STRAIGHT SEEDING ARRIVES FOR 2025-26 PLAYOFFS
Ajay Allen - June 13, 2025
Starting with the 2025–26 season, the College Football Playoff will adopt a straight seeding model for it’s 12 team bracket. This major change means teams will now be seeded strictly based on the final rankings from the CFP Selection Committee, regardless of whether they won their conference championship. The goal is to make the playoff system more fair, more competitive, and more reflective of the season’s actual results.
This is the most significant format shift since the CFP expanded from four teams to twelve beginning in 2024. The updated model addresses widespread criticism that emerged after the first year of the 12 team playoff, where seeding gave automatic advantages to conference champions, even when they were ranked lower than stronger teams.
In the new format, the top 12 teams in the final CFP rankings will be placed into the playoff bracket in order, from seed 1 through seed 12. The top four seeds will receive first round byes and automatically advance to the quarterfinals.
Previously, the system awarded the top four seeds to the highest ranked conference champions, even if they were not among the best four teams.
For example, in the 2024 playoff, Boise State earned a top four seed as a Group of Five conference champion, despite being ranked ninth overall. This led to a situation where higher ranked teams were placed in tougher first round matchups, simply because they had not won a conference title.
Under the new model, that kind of discrepancy will no longer happen. If the four best teams in the country are all from the same conference or are independents like Notre Dame, they will still earn the top four seeds and first round byes.
Some aspects of the CFP will not change. The top five highest ranked conference champions will still receive automatic bids into the playoff. This means strong champions from the Power Five and Group of Five conferences still have a path to the postseason.
However, only the overall top four teams whether or not they are conference champions will receive a bye. The remaining eight teams (seeds 5 through 12) will play in the first round. These games will be hosted on campus or at neutral sites designated by the higher seeded teams. The quarterfinals and semifinals will remain part of the traditional New Year’s Six bowl games, and the national championship will continue to rotate between major host cities.
The first season of the 12 team playoff revealed a clear issue. The seeding method favored conference champions, even when they were not among the best teams. Boise State, for example, ended up with a first round bye despite being far behind other programs in national performance. Meanwhile, elite teams like Ohio State, who ended up winning the entire chip, had to play first round games.
All four of the top seeds lost their first games in 2024, raising further questions about whether the playoff system was built to truly reward the best teams. Critics argued that the format created mismatches, undermined the purpose of rankings, and hurt the credibility of the postseason.
The new straight seeding system is designed to solve that problem. It ensures that playoff advantages like byes and matchups, are given to teams based on their entire season’s performance, not just one conference championship game.
Top programs that dominate the regular season but lose in a conference title game no longer risk missing out on a top four seed. For example, a team like Georgia or Michigan that finishes 12–1 but loses its conference championship could still earn a top seed and a first round bye if it remains in the top four of the rankings.
Independents like Notre Dame also benefit. In the old format, the best they could hope for was a No. 5 seed, since they were not part of a conference. Now, they can reach the top four and earn a bye if they are ranked high enough.
On the other hand, conference champions ranked lower in the top 12 will still qualify, but they may face tougher paths without a top seed. A Group of Five team like Tulane or Liberty, even as a champion, will no longer be bumped up in seeding if higher ranked teams exist.
Here is how the new seeding layout will look:
Seeds 1–4: Top four teams in the CFP rankings. Each receives a first round bye.
Seeds 5–12: Play in the first round. Higher seeded teams host the game.
Quarterfinals: Hosted by New Year’s Six bowl sites.
Semifinals and Championship: Played at predetermined bowl and neutral sites.
The CFP Selection Committee will still be responsible for ranking teams. But the process will now have a greater impact, since there is no extra bonus for simply being a conference champion. Every ranking position will directly determine a team’s path through the bracket.
The 2025–26 playoff will be the second and final season under the current CFP contract. Starting in 2026, new media rights deals and possible further expansion to 14 or 16 teams may be on the table. The success or failure of the straight seeding model could influence those future decisions.
For now, the change has been widely praised. Coaches, analysts, and fans alike agree that a playoff based on pure rankings is a better reflection of each individual team’s progression through the season. It eliminates confusion and inconsistency, making the postseason easier to follow and fairer for all involved.
Straight seeding marks a turning point for college football. It replaces the political nature of conference favoritism with a strict, performance-based system that prioritizes the best teams. The result should be a more competitive playoff, a clearer bracket, and a better chance for deserving programs to win a national title.
