College Football Playoff: Projecting past 12-team brackets

The College Football Playoff will expand to 12 teams starting in 2024. Only 14 schools have made the nine editions of the CFP since it began in 2014. Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State have claimed half of 36 slots. The future format has rules: the six highest-ranked conference champions get automatic berths, the next six lowest-ranking teams get at-large spots, byes go to the top four conference champs and first-round games are played at the better seed’s home stadium.

No. 4 Ohio State beat No. 1 Alabama, No 2 Oregon beat Florida State and No 3 Florida won the national championship.

The 12-team model would have carried the same top-four seeds. The SEC and Big 12 would've combined for half of the expanded field in its debut year.

No. 1 Clemson beat No. 4 Oklahoma, No 2 Alabama beat no. 3 Michigan State and Alabama won the national championship.

There would have been no change among the top four seeds. There would've been only one SEC team in the 12-team draw. The Big Ten would’ve had one-quarter of the seeds in that group.

No. 1 Alabama beat No. 4 Washington, No 2 Clemson beat no. 3 Ohio State and No.-3 Clemson won the national championship.

Penn State beat Ohio State for the Big Ten championship. The Nittany Lions receive a first-round bye in the expanded bracket. This is the first year the 12-team model would have produced a change in top four.

No. 4 Alabama beat No. 1 Clemson, No 3 Georgia beat no. 2 Oklahoma and No 1 Alabama won the national championship.

It's the first time each team within the top 12 of the final CFP ranking would have made the 12-team field. Alabama would've fallen out of top four, but it didn't win the SEC title.

No. 1 Alabama beat No. 4 Oklahoma, No 2 Clemson beat no. 3 Notre Dame and No.-3 Clemson won the national championship.

Notre Dame can't be a top-four seed under the 12-team model because it didn't win a conference title. Georgia also didn’t win its conference. UCF would have hosted a playoff game if it could have made it.

No. 1 LSU beat No. 4 Oklahoma, No 3 Clemson beat no. 2 Ohio State and No 1 Clemson won the national championship.

There was no change among the top four teams in the 12-team model. Memphis would have been the first team to qualify for the College Football Playoff.

No. 1 Alabama beat No. 4 Notre Dame, No 3 Ohio State beat no. 2 Clemson and No 1 Ohio state won the national championship.

Cincinnati and Coastal Carolina would have been in the CFP. It's the first time there were two Group of 5 programs in a playoff bracket.

No. 1 Alabama beat No. 4 Cincinnati, No 3 Georgia beat no. 2 Michigan and No 1 Georgia won the national championship.

Oklahoma State and Pittsburgh are the first teams to be in the College Football Playoff. Georgia drops to fifth after losing the SEC title game. Baylor is the new No. 4 seed. Cincinnati is on the opposite side of the bracket from Alabama.

The 12-team model would have been wacky this year. No. 3 TCU and No 4 Ohio State would've been bumped out of the top four. The Buckeyes would wind up with a conference rematch in the first round. Alabama-USC would feature last year’s Heisman winner Bryce Young and this years' winner Caleb Williams.