Image Courtesy: College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff Board of Managers unanimously approved the “5-7” format for the upcoming 12-team playoff to end the season for the first time in college football history. The top five conference champions followed by the top seven highest-ranked teams based as determined by the CFP Selection Committee will appear in the playoff beginning during the 2024-2025 season. This is an exciting change for the playoff as the era of the Pac-12 ends, making room for a new conference to make a name for themselves along with the new Power 4 (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC). Most conference leaders in the Power 4 will want the playoff to move to an all at-large bid field to get as many teams in the field as possible. We will see what changes are made to the bracket in the future over the next few years.
The top four seeds will get byes to open the tournament while the five seed will face the twelve seed, the six seed will face the eleven seed, the seven seed will face the ten seed, and the eight seed will face the nine seed on the home field of the higher seed. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in the New Year’s Six bowl games, the national championship game will continue to be at a neutral site. No conference will qualify automatically and there will be no limit on the number of participants from a conference.
Check out the full announcement at collegefootballplayoff.com
