College Football Playoff: 2023-2024 Schedule and Matchups

Michigan defeated Washington 34-13 in the 2023-2024 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 8.

The Wolverines’ national championship is their first since 1997, although they split that honor with the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the time.

This year marks the final four-team College Football Playoff: The championship will move to a 12-team format next year.

Here’s what you need to know about the 2023-2024 College Football Playoff:

Big Ten champion Michigan, with marquee wins over Ohio State and Penn State, was ranked No. 1 in the nation by the College Football Playoff committee and defeated both Alabama and Washington on their march to an undefeated season and a national championship.

Michigan defeated No. 4 Alabama in overtime in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day to advance to the championship game.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh returned to the team’s sidelines for the Big Ten Championship shutout win against Iowa. Harbaugh had previously been serving a three-game suspension imposed by the Big Ten over the NCAA’s sign-stealing investigation, although he has denied knowledge of the in-person scouting and sign-stealing scandal.

Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore led the team to key wins over Penn State and Ohio State in Harbaugh’s absence.

The 2023-2024 playoff marked the Wolverines’ third consecutive playoff appearance, with Michigan playing in the 2021 and 2022 College Football Playoff semifinals.

Undefeated Washington beat then-No.5 Oregon in the PAC-12 Championship to sail into the College Football Playoff as the No. 2 team in the country.

Washington secured their spot in the title game by defeating Texas 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.

In addition to beating fellow PAC-12 (and future Big Ten) opponent Oregon twice in the 2023 season, Washington also defeated Oregon State, Utah, USC, and other key ranked opponents during the regular season to ensure a playoff berth.

This was Washington’s second appearance in the College Football Playoff, having previously appeared in the semifinal in 2016 — where they lost to Alabama.

Texas defeated fellow playoff contender Alabama 34-24 in early September as the Longhorns began a long march toward their first College Football Playoff appearance.

Texas’ only loss of the 2023 regular season came to Oklahoma in October, with the Sooners beating the Longhorns 34-30. Texas later beat Oklahoma State in dominant fashion for the Big 12 Championship.

The team is moving to the SEC next year.

The College Football Playoff committee elected to include Alabama as the No. 4 team in the playoff after its SEC Championship defeat of two-time defending national champion Georgia — leaving out undefeated ACC champion Florida State.

Alabama’s win over long-undefeated Georgia, coupled with previous wins over fellow-ranked SEC teams like LSU and Mississippi, was enough for the committee to negate an early season loss to Texas and propel the Crimson Tide into the playoff.

2023 marked Alabama’s eighth appearance in the College Football Playoff — the most of any team. The Tide returns to the top four after missing the cut last year; they also did not make the 2019 College Football Playoff.

Michigan defeated Alabama 27-20 in overtime on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

The semifinal was the sixth all-time meeting between Alabama and Michigan, according to the Rose Bowl website. Michigan’s win tied the series up at 3-3. The teams previously met in the 2019 Citrus Bowl, where Alabama defeated Michigan 35-16.

Washington defeated Texas 37-31 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans following the Michigan-Alabama game.

Washington and Texas are familiar opponents: The pair faced off in the 2022 Valero Alamo Bowl, with Washington beating Texas 27-20. Both teams were vying to make their first appearance in the National Championship game.

The Florida State Seminoles, despite being undefeated and winning the ACC championship, were left out of the playoff.

Alabama vaulted Florida State to get into the playoff after the Crimson Tide defeated Georgia, the two-time defending national champion, in the SEC championship.

Florida State coach Mike Norvell blasted the committee’s decision to leave the undefeated Seminoles out of the playoff, saying in a statement that he was disgusted and infuriated.

CFP committee Chair Boo Corrigan pointed to Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis’ mid-November season-ending injury in an ESPN interview, saying that without Jordan Travis, without the offensive dynamic he brings, they are a different team and the committee voted Alabama four and Florida State five.

Travis himself wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he was devastated by the decision.

Teams have had past success in the College Football Playoff without their starting quarterback. Ohio State in 2014 lost quarterback Braxton Miller before the start of the season — and redshirt first-year quarterback J.T. Barrett broke his ankle when the Buckeyes played Michigan that November — but former third-string quarterback Cardale Jones led the team to a national championship in the inaugural College Football Playoff.

The Georgia Bulldogs beat Florida State 63-3 in the Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens on Saturday, Dec. 30.