CFB quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to feature ASU vs. Clemson/Texas winner |
ATLANTA (Dec. 8, 2024) – The first-ever College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will feature the Big 12 Champion No. 4 Seed Arizona State Sun Devils vs. the winner of the CFP First Round game between the No. 12 Seed Clemson Tigers and the No. 5 Seed Texas Longhorns. The winner of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will then advance to play for the CFP Semifinals the following week.
The 57th annual Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will be held at 1 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and will be nationally televised by ESPN. It will be preceded by the CFP First Round Game between No. 12 Seed Clemson and No. 5 Seed Texas, which will be played at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 21 at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas and aired on TNT/MAX. The newly expanded, 12-team CFP field is comprised of the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, in addition to the seven highest-ranked remaining teams. The four highest-ranked conference champions were then seeded one through four, with each receiving a first-round bye, while the other eight teams will play in the first round with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher-seeded institution. Quarterfinal and semifinal contests are then played in the New Year's Six bowl games. The Sun Devils secured a berth in the CFP after capturing the program’s first Big 12 Championship on Saturday with a 45-19 win over Iowa State in Arlington, Texas. Arizona State received the four seed and a first-round bye as the fourth-highest ranked conference champion out of the Big 12, while Texas was seeded fifth out of the SEC and Clemson received the 12th overall seed as the ACC champions. “We’re ushering in the new era of our sport and the expanded College Football Playoff with a compelling matchup either way in our first-ever quarterfinal game at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl,” said Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and president. “We look forward to welcoming Arizona State and either Clemson or Texas to the Capital of College Football, as the teams compete for the chance to make a return trip to Atlanta when the city hosts its second CFP National Championship on Jan. 20.” This marks Arizona State’s first CFP appearance and its second trip to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The Sun Devils’ only previous Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl was in 1970 when then No. 8 Arizona State defeated North Carolina 48-26. “It’s an honor to welcome Arizona State back to our game for the first time in 54 years, as well as the winner of the Clemson-Texas showdown,” said Percy Vaughn, Peach Bowl, Inc. chairman. “All of these teams have had outstanding seasons and we’re expecting to ring in the New Year with one of the most important games of the season as the winner looks to move one step closer to a national title with a berth in the CFP Semifinals.” This will represent Clemson’s seventh CFP appearance, while Texas is making its second-consecutive CFP as the Longhorns look to capture the program’s first playoff win. The Tigers lead all other programs with eight Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl appearances and hope to return to the game for the first time since 2012. If the Longhorns advance, they would make their first-ever appearance in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Arizona State’s only previous meeting with Texas was in the 2007 Holiday Bowl where the Longhorns defeated the Sun Devils 52-34. Clemson and Arizona State have never met on the gridiron. The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl last hosted a CFP game in 2022 when eventual National Champion No. 1 Georgia defeated No. 4 Ohio State 42-41 in the CFP Semifinal. That game’s attendance of 79,330 set new Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and Mercedes-Benz Stadium records, surpassing the number of fans who attended Super Bowl LIII, the 2018 CFP National Championship and the SEC Championship in the same venue. The primetime showdown on New Year's Eve also delivered a television audience of 22.4 million total viewers, making it the most-watched Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl ever and the most-watched college football game of the 2022 season. This year’s initial ticket inventory for the CFP Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is already sold out, marking the 25th time the Bowl has sold out in its last 28 games, dating back to 1997. Ticket Availability on the Secondary Market Through Ticketmaster Fans still interested in locating tickets in the secondary ticket market can visit the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl’s official ticket exchange on Ticketmaster. It is common for secondary market prices to exceed face value. Visit https://chick-fil-apeachbowl.com/tickets to view tickets for resale on the exchange.
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