Changes are coming to college football. This may be somewhat surprising because the College Football Playoff just expanded to 12 teams this past season, but the format could see another change beginning with the 2026 season.
The most likely outcome will be more expansion to either 14 or 16 teams. Qualifying for the new CFP would also see a change as the Big Ten and SEC would each automatically get four spots with the Big 12 and ACC getting two teams each. This would leave room for Notre Dame if they have a good season, a Group of Five team and maybe a couple at-large bids as well.
Overall these changes alone wouldn’t be that bad, especially for Georgia football who almost always will be in the top four of the SEC. But the SEC might make some changes of their own if this expansion occurs.
Graham Coffey with Dawgs Central posted on social media the potential for SEC play-in games reported by The Athletic. This would mean that the four CFP spots in the SEC would be determined by four postseason games which would replace the SEC Championship game. The top eight teams would play each other for the four CFP spots, with the 1-seed playing the 8-seed, 2-seed playing the 7-seed and so on.
While this may sound a little intriguing at first, this idea would be horrible for the SEC and for all of college football.
SEC considering play-in games on conference champ weekend per @TheAthletic
— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) February 19, 2025
One idea is #1 vs #8, #4 vs #5, #2 vs #7 and #3 vs #6 for a CFP auto bid
Total regular season killer if passed. This isn’t the NBA, it’s America’s 2nd most popular sport. You don’t need ratings gimmicks.
This would be terrible for college football
Who is asking for this? Who is asking for the SEC Championship to be removed so eight teams can play in qualifiers to get into the College Football Playoff? It's clear that SEC fans are not asking for this, so why is the conference, CFP, NCAA and anyone else involved in this decision suggesting changes that the fans are so adamantly saying they don't want?
Obviously the answer is a because they can all make more money, but that shouldn't be the sole driving factor in every decision in the sport.
As Coffey mentions above, this change completely ruins the regular season. For programs like Georgia, Alabama and Texas, what's the point of even trying that hard in the regular season when they know they will always finish inside the top eight and have a chance to play for an automatic bid into the CFP? Sure this opens the doors for Cinderella runs for a middle of the pack SEC team, but are we sure that's what’s best?
Ever since college football began being played the regular season has mattered. The best teams during the regular season got a chance to play for a National Championship, and that's what made the sport so great. Sure March Madness is the best tournament in the world because of the chance for Cinderella runs, but that is not what college football is about. College football is the second best sport in America (trailing the NFL), so why keep changing the product that most fans already love?
Hopefully these changes do not get approved, because that means the regular season no longer matters like it once did. And nobody should want that even if it means conferences, TV networks and the NCAA make more money.