Big Ten, SEC Commissioners Eye CFP Bracket Seeding Changes for 2025-26 Season

There may be College Football Playoff expansion in the not-too-distant future, but there could be other notable changes to the current 12-team format as soon as the upcoming season.

ESPN's Heather Dinich reported Wednesday that both Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said they want to change the seeding format for the 2025 campaign. Their preference is to have a "straight seeding" format that follows the selection committee's rankings while still providing an automatic bid for conference champions.

Dinich's update came after the Big Ten and SEC held meetings in New Orleans on Wednesday.

The model that was in place last season gave a first-round bye to the four highest-ranked conference champions, so Boise State and Arizona State were granted byes even though they were ranked Nos. 9 and 12, respectively, in the final CFP poll.

That meant No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Penn State had to play in the first round as the Nos. 5 and 6 seeds because they did not win the SEC and Big Ten. If Sankey and Petitti had their way moving forward, the Longhorns and Nittany Lions would have received first-round byes as the No. 3 and 4 teams in the final ranking.

Boise State and Arizona State still would have been granted admission into the CFP as conference champions, but they would have needed to win an extra game.

Going by the final seedings instead of giving the top four seeds to the four highest-ranked conference champions would have ensured top-seeded Oregon wasn't stuck facing a loaded Ohio State squad that ended up winning the national title in the Ducks' first playoff game.

Instead, the Buckeyes would have been the No. 6 seed based on their final ranking and on the other side of the bracket. Perhaps then the Ducks could have advanced to the national championship game before worrying about facing an Ohio State team that steamrolled them in the Rose Bowl.

This comes after Ross Dellinger of Yahoo Sports reported on Sunday there could be major changes in store for the CFP as soon as the 2026 season.

Dellinger noted "momentum is building to further expand the playoff to 14 or 16 teams" within the SEC and Big Ten in particular. One format could see the SEC and Big Ten each granted four automatic qualifiers and the ACC and Big 12 each getting two.

There would also be an automatic spot for the highest-ranked Group of Five champion and one for Notre Dame if it is ranked inside the top 14.

Dinich asked Sankey on Wednesday if he could provide details on what he hopes to see by 2026, and he said, "No. I think that's something that we owe our colleagues first, and I think I've been consistent in that observation for us."

While Sankey didn't provide specific details about his 2026 preferences, it seems like change is right around the corner for college football with the sport's two most powerful conferences leading the way.