Razorback Fans Can Now Start Planning for College Football Playoffs

Optimists who foresee Arkansas finishing in college football Top 12 can now request off

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Apr 27, 2023 4:18 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Despite being ranked in the Top 10 each of the past two seasons, the Arkansas Razorbacks have never been a threat to make the College Football Playoff, but that could change in 2024 with the expansion to 12 teams.

Hog fans who fall under the eternally optimistic category can now start planning time off as the CFP management committee has set its dates for the inaugural 12-team format.

The first ever playoff game under this design will take place on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, followed by three more games the following Saturday.

Progress has also been made toward confirming midweek games for the quarterfinals with indications being that New Year's Day will feature three games while the other either falls on New Year's Eve or Jan. 2, 2025. The idea behind the midweek dates is to avoid conflicting with the NFL.

Technically, a playoff game could be held in Razorback Stadium in 2024. Teams seeded 5-8 get to host opening round games at home. If for some reason that's not possible, teams with those seeds get to pick the venue.

As for tickets, season ticket holders will still get the same opportunity they would at normal home games. However, how the rest o the tickets are handled will be different as the committee is looking for a standardized way to make this as close to a typical bowl game experience as possible for visiting teams.

As for the quarterfinals and semifinals, they will be played in bowl games on a rotating basis. In 2024, the quarterfinals will take place in the Peach, Fiesta, Rose and Sugar Bowls. The semifinals will be at the Orange Bowl in Miami and the Cotton Bowl in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. In 2025, the Fiesta and Peach Bowls slide into the semifinals slot.

The first national championship game in this format will take place on SEC turf, Jan. 20, 2025, in Atlanta. The following season it will technically be on ACC soil on Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami, but that's still within the SEC footprint.

Administrators in the SEC offices will keep a close eye on all remaining meetings taking place with the CFP management committee as one major point of discussion on the docket is expanded media rights for carrying the games and how that money will be distributed to the conferences and schools playing in the games.

So, to rephrase all of that – more SEC teams and more SEC money.