format for ncaa college football playoffs leaked a long time ago...

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Bowl selections[edit]

The four-team bracket will pit the No. 1-ranked team against No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3. The selection committee will seed the two semifinal games to prevent the top two seeds from playing in a "road" environment. There will be no limits on the number of teams per conference, in a change from previous BCS rules.[3] Bowl selections will not be determined by conference "automatic qualifier" berths, as used in the BCS, though there will be conference tie-ins for certain non-semifinal bowl games along with an annual guaranteed spot for a mid-major representative.[6]
In years when the bowls are not part of the playoff bracket, the highest-ranked non-playoff teams from the following conferences or groups will be selected as follows:[21]
Rose Bowl — Big Ten #1 vs. Pac-12 #1
Sugar Bowl — SEC #1 vs. Big 12 #1
Orange Bowl — ACC #1 vs. SEC #2, Big Ten #2, or Notre Dame
Cotton Bowl — at-large or "Group of Five"
Fiesta Bowl — at-large or "Group of Five"
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl — at-large or "Group of Five"

Additional selection criteria

The highest-ranked champion from the so-called "Group of Five" mid-major conferences (American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt) is guaranteed a berth if the group's top team is not in the playoff.[21]
The remaining five at-large bids will be determined by committee rankings.[21]
If the Big Ten or SEC champion is available for a non-playoff bowl in a year when the Rose and Sugar Bowls are hosting semifinals, that team will appear in either the Cotton, Fiesta, or Peach bowls, but not the Orange Bowl.[21]
In the Orange Bowl, the SEC and Big Ten are guaranteed at least three appearances during the eight non-playoff years, while Notre Dame can only appear a maximum of twice.[22]
In non-playoff years, if the Orange Bowl matchup creates a regular-season rematch for the ACC representative, the bowl may choose to "skip over" the prescribed opponent from the SEC/Big Ten/Notre Dame group and select the next highest-ranked team from the group. The team that was rejected would be placed in one of the three at-large bowls, if it meets ranking standards.[23]

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