College Football Playoff rankings show schedule: TV channel, time

Rankings make or break teams in college football. 

And while the AP Top 25 rankings and Coaches Poll help us understand where the top teams stand up to now, the one that really matters is the official College Football Playoff poll created by the committee.

Here's a look at the CFP committee's schedule for releasing the 2022 rankings.

College Football Playoff Rankings Schedule

All times Eastern, all on ESPN network and fuboTV (Try for free)

CFP rankings release No. 1 — Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 7-8 p.m. Recap: The first College Football Playoff top 25 rankings

CFP rankings release No. 2 — Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7-8 p.m. Recap: The second College Football Playoff rankings

CFP rankings release No. 3 — Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 9-9:30 p.m. Recap: The third College Football Playoff rankings

CFP rankings release No. 4 — Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7-8 p.m. Recap: USC, Clemson trending up in fourth College Football Playoff rankings

CFP rankings release No. 5 — Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7-7:30 p.m. Recap: Michigan, USC surge in fifth CFP top 25 rankings

Selection Day — Sunday, Dec. 4 at 12-4 p.m.

College Football Playoff Rankings Criteria

College Football Playoff selectors create top 25 rankings based on their evaluation of teams’ performance on the field. 

The committee employs several metrics to select the best teams.

• Strength of schedule
• Head-to-head game results
• Results vs. teams in top 25 rankings
• Results vs. common opponents
• Conference championships

College Football Playoff electors also use advanced analytics to gauge teams’ play, but those numbers don’t play a formal role in the committee creating its top 25 rankings.

College Football Playoff 2022-23 Schedule

Dec. 31, 2022 Fiesta Bowl

Dec. 31, 2022 Peach Bowl

Jan. 9, 2023 National Championship

This is the ninth year that college football has a playoff system, which replaced the former Bowl Championship Series (BCS) ahead of the 2014 season.

Ohio State won the first championship under the current system. Alabama (2015, ’17, ’20) and Clemson (2016 and ’18) are the only programs to win multiple titles in the playoff era.

Here's a rundown of every College Football Playoff to date.

2014 

Rose Bowl — No. 2 Oregon 59, No. 3 Florida State 20

Sugar Bowl — No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 1 Alabama 35

CFP National Championship — No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Oregon 20

2015

Orange Bowl — No. 1 Clemson 37, No. 4 Oklahoma 17

Cotton Bowl — No. 2 Alabama 38, No. 3 Michigan State 0

CFP National Championship — No. 2 Alabama 45, No. 1 Clemson 40

2016

Fiesta Bowl — No. 2 Clemson 31, No. 3 Ohio State 0

Peach Bowl — No. 1 Alabama 24, No. 4 Washington 7

CFP National Championship — No. 2 Clemson 35, No. 1 Alabama 31

2017

Rose Bowl — No. 3 Georgia 54, No. 2 Oklahoma 48 ( 2 OT)

Sugar Bowl — No. 4 Alabama 24, No. 1 Clemson 6

CFP National Championship — No. 4 Alabama 26, No. 3 Georgia (OT)

2018

Orange Bowl — No. 1 Alabama 45, No. 4 Oklahoma 34

Cotton Bowl — No. 2 Clemson 30, No. 3 Notre Dame 3

CFP National Championship — No. 2 Clemson 44, No. 1 Alabama 16

2019

Peach Bowl — No. 1 LSU 63, No. 4 Oklahoma 28

Fiesta Bowl — No. 3 Clemson 29, No. 2 Ohio State 23

CFP National Championship — No. 1 LSU 42, No. 3 Clemson 25

2020 

Rose Bowl — No. 1 Alabama 31, No. 4 Notre Dame 14

Sugar Bowl — No. 3 Ohio State 49, No. 2 Clemson 28

CFP National Championship — No. 1 Alabama 52, No. 3 Ohio State 24

2021

Cotton Bowl — No. 1 Alabama 27, No. 4 Cincinnati 6

Orange Bowl — No. 3 Georgia 34, No. 2 Michigan 11

CFP National Championship — No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18

College Football Playoff Rankings History

Let's look at every final Top 4 College Football Playoff rankings, with the eventual national champion listed in bold.

2014-15

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Florida State
4. Ohio State

2015-16

1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Michigan State
4. Oklahoma

2016-17

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio State
4. Washington

2017-18

1. Clemson
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. Alabama

2018-19

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Oklahoma

2019-20

1. LSU
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. Oklahoma

2020-21

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio State
4. Notre Dame

2021-22

1. Alabama
2. Michigan
3. Georgia
4. Cincinnati

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