Major changes are on the horizon for college football’s postseason landscape, as the College Football Playoff (CFP) Management Committee has unanimously voted to update the seeding and bye policies for the 12-team playoff format set to debut in the 2025-26 season.
Under the new guidelines, five of the highest-ranked conference champions will now be guaranteed a spot in the playoff mix. However, in a shift from previous iterations, the top four champions will no longer enjoy an automatic first-round bye. This new seeding structure will rank teams directly based on their final standings from the CFP Selection Committee. As a result, the top four highest-ranked teams will receive those coveted byes, while any conference champions outside the top 12 will be pushed up in the seeding—the 12th seed, 11th seed, and so on—filling in the playoff bracket as necessary.
Rich Clark, the executive director of the College Football Playoff, expressed that this adjustment aims to enhance the overall integrity of the game. “After evaluating the first year of the 12-team Playoff, the CFP Management Committee felt it was in the best interest of the game to make this adjustment,” he stated. This move is designed to not only ensure that conference champions are rewarded for their achievements but also to structure a playoff that reflects performance over the entire season.
In addition to the seeding changes, all other operational components will remain intact for the upcoming season. Teams will still be ranked by the selection committee. The first round of the CFP will see teams ranked from 5 to 12 matching up, where higher seeds will host their lower-seeded opponents, either on campus or at designated sites (with No. 12 facing off against No. 5, No. 11 against No. 6, and so forth).
The playoff bracket will also take into account existing bowl relationships. The highest-ranked teams will be allocated to specific Playoff Quarterfinals on Selection Day, based on their rankings. For example, should the top-ranked team hail from the Big Ten, they will be assigned to the prestigious Rose Bowl Game.
For fans eagerly anticipating the playoff schedule, key dates are already set in stone. The 2025-26 playoff will kick off with the Quarterfinals at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on December 31, leading into a New Year’s Day tripleheader featuring the Capital One Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential, and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Teams that claim victory in these matchups will then march on to the Playoff Semifinals—one at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on January 8 and the other at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on January 9. Finally, the National Championship game will showcase the top two teams at Hard Rock Stadium on January 19.
While the tweaks to the playoff structure are sure to stir conversation and anticipation, it’s clear that the CFP is gearing up to build on its commitment to merging tradition with an exciting new format, all while striving to showcase the best talent in college football. Fans should keep an eye out for further announcements regarding the specific dates and times for the first-round games as the 2025 season approaches.
