2023–24 College Football Playoff

The 2023–24 College Football Playoff was a single-elimination postseason tournament that determined the national champion of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the tenth edition of the College Football Playoff (CFP) and involved the top four teams in the country as ranked by the College Football Playoff poll playing in two semifinals with the winners of each advancing to the national championship game. Each participating team was the champion of its respective conference: No. 1 Michigan from the Big Ten Conference, No. 2 Washington from the Pac-12 Conference, No. 3 Texas from the Big 12 Conference, and No. 4 Alabama from the Southeastern Conference. Significant media criticism arose from the exclusion of Florida State, the first undefeated Power Five conference champion to be left out of the CFP.

The playoff bracket's semifinal games were held at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, part of the season's slate of bowl games. In the Rose Bowl semifinal, Michigan defeated Alabama in overtime, 27–20. The second semifinal, at the Sugar Bowl, saw Washington defeat Texas, 37–31. By virtue of their victories, Michigan and Washington faced each other in the national championship game, held on January 8 in Houston. In the championship game, Michigan had an effective start to the game on offense and held a seven-point halftime lead, which they were able to expand in the second half. Two touchdowns in the fourth quarter helped them pull away and secure a 34–13 victory for their first national championship since 1997. Their win gave them a 15–0 record to conclude the season, making them the fourth FBS national champions to finish the season with such a record.

This playoff was the last to use the four-team bracket format; the playoff's board of managers announced in December 2022 that the tournament will expand to 12 teams beginning with its 2024–25 edition. Broadcast on ESPN, it was the most viewed playoff since the 2017–18 edition and was shortly followed by a six-year, $7.8 billion extension of the media rights agreement between ESPN and the CFP.

Bracket

Selection and teams

The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee for the 2023 season was chaired by NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan and consisted of former Nevada head coach and athletic director Chris Ault, Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuck, former Wake Forest, Baylor, and Ohio head coach Jim Grobe, Utah athletic director Mark Harlan, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, Miami (OH) athletic director David Sayler, former NFL player Will Shields, Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor, Virginia Union athletic director and former head coach Joe Taylor, Notre Dame trustee and former Sugar Bowl president Rod West, and former college football reporter Kelly Whiteside. Bill Hancock continued in his position as CFP executive director, which he has held since the organization's conception in 2012.

The College Football Playoff poll released its first rankings on October 31, 2023, with the top six teams consisting of Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, Washington, and Oregon. After no change in the top six from week nine to week ten, the next two rankings released saw only two changes at the top of the poll. In the November 14 rankings, Georgia jumped Ohio State to become the new No. 1 team following their victory over No. 9 Ole Miss, and another swap took place the following week when Washington was bumped to No. 4 in place of Florida State after the Huskies' road win against No. 11 Oregon State. Ohio State lost to Michigan to conclude the regular season, dropping them from No. 2 to No. 6 and moving Michigan, Washington, Florida State, and Oregon up one spot each. Each team in the penultimate top six qualified for their respective conference championship game. Michigan defeated Iowa in the Big Ten Championship to mark their third consecutive conference title; the Associated Press said that Iowa "never had a chance" in the game and remarked that Michigan was likely to take the top ranking for the playoff. Similarly, Washington won the Pac-12 Championship with their second win of the year against Oregon; the Huskies won an October 14 game between the teams by three points and claimed the conference title with another three-point win. The SEC Championship matched No. 1 Georgia and No. 8 Alabama and resulted in a three-point Alabama upset victory and Georgia's first loss of the season. Florida State, who lost their starting quarterback Jordan Travis in their next-to-last regular season game against North Alabama, and were also without backup Tate Rodemaker due to a concussion suffered the next game, turned to Brock Glenn for their ACC Championship matchup with No. 14 Louisville. Despite the depleted roster, the Seminoles won 16–6.

The four teams competing in the playoff were determined by the selection committee's final rankings, which were released on December 3, 2023. Michigan and Washington were generally seen as guaranteed bids while the teams in the final two spots were more debated between Florida State, Texas, and Alabama in particular. Florida State's injury problems, particularly to Travis, were seen as a liability and potentially a reason to exclude them, though many analysts urged for their inclusion on the basis of their undefeated record and conference championship. Alabama and Texas were both one-loss conference champions, though Texas held the head-to-head advantage after defeating the Crimson Tide by ten points in early September. The Longhorns' sole loss had come by four points to No. 12 Oklahoma.

