CIF Southern Section football playoffs; Top 10 openers to watch (2024)

FAQs

How does CIF Southern Section playoffs work? ›

Football playoffs were organized by regular-season performance in the 2023 season according to where teams finished in the Calpreps.com ratings system. Other CIF-SS team sports now will use a similar system to place teams into playoff divisions starting with the 2024-25 school year.

Starting in the 2024-25 season, here's the new, expanded format to know: 12 teams will be selected to the Playoff field. The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded 1-4 and each will receive a first-round bye.

On Sunday, Dec. 3, the CFP Selection Committee released the final set of rankings for the 2023-24 season. Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama comprised the top 4 that'll compete in the College Football Playoff in the final year before the expanded format is introduced.

The four highest-ranked conference champions will earn the top four seeds and receive a first-round bye. The other eight teams will play in the first round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or "at other sites designated by the higher-seeded institution."

As of Jun 11, 2024, the average annual pay for a Cif in the United States is $53,326 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $25.64 an hour.

Mercy Rule – At the conclusion of the third quarter or any point thereafter, if there is a point differential of 35 or more points, a running clock shall be instituted for the remainder of the game regardless of the score.

The Power Five conferences are the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and Southeastern Conference (SEC). The FBS consists of the Power Five, five other conferences known as the Group of Five (G5), and a small number of independent schools.

The 2024-25 College Football Playoff marks the 11th year of the CFP era and the first year that the Playoff is seeing a 12-team format.

The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Who is the top four in college football? ›

The postseason tournament will grow from four teams to 12. As of now, the 12 teams in the bracket will include the six highest-rated conference champions, according to the CFP Rankings, and the next six highest-ranked programs. The top four conference champions will get byes into the quarterfinals.

Did you know that college athletes can now make money? They are not paid by their colleges or universities, but they can receive gifts from boosters; make deals with companies to use their names, images and likenesses; and endorse products.

The CFP's Board of Managers voted Tuesday to reduce the number of automatic qualifiers from six to five, creating an additional at-large bid for the next two seasons. The new model — colloquially, the “5+7” — includes the five highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large bids.

The new deal

For 2024 and 2025, the format is set as a 5+7, 12-team model, which grants automatic qualifying spots to the five highest-ranked champions and seven at-large spots to the next highest-ranked teams. The new revenue distribution model shook the college athletics landscape for its disparities.

Each championship divisional tournament bracket will be maintained at 32 team draws, depending on the number of entries submitted. In divisions where there are more than 32 automatic qualifiers, "wild card" games will be played to reduce the field to accommodate the bracket of 32 teams.

In order to be considered for the playoffs, the school must have a . 500 or better record in all contests played and there must be openings in the bracket. Additionally, teams that win 80% of their contests played will be guaranteed entry.

In the past, teams would know which playoff division they're competing in prior to the season starting based on previous years' performance. But now, like football, teams will be judged for the current season and placed into playoff divisions based off computer rankings.

How Does the Playoff Bracket Work? Once the seven teams are picked, they are each assigned a seed number based on their record and any required tiebreaking factors. The winningest team is the 1 seed, the team with the most losses is the 7 seed, and everyone else fills in accordingly.