The SEC reigns supreme as the conference with the most success in the College Football Playoff.
Since the four-team CFP was implemented in the 2014 season and then expanded to 12 teams in 2024, the SEC has the best record (20-11) and the most titles (six) in the first round of the 2025 CFP conference. It’s also home to the winningest program — Alabama has three CFP crowns and a 10-5 record.
Here’s a full rundown of how the conference fared at CFP.
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Please note that the posts refer to the meetings the teams were in at the time, not the current location. For example, Texas’ 2023 CFP performance (0-1 record) will count in the Big 12 because the Longhorns played in that conference that season. But with Texas moving to the SEC in 2024, the Longhorns’ 2-1 record in the 2024 CFP race is tied for the SEC’s overall record. Also, Notre Dame competes as an independent but will play in the ACC for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the Irish’s 2020 CFP participation is included in the ACC statistics.
| Conference | WL record | Championship |
|---|---|---|
| SEC | 21-12 | 6 (2015, 2017 and 2020 Alabama; 2019 LSU; 2021, 2022 Georgia) |
| Big Ten | 12-10 | 3 (2014 and 2024 Ohio State; 2023 Michigan) |
| ACC | 7-8 | 2 (2016 and 2018 Clemson) |
| Independent | 3-2 | 0 |
| Pac-12 | 2-3 | 0 |
| Big 12 | 1-7 | 0 |
| America | 0-2 | 0 |
| West Mountain | 0-1 | 0 |
| Sun belt | 0-1 | 0 |
During the first 11 seasons of the College Football Playoff era, only three conferences won all of them, and the SEC won more than half of the national championships.
In fact, the SEC has at least one win in the CFP every year except for 2014 (Alabama lost to Ohio State) and 2023 (Alabama lost to Michigan). Alabama also faced Georgia in the 2017 and 2021 seasons, making it the only in-conference title game in the four-team CFP era.
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In the first year of the 12-team playoff, the Big Ten had six wins in the 2024 CFP, the most wins:
- Big Ten: 6-3 (Ohio State also won the national title)
- Independent: 3-1
- SEC: 2-3
- Big 12 and Mountain West: 0-1
- ACC: 0-2
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