With the four-team College Football Playoff a thing of the past and the field set to expand to 12 beginning this fall, we still had one major question to answer: How will those 12 teams be determined?
Now, we have an answer.
On Tuesday, the CFP board of managers unanimously approved the “5+7 model” which will guarantee spots to the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked at-large teams.
The original format was expected to be a 6+6 model, but the breakup of the Pac-12 — which left the league with just two remaining teams, neither of which qualify for an automatic bid — necessitated another look at the format.
A vote had been delayed at the behest of the Pac-12 and needed to be unanimous, but the league ultimately got on board as it saw the seven at-large bids as more beneficial than a six-bid model would be.
According to ESPN’s Heather Dinich, the model is expected to remain in place for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but it could change beyond that to allow for more flexibility as the landscape of the sport continues to change.
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