No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs vs No. 12 Pittsburgh Panthers
No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs No. 11 Utah Utes
No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes vs No. 10 Michigan State Spartans
No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels vs No. 9 Oklahoma State Cowboys
Second Round Matchups
Alabama vs Ole Miss-Oklahoma State winner
Michigan vs Ohio State-Michigan State winner
Cincinnati vs Notre Dame-Utah Winner
Baylor vs Georgia-Pittsburgh winner
2022 Field
First Round Byes
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Michigan Wolverines
- Clemson Tigers
- Utah Utes
First Round Matchups
No. 5 TCU Horned Frogs vs No. 12 Tulane Green Wave
No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes vs No. 11 Penn State Nittany Lions
No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide vs No. 10 USC Trojans
No. 8 Tennessee Vols vs No. 9 Kansas State Wildcats
Second Round Matchups
Georgia vs Tennessee-Kansas State winner
Michigan vs Alabama-USC winner
Clemson vs Ohio State-Penn State winner
Utah vs TCU-Tulane winner
