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No more automatic byes: CFP's 2025 straight seeding shakes up playoff landscape

Everyone is on an even playing field now.
ByEricka Brockish|
Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; A general view of the field before the game between Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Georgia Bulldogs at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; A general view of the field before the game between Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Georgia Bulldogs at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The College Football Playoff is changing yet again, and it didn't take 10 years this time for change to happen. Instead, it took just one season of the 12-team expanded playoff for the commissioners to come together and make a big change that will affect conference champions the most.

In 2024, the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams, with the top four seeds getting the automatic byes in the first round, and the top four seeds were the highest-ranked conference champions. All of that is going away now as the top four seeds will now be simply the highest ranked teams at the end of the season, conference champion or not.

Looking back at the 2024 season and seeing how straight seeding could have changed things in the playoffs, Georgia still would have been the 2-seed, but the Texas Longhorns would have been the 3-seed instead of the 5-seed, Penn State would have been the 4-seed instead of the 6-seed, Notre Dame would have been the 5-seed instead of the 7-seed, and so on and so fourth moving the teams up.

The two teams that would have dropped to lower seeds would have been Arizona State and Boise State, who were the Big 12 and Mountain West Champions. Matchups would have been different, which could have resulted in a different National Champion.

Georgia fans shouldn't worry too much about the change

Georgia seems to be collecting SEC Championships like Thanos collected all the infinity stones, so even when they don't win the SEC, they are usually ranked pretty high. Say Texas would have won the SEC last season, with straight seeding, Georgia most likely would have still gotten a first-round bye with how strong both teams and the conference were.

Bulldogs fans should worry too much about the straight seeding, as it honestly would probably benefit Georgia more than hurt them. As long as Georgia continues to be the team they have been under head coach Kirby Smart, the Bulldogs have a great chance at getting a high seed and a first-round bye.

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