Key:

Selection committee

Exclusion of Florida State

Ultimately, the committee selected Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama to participate in the playoff, while opting to exclude Florida State. This marked the first time an undefeated Power Five team had been left out of the playoff, a decision that was met with significant criticism from the media. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips also criticized the committee, calling the decision "unfathomable". An antitrust investigation into the CFP was launched by Ashley Moody, the attorney general of Florida, and Governor Ron DeSantis, in the midst of his presidential campaign, proposed setting aside $1 million to help Florida State with legal fees in suing the CFP. In response to a letter from Senator Rick Scott, executive director Bill Hancock cited Travis's injury and a lower strength of schedule as the cause of FSU's exclusion; according to the ESPN Football Power Index, Florida State's strength of schedule ranked No. 55 in the FBS, while Michigan's, the lowest of the four playoff teams, was No. 33. The Seminoles finished with the No. 5 ranking and were matched with No. 6 Georgia in the Orange Bowl, where they lost by a bowl game-record sixty points. The selections of Alabama and Texas were also of note in that they were ranked No. 8 and No. 7, respectively, in the next-to-last CFP rankings, marking the first time a team ranked lower than No. 6 in the penultimate poll ( 2017 Georgia and 2019 Oklahoma) qualified for the playoff. This edition marked the CFP debut for the Longhorns, while Alabama made their eighth appearance, Michigan their third, and Washington their second.

Playoff games

Semifinals

Rose Bowl

The playoff began on January 1 with the Rose Bowl matchup between Michigan and Alabama, the sixth all-time meeting between the teams. After each team went three-and-out on their first possession of the game, the scoring began with a 34-yard touchdown rush by Alabama running back Jase McClellan. Michigan tied the game on their next drive as quarterback J. J. McCarthy passed to running back Blake Corum for a score with just under four and a half minutes remaining in the first quarter. The score remained 7–7 for the next quarter-plus of game time; the next five successive drives ended in punts and the deadlock was broken with under four minutes left in the half when McCarthy passed to Tyler Morris for a 38-yard touchdown. The ensuing extra point attempt was unsuccessful, which kept the Michigan lead to six points; Alabama narrowed it to three points on their final drive of the half with a 50-yard field goal by Will Reichard, and Michigan knelt to end the half. The second half began with each team punting on its first two drives until Alabama took the lead with a McClellan 3-yard touchdown rush on the second play of the fourth quarter. A three-and-out followed for Michigan but Alabama fumbled, returning the ball to the Wolverines around midfield. A 20-yard pass from McCarthy to Roman Wilson on the next play advanced Michigan to the Alabama 31-yard line but they stalled and attempted a 49-yard field goal several plays later, which was unsuccessful. Alabama then pushed their lead to seven points as a nine-play drive ended with a 52-yard field goal converted by Reichard, and Michigan responded with an eight-play touchdown drive capped with a pass from McCarthy to Wilson, tying the game at twenty points apiece. Neither team scored on their final possession of regulation and the game went into overtime. It was the second Rose Bowl and the third CFP game to reach overtime. Michigan received the ball first in overtime and scored a touchdown in two plays, both rushes by Corum, giving them a 27–20 lead. Alabama reached 1st & Goal from the Michigan 9-yard line by their third play of the overtime period but gained a net total of six yards over the next three plays, setting up 4th & Goal from the 3-yard line. Needing to score a touchdown to prolong the game, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe rushed up the middle on a quarterback keeper but was stopped two yards short of the goal line by Derrick Moore, ending the game and giving Michigan a seven-point win and a berth to the national championship.

