Why it matters: More teams will have a shot at competing for a national championship as the field expands beyond the traditional four-team setup.
Yes, but: Tripling the number of playoff slots still may not be enough to help the beleaguered University of Washington Huskies, whose record is 5-4 this season.
The latest: The UW — despite playing for last year's championship — didn't make the top 25 in this year's first CFP rankings, which came out Tuesday.
Washington State University was 21st in the rankings, while Oregon was No. 1.
How it works: CFP rankings, which determine whether a team will be in the playoffs, will be released each Tuesday leading up to the final list on Sunday, Dec. 8.
The five highest-ranked conference champions will automatically be in the playoffs. The top four of that group will be seeded No. 1-4 and will have a first-round bye.
Teams No. 5 -12 will play each other in a bracket-style Round 1 on Dec. 20-21, with the higher-ranked school hosting the game.
For example: No. 5 will play at No. 12, and No. 8 will play at No. 9, etc.
What's next: The winners will go on to play the four conference champions in the quarterfinals in the New Year's bowl games (the Fiesta, Peach, Rose and Sugar bowls).
The victorsof those gameswill play in the semifinals on Jan. 9 (Orange Bowl) and Jan. 10 (Cotton Bowl) for a trip to the Jan. 20 National Championship in Atlanta.
