On Thursday, the College Football Playoff committee formally adopted a straight-seeding model beginning in 2025 rather than the previous format that awarded conference champions with first-round byes. But not without its critics.
Boise State athletic director Jeremiah Dickey directly called out the College Football Playoff and challenged them to rename the new format after the Broncos, which earned a first-round bye in the 2024 Playoff as the No. 3 seed by virtue of winning the Mountain West despite being ranked ninth in the final CFP rankings following Championship Weekend. Boise State (12-2, 7-0 MWC), the first-ever Group of Five program to make the Playoff, would ultimately lose to sixth-seeded but No. 4-ranked Penn State, 31-14, in the Fiesta Bowl national quarterfinal on Dec. 31.
“@CFBPlayoff, please call it the Boise State policy…legacy is important…would make us feel better,” Dickey wrote Thursday night on X/Twitter. “When the system is created to keep you down, you fight like hell to break it. Nothing to lose…Always What’s Next! (smiling devil emoji) Believe in epic! 1-0! #BleedBlue (prayer hand emoji).”
The change to the Playoff’s seeding model comes after widespread criticism of the 2024 College Football Playoff, where all Top 4 seeds and conference champions lost in their first game after receiving a first-round bye under the previous model. Joining Boise State among the conference champs to fall in the second round were 12th-ranked and Big 12 champion Arizona State, as well as Big Ten champion and No. 1 overall seed Oregon and SEC champion Georgia, the No. 2 overall seed.
Had the new straight-seeding model been in place last season, third-ranked Texas and fourth-ranked Penn State — the SEC and Big Ten runner-ups, respectively — would have also earned first-round byes. That would have awarded college football’s two most powerful conferences with two opening-round byes apiece, putting their leagues at a greater advantage compared to the other smaller leagues.
This comes at a time when there have been discussions about several changes to the College Football Playoff. That includes ongoing debate about potential further expansion to either 14 or 16 teams. Those discussions also include proposals providing multiple automatic bids for the Power Four conferences. In one such proposal, identified as the “4-4-2-2-1” 16-team model, the Big Ten and SEC would be awarded four bids apiece, while the ACC and Big 12 receive just two bids apiece, with one Group of Six program receiving an automatic bid along with three at-large bids. The ACC and Big 12 are understandably against such a proposal, and have reportedly made recommendations for a more favorable “4-4-3-3-1-1” model that would give the ACC and Big 12 three automatic bids apiece with just one at-large bid.
Changes in the sheer size of the Playoff itself probably won’t come in time for the 2025 season. But it’s safe to expect straight-seeding will be in play moving forward, however the Playoff ultimately expands.
— On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.
