College Football Playoffs Implement New Seeding, Byes for Top Four Conference Champions

The College Football Playoff (CFP) format is undergoing significant changes for the upcoming season, shifting to a straight-seeding model that re-seeds all 12 teams based on rankings after conference championship weekend, rather than automatically awarding the top four seeds to the highest-ranked conference champions. This change addresses controversies from the previous system, such as the Mountain West champion Boise State being seeded higher than Power Five conference champions like Arizona State. The re-seeding maintains the automatic bids for the four Power Five conference champions and one Group of Five champion but effectively locks the Group of Five automatic bid into the lowest seed, requiring them to face top-ranked teams early. The adjustment benefits teams like Notre Dame, which under the new format can earn a first-round bye, unlike before when they were capped at the fifth seed. Discussions also continue around potential future expansions of the playoff to 16 teams, with the SEC and Big Ten advocating for guaranteed bids and an expanded in-conference schedule, though no immediate decisions have been made. These changes will impact teams such as the Colorado Buffaloes, who narrowly missed a Big 12 Championship shot, highlighting the competitive stakes under the evolving CFP format.