New College Football Playoff Era Begins Under Friday Night Lights

The first 12-team College Football Playoff is finally here.

More than two years after CFP expansion was green-lit for 2024, Notre Dame will host Indiana on Friday night in the first of four first-round Playoff games to officially kick off college football’s new postseason tournament.

Beyond being the first game in the CFP’s 12-team era, Friday night’s game is historic on several other fronts, too:

• Indiana–Notre Dame is the first CFP game played on a school’s campus, which is creating some unique logistical circumstances.
• ABC and ESPN, which are simulcasting the matchup, are becoming the first non-NBC networks since 1990 to broadcast a Fighting Irish home game.
• South Bend, Ind., is also hosting the first leg of what ESPN believes are the first back-to-back editions of College GameDay, which will be in Columbus on Saturday morning.

Fans in South Bend woke up Friday morning to a snow-covered Notre Dame Stadium, but weather forecasts don’t call for more snow ahead of kickoff at 8 p.m. ET.

High Drama and Big Business

The expanded CFP created dramatic off-field storylines all season long, and the 12-team bracket’s long-awaited reveal two weekends ago created some big business for all parties involved:

• The Big Ten topped all other conferences with four CFP bids (worth at least $20 million in guaranteed payouts), followed by three for the SEC ($16 million) and two for the ACC ($8 million).
• Controversy surrounded SMU’s entry and Alabama’s snub, while Boise State became the first Group of 5 school to reach the CFP, and two former Pac-12 schools earned first-round byes.
• Amid debate over the strength of schedules, the 12 CFP teams paid at least $26.9 million for regular-season matchups with Group of 5 and FCS teams.
• TNT Sports is set to broadcast its first CFP games, which will go head-to-head with two nationally televised NFL matchups.

After this weekend’s first-round games, the Playoff’s quarterfinals and semis will play out across the New Year’s Six bowls—college football’s most historic and traditional games. The CFP national championship game will take place in Atlanta on Jan. 20, which is the latest date the game has ever been played.