College Football Playoff history: Full list of appearances, brackets and champions

For one final time, there are only four teams left alive to contend for a national championship. The College Football Playoff is expanding from four teams to 12 next season. The expectation is that it will feature five automatic qualifiers and seven at-large bids. This is the final year of the Pac-12 Conference with the league splitting up after this scholastic year. Let's take a look back at all of this.

This year's College Football Playoff field is No. 1 Michigan (13-0 Big Ten Champion), No. 2 Washington (13-0 Pac-12 Champion) No. 3 Texas (12-1 Big 12 Champion) and No. 4 Alabama (12-1 SEC Champion). Michigan will play Alabama in the Rose Bowl, while Washington will take on Texas in the Sugar Bowl. This four-team field's construction was the most controversial to date by a wide margin.

In an expanded 12-team format, these would have been the top-four seeds anyway, as all four teams would have been shoe-ins as Power Five conference champions with one or fewers losses on the season. We could have really used the 12-team format this year, but we have to deal with the harsh reality that Florida State got completely screwed in the most deserving vs. four best teams debate.

Let's take a look at what teams have made the playoff before and how those matchups all transpired.

College Football Playoff all-time history, matchups and history

Here is a list of every team that has ever made it into the College Football Playoff:

• Alabama Crimson Tide: 8 (2014-18, 2020-21, 2023)
• Clemson Tigers: 6 (2015-20)
• Ohio State Buckeyes: 5 (2014, 2016, 2019-20, 2022)
• Oklahoma Sooners: 4 (2015, 2017-19)
• Georgia Bulldogs: 3 (2017, 2021-22)
• Michigan Wolverines: 3 (2021-23)
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 2 (2019-20)
• Washington Huskies: 2 (2016, 2023)
• Cincinnati Bearcats: 1 (2021)
• Florida State Seminoles: 1 (2014)
• LSU Tigers: 1 (2019)
• Michigan State Spartans: 1 (2015)
• Oregon Ducks: 1 (2014)
• TCU Horned Frogs: 1 (2022)
• Texas Longhorns: 1 (2023)

Through the first 10 renditions of the College Football Playoff, a grand total of 15 teams have made it in at least once with eight having made it in multiple times. Alabama extends its lead to eight appearances to date all-time. Michigan has made it in three years in a row. Washington is back in for the second time ever, having made it before in 2016. Texas made it in for the first time this season.

And here is a breakdown of how all of the College Football Playoffs have gone up to this point.

2014-15 season

• Sugar Bowl: No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 1 Alabama 35
• Rose Bowl: No. 2 Oregon 59, No. 3 Florida State 20
• National Championship: No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Oregon 20 (Arlington, TX)

2015-16 season

• Orange Bowl: No. 1 Clemson 37, No. 4 Oklahoma 17
• Cotton Bowl: No. 2 Alabama 38, No. 3 Michigan State 0
• National Championship: No. 1 Clemson 45, No. 2 Alabama 40 (Glendale, AZ)

2016-17 season

• Peach Bowl: No. 1 Alabama 24, No. 4 Washington 7
• Fiesta Bowl: No. 2 Clemson 31, No. 3 Ohio State 0
• National Championship: No. 2 Clemson 35, No. 1 Alabama 31 (Tampa, FL)

2017-18 season

• Sugar Bowl: No. 4 Alabama 24, No. 1 Clemson 6
• Rose Bowl: No. 3 Georgia 54, No. 2 Oklahoma 48 (2OT)
• National Championship: No. 4 Alabama 26, No. 3 Georgia 23 (OT) (Atlanta, GA)

2018-19 season

• Orange Bowl: No. 1 Alabama 45, No. 4 Oklahoma 34
• Cotton Bowl: No. 2 Clemson 30, No. 3 Notre Dame 3
• National Championship: No. 2 Clemson 44, No. 1 Alabama 16 (Santa Clara, CA)

2019-20 season

• Peach Bowl: No. 1 LSU 63, No. 4 Oklahoma 28
• Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 Clemson 29, No. 2 Ohio State 23
• National Championship: No. 1 LSU 42, No. 3 Clemson 25 (New Orleans, LA)

2020-21 season

• Rose Bowl: No. 1 Alabama 31, No. 4 Notre Dame 14 (Arlington, TX)
• Sugar Bowl: No. 3 Ohio State 49, No. 2 Clemson 28
• National Championship: No. 1 Alabama 52, No. 3 Ohio State 24 (Miami Gardens, FL)

2021-22 season

• Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Alabama 27, No. 4 Cincinnati 6
• Orange Bowl: No. 3 Georgia 34, No. 2 Michigan 11
• National Championship: No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18 (Indianapolis, IN)

2022-23 season

• Peach Bowl: No. 1 Georgia 42, No. 4 Ohio State 41
• Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 TCU 51, No. 2 Michigan 15
• National Championship: No. 1 Georgia 65, No. 3 TCU 7 (Inglewood, CA)

2023-24 season

• Rose Bowl: No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama
• Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas
• National Championship: TBD (Houston, TX)

To date, all five Power Five leagues have gotten in at least three teams over the last 10 years, as well as sent one of their teams to the national championship. While the Big 12 and Pac-12 have never had a team win a College Football Playoff before, at least one of them will be playing for a national title, as No. 2 Washington will face No. 3 Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Even a Group of Five team made it in once.

Of the nine previous national champions, six have hailed from the SEC (Alabama 3x, Georgia 2x, LSU 1x), two from the ACC (Clemson 2x) and one from the Big Ten (Ohio State 1x). At least one SEC team has played in each of the last eight national championships. Alabama and Georgia played against each other twice, splitting the pair with Alabama winning in it all 2017 and Georgia winning it in 2021.

The winner of this year's Rose and Sugar Bowls will meet in Houston for the national championship.