Sugar Bowl

Washington and Texas met in the Sugar Bowl for the second playoff semifinal; it was the sixth all-time meeting between the two. Texas received the ball first and punted to end the possession. Washington opened the scoring with a touchdown on their first drive; after quarterback Michael Penix Jr. passed to wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk for a 77-yard gain on their third play, running back Dillon Johnson scored on a 2-yard rush on the next play. After Texas tied the game with a Jaydon Blue rushing touchdown on their next drive, each team punted once before Washington scored to regain the lead on the fourth play of the second quarter. Texas was then forced to punt but the kick was muffed by Germie Bernard and recovered by Texas at the Washington 22-yard line; they scored three plays later. Both teams scored another touchdown before halftime, making the score 21–21. The Huskies began the second half by scoring thirteen unanswered points; Penix passed to Jalen McMillan for a touchdown on their first drive of the third quarter and made field goals on each of their next two drives while holding Texas to two fumbles and a punt in the same span. In their recap of the game, the ''Houston Chronicle'' called this stretch of "disastrous" for Texas. Washington punted for the first time in the half with just over eleven minutes remaining in the contest; Adonai Mitchell finished Texas's next drive with a rushing touchdown before the teams traded field goals on their subsequent drives. Washington was unable to run the clock down to the maximum extent possible due to an injury suffered by Johnson, so their punt, which returned the ball to Texas at their own 31-yard line, was downed with forty-one seconds to play. The Longhorns reached the Washington 12-yard line in five plays, leaving fifteen seconds on the clock. Their next three plays resulted in no yardage gained and they failed to score on 4th & Goal with no time remaining, giving Washington a six-point victory.

Championship

Michigan and Washington met for the national championship on January 8, a week after the playing of the semifinals. Michigan entered as betting favorites by a 4.5-point spread and received the ball to begin the game. Both teams scored on their opening drives, with the Wolverines' Donovan Edwards rushing for a 41-yard touchdown and Washington placekicker Grady Gross converting a 25-yard field goal. Michigan scored again on their second drive, this time after four plays, on another long Edwards rush of forty-plus yards; a field goal by James Turner a minute and a half into the second quarter extended Michigan's lead to fourteen points. A Washington turnover on downs, caused by an incomplete pass on 4th & 7, two punts, and a Michigan turnover on downs followed before Washington recorded their first touchdown of the contest on a 3-yard pass from Penix to McMillan. Michigan received the ball with forty-two seconds left but punted, and the half ended 17–10 in favor of the Wolverines. Michigan's lead returned to double-digits shortly into the second half; on the first play from scrimmage, Will Johnson intercepted a Penix pass at the Washington 32-yard line, leading to a 38-yard Michigan field goal eight plays later. Washington scored a field goal of their own on the subsequent series—a Gross kick from 45 yards out—to return the deficit to seven points. Six consecutive punts followed, three by each team; a 41-yard pass from McCarthy to Colston Loveland with about nine minutes to play in the game began a five-play series which ended the scoring drought via a Corum 12-yard rushing touchdown. Michigan's lead was extended further with another interception, this time by Mike Sainristil, which was returned 81 yards to set up a two-play touchdown drive. This was the last score of the game; Washington's last offensive possession ended with a turnover on downs on an incompletion by Penix intended for Devin Culp. Michigan got the ball back with 1:40 to play and opted for a Corum rush followed by two plays in victory formation, ending the game and securing a national championship.

Aftermath

Michigan's national championship victory was their first since claiming a share of the 1997 national title, which they split with Nebraska; their last outright national championship came in 1948. They finished the season 15–0, making them the fourth FBS national champions to do so. All three playoff games were broadcast by ESPN; the 2023–24 playoff was the most viewed since the 2017–18 edition, which featured a double-overtime Rose Bowl and an overtime national championship.

In the weeks following the playoff, three of the four coaches of the participating teams left their programs: Alabama's Nick Saban retired on January 10, Washington's Kalen DeBoer was hired to replace Saban on January 12, and Michigan's Jim Harbaugh took an NFL head coaching job with the Los Angeles Chargers on January 24. This left Texas's Steve Sarkisian as the only one of the four to remain with his team for the 2024 season. This was the last playoff to feature a four-team format, as the next year's edition will expand to feature twelve teams, as announced by the CFP board of managers in December 2022. Additionally, the championship was Washington's last game as a member of the Pac-12 Conference; as a part of a wave of conference realignment, they will join the Big Ten on August 2, 2024. The realignment effectively caused the collapse of the Pac-12, since only Oregon State and Washington State, out of the conference's twelve members in 2023, lack plans to join another conference in 2024.

Reports emerged on February 13, 2024, that ESPN and the CFP had agreed to a six-year extension of their media rights deal worth $7.8 billion, equivalent to $1.3 billion per year. The 2023–24 playoff was part of the parties' original media rights contract, signed in 2012, which had a payout of $470 million per year through 2025; that payout will increase to $608 million for the final two years of the original deal following the signing of the extension.

References

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January 2024 sports events in the United States