Will CFP first-round games count as bowl games in record book? Depends on who you ask

The 12-team College Football Playoff has arrived.

Over the next month, 12 of college football's top teams will compete against each other in a first-of-its-kind playoff format that will end with one of them hoisting the College Football Playoff national championship trophy on Jan. 20 in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Perhaps no addition to the CFP format this season is more dramatic than the addition of first-round games on campus.

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CFP first-round action kicks off on Friday when No. 7 seed Notre Dame hosts No. 10 seed Indiana at Notre Dame Stadium. It continues on Saturday with a triple-header that starts with No. 6 Penn State hosting No. 11 SMU at Beaver Stadium. Then, No. 5 Texas hosts No. 12 Clemson at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium before No. 8 Ohio State hosts No. 9 Tennessee at Ohio Stadium in the nightcap.

The winners of the first-round games will advance to the CFP quarterfinals at four New Year's Six bowls against the top four seeds. From there, the winners of the quarterfinals will advance to the Orange and Cotton bowl semifinals, before the 2025 CFP national championship game.

But one question surrounds the four games that will take place across Friday and Saturday: Do their results count towards teams' bowl game records?

Here's what to know:

NCAA statement on CFP first-round games

Matt Holmes — the NCAA's assistant director of media coordination and statistics — responded to an email inquiry from the USA TODAY Network, saying first-round games will be counted toward teams' overall postseason records.

"Results from the first round of the College Football Playoff will be included with any previous bowl game or CFP national championship game results towards those participating schools' overall postseason record," Holmes said.

That falls in line with the NCAA's policy of counting bowl game stats as part of teams and players' official stats, a change that went into effect ahead of the 2002 college football season. (That in turn has led to one of the more interesting records chases this year, as Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty — who will not play in a first-round game — is in striking distance of Barry Sanders' official single-season NCAA rushing record, despite the latter not having his bowl game count toward his total).

Will CFP first-round games count as bowl games?

Among the teams who responded to an email inquiry from the USA TODAY Network, several said their first-round games were not likely to count as bowl games.

Notre Dame, Tennessee and Ohio State all indicated their respective first-round games will not count as bowl appearances. Instead, spokespersons from the schools said the programs likely will create an overarching "postseason record" to take the expanded CFP into account.

Claire Cunningham, Notre Dame's director of football communications, told the USA TODAY Network that the Fighting Irish's postseason record is "likely" to have two sub-categories: bowl record and playoff record, with the latter including CFP first-round games. Bowl games played in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the CFP would count toward both records.

Jerry Emig, associate athletic director of football communications at Ohio State, said the team "probably will" start a new postseason record that "would now include Ohio State’s record in all bowl games, conference championship games, first-round CFP games and CFP championship games." Quarterfinal and semifinal games would count toward Ohio State's bowl game record.

Tennessee's Bill Martin, associate AD of football communications, deferred official ruling to the NCAA, adding the Volunteers' Saturday game vs. Ohio State "would not necessarily be a 'bowl appearance.'"

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Ross Taylor, associate AD of football communication at Clemson, likewise deferred to the NCAA. However, he told the USA TODAY Network the team "preliminarily intends to count" Saturday's CFP first-round game toward its records "since, to date, the NCAA has previously counted all College Football Playoff contests (including CFP National Championship Games that are not branded as bowls) among its official bowl records."

Texas' John Bianco, senior associate AD for football communication, informed the USA TODAY Network that the Longhorns' athletic department will address the matter after the season concludes.

Penn State, Indiana and SMU did not respond to USA TODAY Network inquiries before publication of this article.

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Why are there first-round games in the CFP in 2024?

For the first time in the College Football Playoff era, the field for the CFP is expanding from four teams to 12. With an expanded field and more teams in the fight for the CFP national championship, first-round games held on campuses were added to the format.

But unlike the quarterfinal and semifinal games, these first-round matchups have no bowl game ties or affiliations, as they are being played on the campus of the four highest at-large teams.

That said, they are still being run by the College Football Playoff — not the home teams.

CFP first-round matchups

Here's a full list of each first-round matchup in the 2024-25 College Football Playoff, including start times and TV channel information:

Friday, Dec. 20

• No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame

Saturday, Dec. 21

• No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State

• No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas

• No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will CFP first-round games count toward bowl game record? What to know