AltSim Sports welcomes you to the College Football Invitational (CFI), a separate 8-team playoff for the Group of 5 Conferences (AAC, CUSA, MAC, MWC and SBC). While the updated 8-team CFP allows a Group of 5 member to participate if they qualify (in Top 12 of Final CFP Rankings), the odds of a Group of 5 member participating is relatively small. The CFI creates an opportunity for the other half of the FBS to win a championship while increasing the value of the smaller bowl sites that will be hosting the games. The quarterfinals would be held the week after the Heisman Trophy Ceremony. The semifinals would be held in the middle of week after Christmas as a build-up to the CFP. The CFI Championship game will be held the Friday night before the CFP National Championship game. The first quarterfinal matchup takes place at the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque as the MWC runner-up and #4 seed San Diego State Aztecs take on the Conference USA champion and #5 seed UTSA Roadrunners. The CFI 2022 schedule on AltSim Sports: Monday January 3rd QF1 #5 UTSA vs #4 San Diego State (New Mexico Bowl) - 7pm ET QF2 #6 Utah State vs #3 Louisiana (New Orleans Bowl) - 8:30pm ET Tuesday, January 4th QF3 #7 Appalachian State vs #2 Houston (LendingTree Bowl) - 7pm ET QF4 #8 Northern Illinois vs #1 BYU (Independence Bowl) - 8:30pm ET Wednesday, January 5th SF1 - Teams TBD (Birmingham Bowl, Birmingham, AL) - 7pm ET SF2 - Teams TBD (First Responder Bowl, Dallas TX) - 8:30pm ET Friday, January 7th CFI Championship Game - Teams TBD (Quick Lane Bowl - Detroit, MI) - 8pm ET