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College Football Playoff History: Full List of Champions, Brackets, & Appearances
The 2025-26 College Football Playoff is just days away with the first round of the playoff taking place on Dec. 19 and Dec. 20.
On Friday, the CFP will see No. 9 Alabama kick off the playoff against No. 8 Oklahoma. The following day, the action continues with matchups between No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 James Madison, No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Tulane and No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami.
This year marks the second edition of the 12-team CFP bracket and the 12th overall edition of the CFP. The CFP began in 2014, and originally included four teams vying for the national championship. That format held until 2024-25, when the playoff expanded to include 12 teams.
Even with more teams making the playoff and having a shot at the national championship than ever before, there is no less controversy. This year, Notre Dame was surprisingly left out of the bracket while Alabama and Miami made it in instead. There is now talk about whether the CFP should expand even more going forward—which surely would erase any displeasure with the current format.
This, however, is ultimately not about the teams that didn’t make it in, but rather, the teams that have competed in the CFP since the format was first introduced a little over a decade ago. Before this year’s CFP begins, here’s a look back at every CFP champion, bracket and team that’s appeared in the playoff to this point.
Full List of CFP Champions
Year | Champion |
|---|---|
2014 | Ohio State |
2015 | Alabama |
2016 | Clemson |
2017 | Alabama |
2018 | Clemson |
2019 | LSU |
2020 | Alabama |
2021 | Georgia |
2022 | Georgia |
2023 | Michigan |
2024 | Ohio State |
Every College Football Playoff Bracket
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
2025-26
Full List of Teams With CFP Appearances
School | Number of Appearances | Years |
|---|---|---|
Alabama | 9 | 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2025 |
Ohio State | 7 | 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024, 2025 |
Clemson | 7 | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024 |
Georgia | 5 | 2017, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 |
Oklahoma | 5 | 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2025 |
Michigan | 3 | 2021, 2022, 2023 |
Notre Dame | 3 | 2018, 2020, 2024 |
Oregon | 3 | 2014, 2024, 2025 |
Indiana | 2 | 2024, 2025 |
Texas | 2 | 2023, 2024 |
Washington | 2 | 2016, 2023 |
Florida State | 1 | 2014 |
Michigan State | 1 | 2015 |
LSU | 1 | 2019 |
Cincinnati | 1 | 2021 |
TCU | 1 | 2022 |
Penn State | 1 | 2024 |
SMU | 1 | 2024 |
Boise State | 1 | 2024 |
Arizona State | 1 | 2024 |
Tennessee | 1 | 2024 |
Ole Miss | 1 | 2025 |
Miami | 1 | 2025 |
Texas Tech | 1 | 2025 |
Texas A&M | 1 | 2025 |
James Madison | 1 | 2025 |
Tulane | 1 | 2025 |
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Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.