The College Football Playoff (CFP) committee is exploring significant changes to how teams earn those coveted top-four seeds and first-round byes. This isn’t just a minor tweak—it’s a discussion about balancing perceived fairness with the emphasis on conference championships.
Right now, the system guarantees byes to the four highest-ranked conference champions. This year, that rule gave the Boise State Broncos and the Arizona State Sun Devils first-round byes as the third and fourth seeds, even though their actual rankings were ninth and twelfth, respectively. On the flip side, highly-ranked teams like Texas and Penn State were seeded lower simply because they didn’t win their conferences. As you can imagine, this has sparked some debate.
Looking ahead to 2025, Brett McMurphy has reported that sources are telling him that the CFP is considering a change where the top four seeds would go to the highest-ranked teams overall, regardless of conference championship status. Conference champions would still get automatic playoff bids, but their seeds would align more closely with their rankings.
Critics, including Nick Saban, have pointed out that the current format might prevent the “best” teams from making it to the championship game. For instance, matchups between top-tier teams like Oregon and Ohio State are happening earlier in the College Football Playoff earlier than what some might want, making the path to the title less predictable for those teams.
It’s a tricky balance, for sure, but it's one that the committee will begin addressing this offseason.
McMurphy's report indicates that the changes could come as soon as 2025, and we wouldn't be surprised if that happened. However, it may be more beneficial for the committee to simply wait one more season — keeping the same format for 2025 — because there are expectations that major expansion will be coming in 2026.
The College Football Playoff continues with its second-round on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.