CFP Committee Placing More Emphasis on Teams' Strength of Schedule This Year
Published
Aug. 20, 2025 2:54 p.m. ET
share
x
link
The College Football Playoff selection committee announced Wednesday it will place more emphasis on strength of schedule this year when determining which teams make the 12-team field.
The committee said in a statement that the schedule strength metric has been adjusted to apply greater weight to games against strong opponents. An additional metric, record strength, has been added to go beyond a team's schedule strength to assess how a team performed against that schedule.
"This metric rewards teams defeating high-quality opponents while minimizing the penalty for losing to such a team," the committee said. "Conversely, these changes will provide minimal reward for defeating a lower-quality opponent while imposing a greater penalty for losing to such a team."
The adjustment to the evaluation process comes after some in the SEC complained about last season's inclusion of — at the time of selections — an 11-2 SMU of the ACC over a 9-3 Alabama or even a 9-3 South Carolina or 9-3 Ole Miss.
ADVERTISEMENT
SMU's losses were to an unranked BYU and a ranked Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. Alabama had bad losses against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, both .500 at the time, but also had wins over second-ranked Georgia, No. 21 Missouri and No. 14 LSU.
Prompted by concerns about how teams that don't play in conference championship games are judged, the committee reviewed the movement of idle teams from the second-to-last ranking to the final ranking. The selection committee reaffirmed that movement in the final week should be evidence-based and did not recommend creating a formal policy prohibiting such movement.
The committee also updated its policy on recusal of selection committee members.
A member will be fully recused from the evaluation of a team if he or she receives direct compensation from the school in question or has an immediate family member who is a football player, football staff member or senior administrator at the school. A fully recused member is not allowed to participate in any deliberations or vote concerning that school.
A member will be partially recused if he or she has a secondary relationship with the school in question, such as an immediate family member employed by the institution but outside the football program or senior administration. A partially recused member may remain present and participate in discussions related to the team in question but is not allowed to participate in votes involving the team.
The selection committee will release its five weekly Top 25 rankings on Nov. 4. The final rankings and playoff field will be announced Dec. 7.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily !
FOLLOW
Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience
College Football
What did you think of this story?
share
Get more from the College Football
Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
a minute ago
- CBS News
All eyes on top-rated recruit Bryce Underwood at QB for No. 14 Michigan
Bryce Underwood is ready to have all eyes on him this season, playing quarterback for No. 14 Michigan, hailed as the top-rated recruit in the country. He's also ready to take some hits. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Underwood told two reporters earlier this summer — at a car dealership that leveraged his name, image and likeness to draw fans for autographs — that he has put on 15 pounds of muscle to get bigger, stronger and quicker. "It's made me more explosive," Underwood said. "I feel way more faster." The Wolverines trail four Big Ten teams in the AP Top 25, but Underwood said people should expect a lot from them on both sides of the ball. "Offense and defense that they never seen before," he said. Second-year coach Sherrone Moore, who might name a starting quarterback on Monday, said Underwood's talent and comprehension of the offense under new coordinator Chip Lindsey are what have stood out the most so far from the freshman. "Consistency is the biggest thing," he said. "Don't turn the ball over, command the offense, make plays." Moore will be suspended for the third and fourth games of the season as a self-imposed sanction in response to the NCAA investigation into the sign-stealing scandal that has loomed over the program for two years. The NCAA also suspended Moore for the 2026 opener, fined the school tens of millions of dollars and reduced official visits by 25% this season. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said the governing body made errors interpreting its bylaws, adding that conclusions were made that were contrary to the evidence. "We will appeal this decision to ensure a fair result and we will consider all other options," Manuel said. Michigan expects to take pressure off Underwood with a potentially dynamic duo in the backfield. Justice Haynes, who started six games last season at Alabama, and sophomore Jordan Marshall, who ran for 100 yards against the Crimson Tide in a bowl game win, are expected to split time at running back to give the team quite a 1-2 punch. "They compete in the weight room every single day, push each other and they just work as hard as they can," Underwood said. Michigan was 8-5 in Moore's debut season, closing with three straight wins, including a fourth in a row against rival Ohio State and over Alabama in a bowl game. The Wolverines are projected to have similar results this year. The Wolverines' over-under is 8 1/2 wins, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Robby Emery, director of character development for Michigan football, has tried to set the tone with coaches and players to control what they can and to let the rest go. "We're really living by this motto of TNT — today not tomorrow," Moore said. Michigan opens with New Mexico on Aug. 30 under the lights at the Big House. The Wolverines travel to play Oklahoma, where Moore was an offensive lineman nearly 20 years ago, in Week 2. Moore will miss a home game against Central Michigan and the Big Ten opener at Nebraska. The Wolverines play rival Michigan State on the road Oct. 25 and close the regular season at home against rival and third-ranked Ohio State on Nov. 29. Michigan is not scheduled to play No. 2 Penn State, No. 7 Oregon or No. 12 Illinois.
