Report: 'Skepticism' CFP Will Have New Seeding Format for 2025-26 Bracket

There is far from a unanimous opinion about whether the College Football Playoff format should be tweaked slightly for the upcoming season, according to ESPN's Heather Dinich.

Dinich reported Monday that "multiple sources have expressed skepticism" about changing how the teams are seeded.

"Some sources have also wondered if it's worth the debate knowing it's only for this season before more substantial changes are implemented in 2026," she added.

Under the current CFP rules, the top four seeds are reserved for the top-ranked conference champions. That creates a situation where Boise State and Arizona State received a first-round bye this past year despite sitting ninth and 12th respectively in the selection committee's final rankings.

Dinich reported last week that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti are both in favor of changing the seeding procedure.

"We're in favor of going to a straight seeding, where there's no difference between rankings and seeding like we had this year," Petitti said. "We're in support of that for next year."

Sankey cautioned, though, he wanted unanimous agreement between conference officials and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua before any changes were put in place.

For as much power as the Big Ten, SEC and other major conferences wield, Dinich spoke to a source who said the resistance from Group of Five programs could prove difficult to overcome.

"I don't see a willingness to do that," the source said. "I don't see the incentive for the G5 schools to agree to do away with the current seeding—just a self-interest thing—unless there's something else that's being committed to them for next year."

As Dinich laid out in her newest story, there's also the fact the College Football Playoff could look far different as early as 2026. Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger reported on Feb. 16 the Big Ten and SEC are weighing expansion to 14 or 16 teams, and that would create the need for new seeding rules all over again.