The College Football Playoffs expanded last season to a 12-team format. While the playoffs were a massive success, with thrilling games, upsets, and Cinderella stories, the system also had a major flaw.
The 12-team seeding format raised eyebrows all over the country because the four highest-ranked conference champions received the top four seeds in the College Football Playoffs. Many compared it to March Madness, explaining that this format doesn't make much sense because the best four teams should be ranked those top four seeds, whether they won their conference championship or not.
College football fans will rejoice over this latest huge CFP seeding news
The College Football Playoffs Management Committee recently met and confirmed that the seeding for future playoffs will be a “straight seed” layout, meaning the top four ranked teams in the nation will earn the top four seeds.
This means that if the Louisville Cardinals and Clemson Tigers both have spectacular seasons and, say, Louisville wins the ACC Title, but Clemson's only loss of the season is that ACC Championship gam, then both teams are 12-1, so Louisville could be the 2-seed, and Clemson could be the 3-seed. Last year, Louisville would have been ranked in the top four, but the highest Clemson could have been ranked was No. 5.
This change was much needed for College Football. There is still speculation on whether the Committee will expand the CFP, but for now, it is time for fans to celebrate this change. This change was crucial because the old CFP format favored teams that won their conferences rather than the best teams in the nation. Winning your conference is essential because you still get an automatic bid to the CFP, but you no longer get the top four seeds.
Penn State and Texas would have been in the top four last year, while Boise State and Arizona State would have dropped significantly from their top-four seeds. This will make the CFP even better, as last year's playoffs saw teams like Penn State, which earned the 6-seed, have an easier path to the semifinals than Oregon, which earned the 1-seed but had to play Ohio State in the second round because of the old format.
The Committee fixed the system's glaring flaw, and now College Football fans from all over the nation are rejoicing.