College Football Playoff Format Change is Good News for Missouri, SEC

It only took one season until major changes were made to the 12-team College Football Playoff format.

Thursday, the CFP committee agreed to change to a straight seeding format, the comitee announced in a press release Thursday.

This change won't lead to any different qualifications to make the playoffs. The five highest-ranked conference champions will still earn automatic bids. But, instead of the conference champions being guaranteed a top-five seed, and a first-round bye for the top four of those, the seeding will be determined by ranking only.

However, the change is beneficial to both the Southeastern Conference and the Big 10, who had a combined seven teams qualify for the 2024-2025 CFP. The new format wouldn't have made it easier for teams on the border like South Carolina and Alabama last year to qualify, but it would mean that all of the at-large qualifiers from both the SEC and Big 10 would have earned higher seeds.

How straight seeding would've changed 2024-2025 College Football Playoff:

For the Missouri Tigers, the path to making the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history remains the same.

However, the door is now open for more than just one school from each conference to earn a first-round bye, and more space created to host a Round 1 game. For the Tigers to do either, they'd have to rank higher than the other highest-ranked conference champions, just like the SEC's two at-large qualifiers did last season.

Additionally, the committee is moving closer toward expanding the playoff field. For the 2026-2027 CFP, the field will expand to 14 or 16 teams, sources told Brett McMurphy of The Action Network. An expansion would make it even easier for the two heavy-hitter conferences.

The straight seeding, and possible upcoming expansion, adds more fuel to the fire for the conversation of whether or not teams in the SEC or BIg 10 should care about conference championship games.

With straight seeding in place, the only reward to Texas or Georgia in last year's SEC championship game would've been the difference of one seed. Both teams would earn a first-round bye under the new seeding format.

For head coach Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers, the 2025 season might be their best chance yet to qualify for the Playoff. Drinkwitz believes this team is the best he's ever coached in his time with Missouri.

"Whether we're talking about offense, special teams or defense, I think there's a level of excitement because of the level of depth and competition that we've created," Drinkwitz said April 29. "It's going to be about establishing an identity early and really playing to that identity."