How the Changing CFP Format Could Impact the Florida Gators

On Thursday, the College Football Playoff reportedly underwent another change for next season.

According to the Action Network's Brett McMurphy, the format will change to straight seeding rather than conference champions automatically holding the top four seeds. There will still be automatic bids for conference champions. The Management Committee, the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director approved the move, per Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

There is also an expanded playoff coming starting in 2026 that could feature 14 or 16 schools. A new format and an expanded playoff could mean more opportunities for the Florida Gators.

The Gators could be able to leverage their tough schedule to make a strong case to finish in the top 12 and make the playoff. By this, the Gators might only need to win a couple more regular season games to pull this off.

Last season, three SEC schools that finished 9-3 were ranked in the top 15 in the final CFP ranking. One of them, Alabama, finished in the top 12. Even if they lose to Georgia and Texas again, though some close games will be required, get payback against two teams (whether it be a combination of Miami, Texas A&M or Tennessee) and the Gators could find themselves in the top 12. Win all three and they're definitely in as a 10-win team.

Depending on how they factor automatic bids for conference winners into the rankings for seeding purposes, Florida could avoid being denied a playoff spot despite being in the top 12 - which happened with No. 11 Alabama being booted for No. 16 Clemson, who won the ACC.

Beyond that, it depends on if they go to 14 or 16 teams. If they go to 16, it'll likely be the “4-4-2-2-1” model. According to Dellenger, the SEC and Big Ten would get four automatic qualifiers each. Two bids each would go to the Big 12 and ACC. Then, one bid would go to the highest-ranked Group of Six conference champion (including the rebuilding Pac-12) and there would be three at-large selections

The Gators getting just one more conference win (making them 5-3) could put them into a crazy tiebreaker scenario for deciding who gets into the top four, depending on the tiebreaker. Adding Tennessee or Georgia to the wins over LSU specifically could elevate them given that common opponents are one of the tiebreakers. This helps when trying to beat out an opponent in the standings such as Alabama.

All in all, this is an incoming setup that could work more favorably for Florida. They're playing one of the toughest schedules in the country, and it better rewards them for it.

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