The 12-team College Football Playoff is a welcomed change after decades of exclusionary practices among the sport's elite. Even still, the bright, shiny machine remains deeply flawed.
A world where legitimate top-five teams like Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State cannot obtain a first-round bye simply because they didn't win a conference title (an impossibility for the Irish) is ludicrous. It also complicates what has been deemed an inclusive system, which makes it difficult for casual fans to trust the process.
Controversy stemming from complicated processes is nothing new for college athletics, especially football. Red tape was invented by the big boys to keep the smaller programs within arm's reach and happy, but they rarely realize they're still under their thumb.
There's just one problem with the powers-that-be's grand plan: they've also hamstrung themselves.
The 12-team playoff was designed to reward the five highest-ranked champions automatic bids with the four highest-rated teams among them garnering a coveted bye into the quarterfinals. It's easy to understand the process at face value, but it's still shocking when the practice becomes reality and a double-digit number flashing across the television screen morphs into a single digit.
No. 12 Arizona State is actually the No. 4 seed?!
The new CFP format was developed in the time of five power conferences. Four survived after the Era of Great Realignment between 2022 and 2024. Those surviving conferences also got bigger, making it more difficult for elite teams to exit the season without one or two losses. Now that it's a reality and the big boys are hobbled, you can bet the big dogs will be on the hunt soon.
"Well, I just look to the NCAA basketball tournament, you know?" Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told ESPN on Sunday. "If you win your conference tournament, you get an automatic bid into the tournament, but then there's seedings, right? There's one seeds, there's two seeds, so on and so forth, and nowhere in there does it say that if you win your conference championship you get an automatic 1-seed. So I think if we can get to that model from a football perspective moving forward that teams get seeded predicated on their ranking."
The Big Ten and SEC will wield more power when the new TV contract for the playoff begins in 2026, so expect those changes to happen swiftly.
Until then, we'll continue to re-calibrate our brains when those numbers float indiscriminately across the screen like a scene from "A Beautiful Mind."
The CBS Sports Power Rankings will re-rank the CFP field before, during and after the postseason. This is the first installment as we head into the first round.
1. Oregon
Oregon is the unquestioned favorite heading into the College Football Playoff with an incredible resume, including two top-five wins, and a slew of weapons on offense that have made elite defenses look pedestrian. The Ducks own the nation's longest winning streak (14) yet the CFP committee didn't give the them an easy road with potential matchups against Ohio State and Texas on the docket before the national championship game.
2. Georgia
Did the real Georgia stand up (again) in Atlanta? The Bulldogs won the SEC championship with a relentless defense and an incredible performance by backup quarterback Gunner Stockton. The Bulldogs own four wins against teams in the CFP, including two against Texas. It remains to be seen whether Carson Beck (elbow) will be available for the CFP quarterfinals, but the good news is he has three weeks to recover.
3. Notre Dame
We've been high on Notre Dame for the bulk of the last four weeks. The Irish responded with fury after that Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois, bludgeoning teams with abandon, including a 35-point win against undefeated and nationally ranked Army. Notre Dame owns the nation's best average margin of victory (26.3 points) and has defeated all but one opponent during this 10-game winning streak by double digits. Only Oregon is hotter entering the playoff.
4. Penn State
Penn State didn't flinch when it trailed Oregon by 18 points, pulling within single digits three times before ultimately losing 45-37. The Nittany Lions finally broke through into the CFP after a long wait, though let's remember James Franklin would have led them into he field in six of the last seven years if the 12-team format was in place. Two 100-yard rushers against Oregon's defense was impressive and a great sign heading into the playoff. Might Penn State have the most favorable path to the championship among the first-round participants?
5. Texas
Texas had opportunities to pull away from Georgia in the SEC Championship Game but scored only six points on three possessions inside the 30-yard line. The game was the hardest-hitting matchup of championship weekend, and no doubt the Bulldogs deserved to win, but why is Texas struggling to score? The Longhorns haven't cracked 20 points in three of their last four games. We hate to say it, but maybe it is time for more Arch Manning. Meanwhile, the defense is legitimately Texas' best in 40 years.
6. Ohio State
Ohio State is capable of winning the national championship. The roster was built for a postseason run, and though fans are still fuming over the regular-season loss to Michigan, a title is a strong possibility with this $20 million roster. No team has played No. 1 Oregon better than Ohio State (and did so on the road), and the Buckeyes already own a dominating victory against Indiana. Still, we hesitate to pick the Buckeyes because of Ryan Day's record in big games, even if the metrics are incredible, which includes the country's second-best scoring margin.
7. Indiana
Indiana dominated nearly every opponent it faced, winning by an average of 24.5 points before falling to Ohio State 38-15 on the road. The Hoosiers were rated fairly by the committee at No. 8 because of their lack of big wins against top-25 teams, but they played the schedule they were given and ran through it before the Buckeyes made them stumble. The in-state trip to Notre Dame for the first game of the 12-team CFP era is going to be fun.
8. Tennessee
Tennessee owns one win against a top-25 team (Alabama) and a loss to unranked Arkansas. The inconsistency on offense gives us pause heading into the CFP, especially with a trip to Ohio State, but the defense has been stellar most of the season, ranking fourth nationally. The Vols' most impressive road win heading into the CFP was at Vanderbilt in the final week of the regular season.
9. Arizona State
Would any team want to play Arizona State? The Sun Devils are on fire heading into the playoff with a six-game winning streak. They drilled Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 title game despite playing without leading receiver Jordyn Tyson and snagged a playoff berth as well as a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed. A high-powered offense is always a concern, but particularly one led by a bulldozer at running back like Cam Skattebo, who is only the eighth player in FBS history to record 1,500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in a single season.
10. Boise State
Boise State and Arizona State both own two top-25 wins, but the Broncos' wins were against the same team (UNLV), so ASU gets the slight edge in the power rankings with the help of a stronger strength of schedule and a more impressive performance against top-20 Iowa State. Ashton Jeanty has been an incredible story, and though reliable, it's clear the Broncos would probably not be a playoff-worthy team without him. The pass defense is among the nation's worst (109th). Still, what an incredible draw as the No. 4 seed with a bye and game against SMU or Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl, where magical things happen for the Broncos.
11. SMU
SMU won nine straight before falling to Clemson on a last-second, 56-yard field goal in the ACC championship. The committee didn't do the silly thing and lift three-loss Alabama over the Mustangs, who earned their way in the field with an unblemished record in the ACC's regular season and an appearance in the conference title game. SMU doesn't have a top-25 win, but it did beat opponents by an average of 19.9 points during the winning streak.
12. Clemson
Clemson entered the field thanks to a win against SMU in the ACC title game, but otherwise, it doesn't have a resume worthy of inclusion in the playoff. The Tigers lost two home games, including a 17-14 loss to rival South Carolina two weeks ago, and were demolished by 31 points in the season opener against Georgia on a neutral field. Still, the Tigers did what they had to do in the ACC and picked up one top-25 win on the final Saturday.
