It's the most exciting time of the year for college football fans. The first set of College Football Playoff Committee rankings is upon us. The scandals and storylines are heating up, the number of undefeated teams left drops every week, and it's time to see who has a shot to compete for a national title in January.
Last year's big story was TCU's incredible run to the College Football Playoff National Championship, and this year, we are spoiled for choice on the biggest stories of the season just ahead of the first ranking by the committee. How will the committee factor the evolving investigation into Michigan's sign stealing? Will the Pac-12 be able to get a team into the playoff in their swan song year? Since it's looking likely, could a team like Washington or Oregon win it all? Which one-loss teams does the committee think are the real deal? And are any of them outside the normal landscape of college football?
There's a lot to be excited about, but the rankings are always a big process. Here's everything you need to know about how to watch the College Football Playoff rankings release show.
How to watch the College Football Playoff rankings release show
Date: 10/31
Time: 7:00 p.m. (EDT)
TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN.com, ESPN+
Happy Halloween! The first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Tuesday, October 31. ESPN will continue to be the home for the College Football Playoffs, both the ranking show and the games later in the season. The show airs at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It typically includes a rundown of the committees' rankings, a short interview with a committee member, and some analysis.
This will be the first of six rankings, with a new one dropping each Tuesday through November 28. The final set of rankings comes on Sunday, December 3.
College Football Playoff format
How does the actual ranking committee work? Well, here's the format. There are 13 committee members from different universities around the country. Some of them are from big-name institutions, and others are from less football-oriented environments.
Each week, the committee ranks their top 25 teams in the country. The top four teams are in slots to advance to the national semifinals and have a shot at winning a title. This is the last season in which only four teams will make the College Football Playoff, with expansion to a 12-team format coming in 2024.
The committee is only choosing who will play in the playoff, though. The rankings are not the end-all-be-all for all of the different bowls that make up college football's postseason. While they do become the standardized set of rankings outlets will use on their broadcast score bugs, the rest of the postseason system is still very decentralized.
This year, there are two members of the committee from Notre Dame, one from Michigan and one from Washington. Those are all schools with high aspirations. So, how does the committee handle their presence?
Well, there are guidelines for how each committee member is supposed to behave. For example, each committee member recuses themselves whenever a vote about their school comes up. They are only allowed to answer factual questions about the university and its athletics. Plus, there are strict guidelines governing the relationships their family members can have with their affiliated universities.
In a time when sports scandals are all over and maintaining the legitimacy of different leagues and organizations is the highest priority, the College Football Playoff Committee has done a good job of staying above reproach. While the committee always stirs up controversy any time a new ranking drops, they've avoided any of the massive betting and other conflict of interest scandals other sports have faced.
Now you know how to watch the College Football Playoff rankings release show.
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