Are you a college football fan? If so, you’re undoubtedly caught up in the thralls of the 2019 regular season.
But while the regular season is good enough for now, it’s not the end-all-be-all. Don’t forget about the postseason and particularly, the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Looking to learn a little more about this year’s playoff? You’re in the right place.
In this article, we’ll discuss not only its time and location but a bevy of other information surrounding it as well.
Where are the Semi-Finals Being Played?
As you probably already know, the College Football Playoff Semi-Final games will involve the top 4 teams in the country as ranked by the College Football Playoff Committee.
The locations of these games change yearly but are narrowed down to just 6 locations. These locations include Miami, FL, Pasadena, CA, Dallas-Forth Worth, TX, Glendale, AZ, New Orleans, LA, and Atlanta, GA.
Game 1
The first semi-final game of the 2019-2020 College Football Playoff will be played in Glendale, Arizona at State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals.
This game will be labeled as the Fiesta Bowl and will involve either the #1 and #4 ranked teams or the #2 and #3 ranked teams. It will be played on December 28, 2019.
Game 2
The second semi-final game of the 2019-2020 College Football Playoff will be played in Atlanta, Georgia at Mercedez-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons.
This game will be labeled as the Peach Bowl and will, like Game 1, will involve either the #1 and #4 ranked teams or the #2 and #3 ranked teams. This game will also be played on December 28, 2019.
Where is the Championship Game Being Played?
For many people, the Championship game is the most exciting thing going on at this point of the year.
It will be played in New Orleans, Lousiana at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints. It’s scheduled for the night of January 13, 2020, which is a Monday.
Who are the Favorites to Make the Playoff?
There is no shortage of college football teams which could make the College Football Playoff. At this point, almost every team in the country is still in the running.
Of course, we all know how college football goes. Several teams dominate on a yearly basis and stand a much greater chance of making it into the playoff by the end of the year.
The question is: who are these teams?
Well, Alabama and Clemson are near givens at this point. They’ve made the last 4 College Football Playoffs and appear primed to make it into another one. With the talent they have on both sides of the ball, it’s difficult to imagine either one of them missing out.
After those two teams, it gets a little more complex.
There are a few teams that are constantly in the running but don’t quite make it into the playoff every season. These teams primarily include Oklahoma and Ohio State, though you could probably throw Georgia into the mix as well.
Other contenders include Michigan, LSU Tigers, Notre Dame, Florida, and Texas.
Of course, it wouldn’t be unbelievable for a lower-ranked team to have a Cinderella season and work its way in either.
How are Playoff Participants Selected?
Now, if you’re unfamiliar with the College Football Playoff, you’re probably also unfamiliar with how participants are selected. Overall, the process is fairly straightforward, though it does tend to lead to a good deal of controversy.
Simply put, the participants for the College Football Playoff are selected by a committee. This committee is known as the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, and it consists of a variety of athletic personnel throughout Divison I universities. For instance, the current chairman of the committee is the University of Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens.
Wondering how the committee makes its selections? It’s based on head-to-head matchups, strength-of-schedule, margin-of-victory, and a variety of other factors.
Each committee member votes for his or her top-25 teams, ranking them as he or she sees fit. Then, the average rankings are taken from all committee members and used to find an overall ranking.
Note that committee members can not rank their own schools. So, Rob Mullens, for example, would not be allowed to rank the University of Oregon.
Rankings are updated weekly, changing various times throughout the season. After the final regular-season games are played, the final rankings are released. Then, the top 4 teams in these rankings are selected for participation in the College Football Playoff.
The #1-ranked team plays the #4-ranked team in the semi-finals while the #2-ranked team plays the #3-ranked team in the semi-finals. The winners of these games then play each other in the Championship game.
College Football Playoff National Championship History
As you might already know, the College Football Playoff National Championship is a fairly new game. It was first played in 2014, crowning the champion of the 2013 college football regular season.
This championship game was preceded by the BCS National Championship Game, a game that involved no playoff and was often criticized for bias-based matchups.
The College Football Playoff National Championship Game aims to crown the most deserving team in college football, doing so by forcing the country’s 4 best teams to actually compete head-to-head.
Though the playoff selections are annually criticized, the criticism toward them is nowhere near as strong nor as founded as the criticism aimed toward the choices for the BCS National Championship Game.
There has been some talk about expanding the size of the playoff. However, as of right now, there is nothing officially in the works.
Buy Tickets for the College Football Playoff
Are you hoping to make it to the College Football Playoff? In need of tickets? If so, Barry’s Tickets has you covered.
We’re selling tickets for both the Semi-Finals and Championship games, allowing you to find solid seats at a reasonable price.
Whether you’re on the cheap or expensive end of the price spectrum, we can accommodate you. Check out our College Football Playoff tickets now!
