Wisconsin Badgers fans certainly hope this news becomes important to them in November 2024 and 2025.
The College Football Playoff has revised its selection criteria for 2024 and 2025. The field will now be a 5-7 model, meaning the five highest-ranked conference champions plus the next seven highest-ranked teams. Out of that group, the four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded 1-4 and receive first-round byes.
Related: Which Big Ten football team has the toughest conference schedule in 2024?
That criteria is being put into place despite the sport consolidating into two power conferences this offseason. Nearly all of the nation’s powers are now in the Big Ten or SEC, with a few leftover in the ACC and elsewhere. This approach to seeding means that winners of the American or C-USA could get first-round byes if everything falls one way.
That doesn’t sound like the right way to approach the new playoff.
College Football Playoff revised qualifying criteria for 12-team event to include 5 highest-ranked conference champions plus next 7 highest-ranked teams as determined by selection committee. The 4 highest ranked conference champs will be seeded 1-4 & receive 1st round byes,…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) February 20, 2024
The most realistic outcome is the winners of the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 all get first-round byes, with the fifth conference champion left out of that mix. But go take a look at the Big 12 without Oklahoma and Texas. It doesn’t look like the conference it used to.
Either way, this is what everybody wanted: a new expanded playoff that’s ‘fair’ to everyone in the sport.
My opinion: the sport is inherently unfair. Iowa will never be like Alabama. Trying to make the playing field ‘fair’ is only going to make things worse.
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