How many CFP games have gone into overtime? A look at the closest matchups in history

Last week saw the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines get past the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2024 Rose Bowl in overtime. Michigan scored first in the overtime period to make it 27-20 Wolverines. Alabama had a chance to respond, but a terrible snap from center Seth McLaughlin led to an aborted play that quarterback Jalen Milroe had no chance of scoring a touchdown on from three yards out.

It may look like chalk, but the national championship matchup was totally up for grabs heading into the final seconds of the national semifinals. The College Football Playoff will be expanding from a four-team field to a 12-teamer next season. This means that instead of the customary three games each postseason that we have gotten, we will be getting more than twice that annually going forward.

So with the 30th and final playoff game on the horizon Monday night before we go to 12 teams in the 11th rendition of this, let's take a look at all the games that went down the wire, enough to the point where it merited an additional period or two to decide a victor. Every game that has gone to overtime in the current format of the College Football Playoff was the stuff of lore, as well as painful memories.

To date, only three College Football Playoff games have ever gone to overtime. Which ones are they?

College Football Playoff: How many CFP games have gone into overtime?

Entering the national championship game, only two Rose Bowls and one title bout have gone to OT.

• 2018 Rose Bowl: Georgia Bulldogs 54, Oklahoma Sooners 48 2OT
• 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship: Alabama Crimson Tide 26, Georgia Bulldogs 23 OT
• 2024 Rose Bowl: Michigan Wolverines 27, Alabama Crimson Tide 20 OT

The first two instances where a playoff game went to overtime involved the 2017 Georgia Bulldogs. Kirby Smart's second team back at his alma mater stunned the Oklahoma Sooners in the Rose Bowl on Sony Michel's magnificent run. It was one of the greatest moments in Georgia football history. However, it was short-lived based on what happened a little over a week later in the championship...

Georgia would face another one-loss SEC team in the Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide for the national championship in Atlanta. Whether it was the old Georgia Dome or new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Alabama has owned everyone they have played in Atlanta, especially Georgia. A quarterback switch from Jalen Hurts to Tua Tagovailoa gave college football fans Second-and-26.

It was not until this past New Year's Day did a playoff game go to overtime. As stated before, it was Michigan who got the best of Alabama in the Rose Bowl. While the bulk of the playoff games have been lopsided affairs, we are usually fortunate to get at least one compelling game each season. With two fantastic semifinals, we can only hope that Michigan vs. Washington lives up to the hype Monday.

If there is a pattern here, it is that Michigan could be the next team to lose a playoff game in overtime.