Many fans and pundits alike have criticized the seeding format for the new 12-team College Football Playoff, mostly stemming from how teams are selected.
The top five-ranked conference champions receive automatic bids to the playoff, whereas the top four of those teams receive first-round byes. No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Boise State and No. 4 Arizona State each lost in the quarterfinals of the CFP.
ESPN’s Heather Dinich said the format is unlikely to change, however.
‘As far as changes moving forward,’ Dinich said Friday on ‘Get Up.’ ‘It is critical that people understand that in order for any changes to be made next season regarding the seeding or home games or whatever that might be, everyone involved in the College Football Playoff who has a position of power has to agree to it.’
‘We’re still in a period where it has to be unanimous. So, we’re talking about Group of Five commissioners, including the Mountain West, where you’ve got Boise State not only in (CFP), but with a first-round bye, conceding that possibly.
‘I don’t think that’s going to happen. My sources are telling me changes for next year probably unlikely.’
Dinich brings up a fair point, as the current system favors non-Power Four programs, giving smaller schools at chance at a national championship. That likely won’t change, at least for now, especially as representatives from other Group of Five schools would have to vote in favor of changing the format.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was recently in support of CFP changes for 2025, including the seeding format.
‘I’ve not had a lot of conversations yet about people’s interest in adapting. I would hope there is interest,” Sankey told The Athletic in a Thursday story. “But then in (2026) we’ve got another opportunity.”
The 12-team playoff is only under contract for 2024 and 2025 for now, allowing for changes to be made for the 2026 season, which Sankey referred to. If changes were to be made for next season, all 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame would have to unanimously agree.
Sankey added the current format was decided before the fall of the Pac-12, which reduced the Power Five conferences to Power Four.
“Remember when the format was introduced we had what was called the Power Five and the Group of Five,” Sankey said. “There is not a Power Five. We had looked at history, you never meant pulling seeds from outside the (top) 10 really into the top four in this format. And that’s now happened. Those are learning experiences, and that informs adaptation. And we’ve got a responsibility to have what I would consider is a competitive and fair format.”