CBS News
a minute ago
- CBS News
Navy football ready to keep momentum going into 2025 season
There are high expectations that come with playing sports at the United States Naval Academy. The Midshipmen football team, coming off a 10-3 record and a win over Army last season, is looking to ride the momentum into this season. Of course, Navy is identified at the end of the year by the result against its military rival Army, in the last game of the regular season. Navy dominated that game 31-13 in Landover, Maryland. This year's game will be at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on December 13. "You know, you follow a season like we had and finish on a high note, so great momentum going into the offseason," Navy head football coach Brian Newberry said. "And you know we had four tough years before that, so there's kind of been a psychological shift." The Hovath effect That psychological shift was ignited by the play of quarterback Blake Horvath, a senior from Ohio. Horvath was named one of the Top 100 college football players in 2025 by Pro Football Network. He is also on the Johnny Unitas Watch List, an award that will ultimately be given to the nation's best quarterback. "I think there's an immense amount of pride that I have for the team, and a lot of people at the school have for this team," Horvath said. "So just being able to be that for other people, I think, is what brings us joy more than anything else, is being that sense of camaraderie that brings everyone together and gets to pack Marine Corps Stadium every Saturday." Last season, Horvath had 1,246 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns, while passing for 1,353 yards with 13 TDs and four interceptions. Navy racked up 10 wins in 2024, becoming the sixth team in the program's history to win at least 10 games. Along with securing the President's Trophy, the Midshipmen defeated Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl. It was the first time Navy beat an SEC team since 2004. The Midshipmen open their season at home against Virginia Military Institute on Saturday, August 30. "It's a blessing to be able to have the season that we had last year and be able to come into this season with all the supporters that we have," Navy offensive lineman Landon Robinson. "It's a blessing, but we got to put in the work to continue to have that happen, so I'm excited to keep working."
Boston Globe
30 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
College Football Playoff committee to place more emphasis on strength of schedule when creating 12-team field
The adjustment to the evaluation process comes after some in the Southeastern Conference complained about last season's inclusion of — at the time of selections — SMU's losses were to an unranked BYU and a ranked Clemson in the ACC Championship game. Alabama had bad losses against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, both .500 at the time, but also had wins over a second-ranked Georgia, No. 21 Missouri, and No. 14 LSU. Advertisement Prompted by concerns about how teams that don't play in conference championship games are judged, the committee reviewed the movement of idle teams from the second-to-last ranking to final ranking. The selection committee reaffirmed that movement in the final week should be evidence-based and did not recommend creating a formal policy prohibiting such movement. Advertisement The committee also updated its policy on recusal of selection committee members. A member will be fully recused from the evaluation of a team if he or she receives direct compensation from the school in question or has an immediate family member who is a football player, football staff member, or senior administrator at the school. A fully recused member is not allowed to participate in any deliberations or vote concerning that school. A member will be partially recused if he or she has a secondary relationship with the school in question, such as an immediate family member employed by the institution but outside of the football program or senior administration. A partially recused member may remain present and participate in discussions related to the team in question but is not allowed to participate in votes involving the team. The selection committee will release its five weekly Top 25 rankings on Nov. 4. The final rankings and playoff field will be announced Dec. 7.
