While there was plenty of controversy over this year’s selections in the College Football Playoff, there would have been additional arguments to be made if the new 12-team format would have been in place too.
After all, that format will have plenty of at-large bids to sort out, and as a result even more teams could have arguments to get into the final 12 spots.
How would a 12-team playoff have looked with the full final College Football Playoff ranking guiding the way?
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For those who aren’t familiar with the structure that will go into place next season, currently the top-six conference champions will automatically get berths in the playoff, along with six at-large bids to the highest ranked non-conference winners.
The first round will feature the teams seeded fifth through eight hosting games, with the top-four teams all receiving byes in the playoff.
The quarterfinals and semifinals will all take place in bowl games, while the championship will continue to be a stand-along game.
Here is how the playoff would have shaken out in 2023:
Big Ten
Bye Weeks –
Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama all would have earned byes into the quarterfinal round. According to the CFP’s rules, the four teams will get to choose the bowl game they will play in, with Michigan getting the first choice as the top-seed.
The First Round Matchups –
Florida State, who was kept out of the playoff this year despite winning the ACC with a 13-0 record, would have taken on Liberty, the undefeated winners of Conference USA.
The winner of that game would then have taken on Alabama.
Georgia would have also earned a home game, taking on No. 11 Ole Miss. The winner of that game would then have taken on Texas in the quarterfinals.
Ohio State would also have gotten a rematch in Columbus, welcoming No. 10 Penn State. The winner of the game would then have taken on Washington in the quarterfinals.
Finally, Oregon would have gotten a home game in the first round, taking on Missouri in a big matchup at Autzen Stadium.
The winner of that game would take on Michigan in the quarterfinals.