On Feb. 20, the College Football Playoff (CFP) Board of Managers announced modifications to the new 12-team format. When selecting the field, the CFP Selection Committee will now use a “5+7” system. The first five teams will be the highest-ranked conference champions, while the other seven teams will be the next-highest-ranked squads. It’s essentially a miniature version of the NCAA basketball tournament.
Originally, the Board was going to go with a “6+6” system, but that changed after the PAC-12 disintegrated. The idea was to automatically include one team from outside the Power 5, but the Power 5 no longer exists. Now, there will only be a Power Four: the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC. This complicates the outlook for the CFP.
College Football Playoff: The SEC and Big Ten may have too much power
The 2023 College Football Playoff teams were Texas, Washington, Michigan, and Alabama. With Texas and Washington representing the Big 12 and PAC-12, respectively, it slowed down the typical Big Ten and SEC dominance. It was a rare case of having each College Football Playoff team come from a different conference, providing more balance and intrigue.
However, Texas is now moving to the SEC, and Washington to the Big Ten. That’s also in addition to the several other powerhouses that jumped ship. The sport’s two best conferences are now even stronger.
College Football Playoff: The Big 12 and ACC got better, but they’re still behind
To be fair, the Big 12 and ACC have also expanded. The Big 12 added Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah, while the ACC added Cal, Stanford, and SMU. While these are all fine teams, they’re not quite on the level of the elite Big Ten and SEC programs. Arizona and SMU were the best of the pack last season, as they each finished ranked in the AP Poll. Arizona would have had a decent chance of sneaking into a 12-team playoff, as they finished at No. 11. However, it’s still hard to imagine them going all the way and beating number-one ranked Michigan.
Of course, yearly mainstays like Alabama, Ohio State, and Michigan will always be in the mix, no matter the format. But with the SEC and Big Ten now even stronger than before, the expanded College Football Playoff may end up being more of a dual-conference tournament. While it’s guaranteed that at least three of the 12 teams will come from different conferences, recent history shows that those programs are not as likely to win the title. The only national champions to come from different conferences since 2006 are Florida State (2013) and Clemson (2016 and 2018).
Overall outlook
In short, the expanded College Football Playoff may end up simply being a larger showcase for the Big Ten and SEC. The only way that Florida State and Clemson were able to win their championships was by recruiting the best quarterback in the country and surrounding them with an elite roster. Until that happens again to an ACC or Big 12 team, expect the Big Ten and SEC to continue dominating. The only difference is that they’ll have more squads to show off in high-stakes elimination games.
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Joshua is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. He started in journalism as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper. When he’s not watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or writing a screenplay.
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