How to watch 2017 College Football Playoff rankings announcements: Schedule starts Halloween
Here’s the full rankings release schedule ahead of the 2017 season’s Playoff.
The College Football Playoff selection committee rankings will debut this season on Halloween, the event’s organizers announced on Thursday. This follow’s last year’s unveiling on Election Night, keeping up a trend of Playoff-related conflicts around the country.
The full schedule of Playoff rankings releases (all times ET, and all on the same TV channel: ESPN):
- Tuesday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, Nov. 14, 9 p.m. (approximate)
- Tuesday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, Nov. 28, 7 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 3, noon (the rankings that actually matter)
Nothing here’s too different than in any of the Playoff’s first three years.
There are five rankings batches released before the final listing, which is the only one that matters. The preliminary rankings all come out on Tuesday nights, and they’re all on televised ESPN specials. These are mainly chances for those of us on the internet and talk radio to argue about their validity in the weeks leading up to bowl season.
This season’s Playoff starts Jan. 1, with national semifinals at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. These were also the sites for the first Playoff at the end of the 2014 season.
The semifinal winners meet for all the marbles at Atlanta’s new Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 8. That venue also hosts Florida State and Alabama on the season’s first weekend, as part of a headfirst dive into the college football world.
The title games in 2019 and 2020 are in Santa Clara, Calif., and New Orleans, respectively.

