College Football Playoff Plans Expanded Playoff, Alters Evaluation Metrics

The College Football Playoff (CFP) is implementing enhanced metrics for the 2025 season to better evaluate teams, placing greater emphasis on victories over strong opponents and minimizing rewards for wins against weaker teams. This change aims to address past controversies, such as Alabama being excluded despite a strong record, by refining how schedule strength and team performance are assessed. Meanwhile, discussions about expanding the playoff continue, with the Big Ten proposing a dramatic increase to 24 or 28 teams, sparking debate among coaches and officials. Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart supports expansion if it is done thoughtfully to give more teams a chance, though he expresses concern about potential impacts on conference championship games. Rich Clark, CFP executive director, cautions against rushing into an expansion, suggesting the current 12-team format remain until a more solid decision is reached. The deadline for conference commissioners to agree on a new format is December 1, with proposals including automatic qualifiers for major conferences and considerations for maintaining competitive balance.