| Cfp Years: | 2020–21 |
| Cfb Season: | 2020 |
| Semi Bowl1: | Rose Bowl |
| Semi Bowl2: | Sugar Bowl |
| Semi Date: | January 1, 2021 |
| Champ Date: | January 11, 2021 |
| Team1: | Alabama |
| Team2: | Clemson |
| Team3: | Ohio State |
| Team4: | Notre Dame |
| Champion: | Alabama |
| Cfp Ordinal: | 3rd |
| Overall Ordinal: | 18th |
| Previous: | 2019–20 |
| Next: | 2021–22 |
The 2020–21 College Football Playoff was a single-elimination postseason tournament that determined the national champion of the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the seventh edition of the College Football Playoff (CFP) and involved the top four teams in the country as ranked by the College Football Playoff poll playing in two semifinals, with the winners of each advancing to the national championship game. Three of the four teams were champions of their respective conferences: No. 1 Alabama from the Southeastern Conference, No. 2 Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and No. 3 Ohio State from the Big Ten Conference. The final participant, No. 4 Notre Dame, was an FBS independent.
The playoff bracket's semifinal games were held at the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, part of the season's slate of bowl games. The Rose Bowl semifinal, held in Arlington, Texas, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saw Alabama defeat Notre Dame, 31–14. It was the first Rose Bowl held away from Pasadena, California, since 1942. The second semifinal, at the Sugar Bowl, matched Clemson and Ohio State in a rematch of the previous season's semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl. After losing the previous matchup, Ohio State defeated Clemson by a twenty-one-point margin. Following their wins, Alabama and Ohio State advanced to the national championship game, held on January 11 in Miami Gardens, Florida. A rematch of the CFP semifinal at the 2015 Sugar Bowl, the Crimson Tide defeated the Buckeyes, 52–24, to win their third CFP national championship and their eighteenth claimed national championship in school history.
The 2020–21 CFP selection committee was chaired by Iowa athletic director Gary Barta. Its other members were former The Arizona Republic reporter Paola Boivin, Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione, Colorado athletic director Rick George, former head coach Ken Hatfield, former NFL player Ronnie Lott, Arkansas State athletic director Terry Mohajir, USA Football chairman and former Army chief of staff Ray Odierno, former Texas A&M athletic director R. C. Slocum, Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin, and mathematician and former NFL player John Urschel.[1]
| Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (7–0) | Alabama (8–0) | Alabama (9–0) | Alabama (10–0) | Alabama (11–0) | |
| 2 | Notre Dame (8–0) | Notre Dame (9–0) | Notre Dame (10–0) | Notre Dame (10–0) | Clemson (10–1) | |
| 3 | Clemson (7–1) | Clemson (8–1) | Clemson (9–1) | Clemson (9–1) | Ohio State (6–0) | |
| 4 | Ohio State (4–0) | Ohio State (4–0) | Ohio State (5–0) | Ohio State (5–0) | Notre Dame (10–1) | |
| 5 | Texas A&M (5–1) | Texas A&M (6–1) | Texas A&M (7–1) | Texas A&M (7–1) | Texas A&M (8–1) | |
| 6 | Florida (6–1) | Florida (7–1) | Florida (8–1) | Iowa State (8–2) | Oklahoma (8–2) |
See main article: 2021 Rose Bowl.
See main article: 2021 Sugar Bowl.
See main article: 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship.