Major shakeup emerges for 2025-26 College Football Playoff
Another wrinkle has developed for the second year of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
CFP executives unanimously voted Thursday on a pivot to a straight seeding format for the upcoming year, according to Yahoo Sports.
Teams will now be seeded 1-12 based on the selection committee's rankings rather than reserving the top four seeds for the conference champions.
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In the straight seeding format, the top four seeds will get byes into the quarterfinals.
The CFP will pivot to a straight seeding format for the upcoming season.
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The vote went through the management committee, the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, after an unbalanced bracket emerged last season under last year's format.
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For instance, Boise State was the No. 3 seed while 11-win Texas and Penn State endured tougher, competitive schedules.
They went on to win the Mountain West championship and benefited from the highest-ranked conference champion rule.
The four teams that received first-round byes last season were Oregon, Boise State, Arizona and Georgia.
None of them moved on past the quarterfinals.
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Oregon, the Big Ten champion, drew eighth-seeded Ohio State for their Rose Bowl matchup and were left in the dust, losing 41-21 against the eventual national champions.
Ducks coach Dan Lanning didn't blame the seeding format.
Safety Seyi Oladipo of the Boise State Broncos celebrates a sack during the first half of the Mountain West Championship against the UNLV Rebels at Albertsons Stadium on December 6, 2024 in Boise, Idaho.
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'We had an opportunity,' Lanning said. 'We didn't take advantage of the opportunity. I am not going to make excuses for our opportunity.'
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The vote also kept in place a hefty payout for the top-four conference champs.
The four highest-ranked conference champions still are expected to earn $8 million — $4 million each for winning the conference and making it to the quarterfinal — even if they do not rank within the top four seeds, at least for this year.
But starting in 2026, the playoff will include a new revenue-distribution system with conferences earning a base amount rather than performance-based payments.
More changes — including expanding the field — are expected to be discussed, as the 12-team expanded playoff model's contract ends after the 2025 season.
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