Viewer's guide to the new College Football Playoff
Everything you need to know for the first 12-team postseason
After years of waiting for a bigger and better College Football Playoff, the moment is finally here. The field has been whittled from 12 to eight to four and now just two teams. Ohio State and Notre Dame will meet Monday for all the marbles in the CFP National Championship Game.
Here's everything that's happened, and everything you need to know in our viewer's guide to the new College Football Playoff.
College Football Playoff National Championship
Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
Date/time: Monday, Jan. 20, 7:30 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN | Line: Ohio State -8.5
Players to watch, keys to the game, prediction
Both Ohio State and Notre Dame were outside the top four of the final College Football Playoff rankings and were big beneficiaries of the format’s expansion to 12 teams. A late loss to Michigan meant OSU missed the Big Ten title game, and it appeared to light a fire under the Buckeyes. They've been on a tear in the playoff, winning by an average of 20 points.
If Notre Dame wins the title, the Fighting Irish’s Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois could go down in history as the worst loss ever suffered by a national champion. Since then, however, Notre Dame has been fantastic. The Irish have seemingly improved every week and have the nation’s longest current win streak at 13 straight games while taking down Indiana, Georgia and Penn State in the playoff.
So, who will win it all in Atlanta? Nick Bromberg breaks down everything you need to know for the title game.
More title game coverage
Wetzel: Ryan Day isn't on hot seat, but title game loss would still be brutal
Busbee: The College Football Playoff has one glaring problem
Wetzel: Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman should turn down NFL ... for now
Dellenger: Loss to NIU could've crippled Notre Dame. Here's why it didn't.
Video: College Football Enquirer makes title game predictions
Video: Notre Dame needs to exploit Ohio State's one weakness
College Football Playoff first round results
College Football Playoff quarterfinal results
Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 31, Boise State 14
Peach Bowl: Texas 39, Arizona State 31 (2OT)
Rose Bowl: Ohio State 41, Oregon 21
Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame 23, Georgia 10
College Football Playoff semifinal results
Orange Bowl: Notre Dame 27, Penn State 24
Cotton Bowl: Ohio State 28, Texas 14
College Football Playoff bracket, expert predictions
Here are our expert predictions for how the inaugural 12-team playoff will unfold.
Will CFP format change again in the near future?
The SEC's title hopes died in the semifinals with Texas' loss to Ohio State. Its commissioner is already mulling potential changes to the playoff format.
Ross Dellenger reports on potential CFP format changes that are being considered, including changes to the first-round bye rule, designating more automatic berths for certain conferences and expanding the field.
Complete college football bowl results
It's the most glorious time of the year and it was a bit different this season. The 12-team College Football Playoff gave us more games and also juggled the bowl schedule. Bowl season began on Dec. 14 and ended on Jan. 4 for the non-playoff bowls. Now there's just one playoff game to go. Here is the complete rundown of bowls and scores.
