Are We Seeing Positive Change In The College Football Playoff?
Based on the press release from the CFP Management Committee on Thursday, we, at least for now, seem to be headed in that direction.
The committee, which is comprised of 10 FBS conference commissioners and the Director of Athletics for Notre Dame, voted unanimously to modify the seeding and bye policies of the 12-team Playoff for the upcoming 2025-26 season. We will analyze the new policies and how they affect the nation.
What Is New?
We will revisit what has remained the same shortly. First, we need to learn what is new in the seeding. Under the new policy, the five highest-ranked champions will be guaranteed a place in the Playoff, but will no longer include a bye for the four highest-ranked champions. The bracket of 12 teams will now be seeded based on the final ranking of the CFP Selection Committee, with the four highest-ranked teams receiving the bye games. Rich Clark spoke on this, saying, “After evaluating the first year of the 12-team Playoff, the CFP Management Committee felt it was in the best interest of the game to make this adjustment.”
Clark, the director of the College Football Playoff, continued on the topic as he went into more detail on the effect of the change. As with any change, fans want answers, and Clark did his best to provide clarity by stating, “This change will continue to allow guaranteed access to the Playoff by rewarding teams for winning their conference championship, but it will also allow us to construct a postseason bracket that recognizes the best performance on the field during the entire regular season.”
What Is The Same?
Included in the release was clarity on what would not change within the bracket for the 2025-26 season.
First, the ranking of the teams will continue to be provided by a selection committee. Much has been spoken of regarding the committee and the number of Athletic Directors from Universities placing these votes, and there is reason for this, as the 13-person committee features six active ADs from a variety of programs from across the nation.
The second instance where the bracket process and execution will remain the same is the teams outside the top four. Teams ranked five through twelve will compete in the CFP First Round, with the higher seed as host, whether on campus or at another site. Pairings for the opening stanza of the Playoff will be unchanged: No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No.6, No. 10 at No. 7, and No. 9 at No. 8 in the 2025-26 season.
We will again see the four highest-ranked teams be assigned to the Playoff Quarterfinals bowl on Selection Day. These selections will be made in ranking order and in consideration of current contract relationships with bowls. For example, the Rose Bowl would receive the highest-ranked program from the Big Ten Conference as per the agreement between the conference and the bowl game.
It pays to be the top-ranked team in the bracket, as you receive special treatment. Besides what you would assume would be the easiest path to the championship (More on this soon), this program will receive geographical preferential placement for their Semifinal assignment.
What Is The Effect?
With the news coming out, this is massive for more inclusion, for now. While we know of the “Power 2” {The SEC and Big Ten Conferences } holding meetings without equal representation. The desk of the Athletic Director from programs across the country will need to make sure their programs can compete on a somewhat level playing field.
More importantly, as we saw the Mountain West and Boise State make the bracket last season, the “Little Guys,” as the national media has coined them, can be included. For programs such as Memphis, UNLV, James Madison, and others, the time to strike is now. There is no time to wait with these swift ranking changes coming now and more undoubtedly to come in the future.
When the Playoff begins with the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Wednesday, December 31st, we will see another 12-team bracket but will be ranked differently. Will we see some surprise teams?
We will soon find out as the 2025 college football season is fast approaching.
