While the College Football Playoff Committee is still arguing about the move to 16 teams in 2026 and the number of automatic bids with the SEC and Big Ten trying to rig the playoff in their favor, one change seems imminent.
The playoff remains set in 2025 at 12 teams, but the committee members are having a conference call today to discuss a move to a straight-seeding model for this year's playoff.
Instead of conference champions getting an automatic bump-up into the Top 4, teams would be seeded according to their strength.
Under this format last year, Texas, Oregon, Georgia and Penn State would have been the top seeds, and the Ducks would have gotten the winner of Boise State-Indiana in the quarterfinal.
The change eliminates the weird, quirky bracket that existed last year where the 5- and 8-seeds had a better route to the semifinals than the No. 1 and 2-seeds, starting with a home game in December and a shorter layoff.
The old format awarded conference champions from the Big 12 and Group of 5, seeding them well ahead of their schedule strength.
There's still a messy fight brewing over another sweeping change, expanding the playoff field to 16 teams in 2026 with four automatic bids for the SEC and the Big Ten, something opponents from the ACC, Notre Dame, the Big 12 and Group of Five say is an attempt to rig the system.