Why are first-round College Football Playoff games on campus? Explaining 12-team CFP format

Let the playoffs commence.

A first-of-its-kind College Football Playoff officially kicks off Friday at 8 p.m. ET with No. 9 Indiana taking the three-hour-plus drive north US-31 to Notre Dame Stadium looking to upset No. 3 Notre Dame in a first-round matchup.

And as the round's location suggests, these first-round games are taking place on campus of the four highest at-large seeds — one of several differences from past years of the CFP.

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The four at-large teams that have received first-round games are No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Penn State and No. 7 Ohio State. Of the four first-round sites, three of them are in the top 20 of the toughest stadiums to play in EA Sports NCAA College Football 25.

Here's what you need to know on why first-round games of the College Football Playoffs are taking place on campus across Friday and Saturday:

Why are CFP first-round games on campus?

With the College Football Playoff field expanding to 12 teams, the CFP committee added first-round games at the site of the higher at-large teams to the new format.

The vote to include eight more teams took place in 2022 and was unanimous. It was originally set to be incorporated into the CFP format going into the 2026 college football season, but it was moved up two years to the 2024 season instead.

"We're delighted to be moving forward," Mississippi State president and former chairman of the CFP Board of Managers Bill Hancock said in 2022. "When the board expanded the playoff beginning in 2026 and asked the CFP Management Committee to examine the feasibility of starting the new format earlier, the Management Committee went right to work.

"More teams and more access mean more excitement for fans, alumni, students and student-athletes. We appreciate the leaders of the six bowl games and the two future national championship game host cities for their cooperation. Everyone realized that this change is in the best interest of college football and pulled together to make it happen."

With the first round including seven at-large teams, seeds No. 5-8 were rewarded home playoff games, — which can become quite the advantage for some teams when you factor in weather and stadium atmosphere into the equation. An example heading into this year's first-round games is SMU traveling from Dallas to State College, Pennsylvania to face Penn State, where it is notoriously known to be cold in December.

However, it won't be an entire home-field advantage for the Irish, Longhorns, Nittany Lions and Buckeyes. The College Football Playoff will control the music and in-game presentations — including the jumbotron — rather than the home teams.

"The in-game atmosphere is going to be a little bit more controlled by the CFP. Our staff will do it, but the scripting, how music is played (is CFP)," Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said last Thursday Columbus' 97.1 The Fan. "Like Tennessee will have an intro video when their team runs on the field. We wouldn’t do that for a normal visiting team. But we’ll be able to do a lot of similar things we do now. The script will be a little more tame, if you will, than what the CFP will allow."

CFP format explained

Following the first round, each of the four winners will advance to four New York Six bowls — which will serve as the quarterfinals — against the top four seeds.

Of note: There will be no "re-seeding" to the bracket following the first round. This means No. 1 will play the winner of the No. 8/No. 9 game; No. 2 will play No. 7/No. 10; No. 3 will play No. 6/No. 11 and No. 4 will play No. 5/No. 12.

So the winner of No. 12 Clemson vs. No. 5 Texas will play No. 4 Arizona State in the Peach Bowl, winner of No. 11 SMU vs. No. 6 Penn State will play No. 3 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, winner of No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 7 Notre Dame will play No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and winner of No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State will play No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

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CFP first-round games, matchups

The lone CFP first-round game on Friday, Dec. 20 is No. 10 seed Indiana at No. 7 seed Notre Dame at 8 p.m. ET inside Notre Dame Stadium — which also happens to be the first meeting between the state of Indiana programs since 1991.

The other three first-round matchups will take place on Saturday, Dec. 21 starting with No. 11 seed SMU paying a visit to Happy Valley and No. 6 seed Penn State at noon ET. Then No. 12 seed Clemson will face No. 5 seed Texas at 4 p.m. ET, before No. 8 seed Ohio State hosts No. 9 Tennessee under the lights for an 8 p.m. ET kick-off.

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

All times Eastern

• Friday, Dec. 20

  • No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame | 8 p.m. | ABC/ESPN (Fubo)

• Saturday, Dec. 21

  • No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State | noon | TNT (SlingTV)

  • No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas | 4 p.m. | TNT (SlingTV)

  • No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State | 8 p.m. | ABC/ESPN (Fubo)

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why are first-round College Football Playoff games on campus?