The College Football Playoff Management Committee announced today that it has eliminated the first round byes for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff. This is a major change in the second and likely final season of the 12-team playoff.
Here is the new policy from the CFP Management release:
"The new policy will guarantee the five highest-ranked conference champions a place in the Playoff, but will no longer include a bye for the four highest-ranked champions. The 12-team bracket will now be seeded directly based on the final ranking of the CFP Selection Committee, with the four highest-ranked teams receiving a first-round bye. If one or more of the five highest-ranked conference champions are ranked outside the top 12, that team or teams would move up to the 12th seed, 11th seed, etc., based on the number of conference champions outside the top 12."
Here is the statement from Rich Clark, the executive director of the College Football Playoff:
"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. This change will continue to allow guaranteed access to the Playoff by rewarding teams for winning their conference championship, but it will also allow us to construct a postseason bracket that recognizes the best performance on the field during the entire regular season.”
This certainly impacts Notre Dame, who were capped as the No. 5 seed for the 2024-25 playoff. Notre Dame was ranked as the No. 5 team last season but were the No. 7 seed because of Boise State and Arizona State being bumped into the Top 4. Notre Dame also was ineligible for getting a bye in the first round. That now changes, and if Notre Dame is ranked as a Top 4 team at the end of the season they can now get a bye to the quarterfinals.
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