The CFP Era · 2014–present

California

Twelve seasons in three acts · ACC

67–75Record
47.2%Win %
0National titles
2015Peak season
49Avg. percentile
22NFL draftees

The three-act trajectory

Within-season power percentile against the FBS cohort, season by season.

FOUNDINGTRANSITIONEXPANSION0255075100141516171819202122232425Peak of the era2015 · 8–5Steepest fall2020
Source CFB Zeitgeist · power ratings
Founding2014–2020

The four-team Playoff era. The bracket is small, the margin for error none.

39–40 · avg percentile 50
Transition2021–2023

The last seasons before expansion — NIL arrives, the portal opens, the four-team format ends.

15–22 · avg percentile 47
Expansion2024–present

The twelve-team Playoff. A wider field changes what a season has to prove.

13–13 · avg percentile 46

Defining games

Coaches of the era

Sonny Dykes2014–2016
Justin Wilcox2017–2017
Justin Wilcox2020–2025

Roster of the era

22 players drafted into the NFL across the CFP era.

415
316
217
319
120
221
122
123
424
125

Entering Year 13

The 2026 season opens the next chapter of the expansion era under Justin Wilcox. See the 2014–2025 program page →