Greg Sankey calls out College Football Playoff format: It's clear not losing is more important than opponent quality

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said that in the current College Football Playoff model, “it’s clear that not losing” is more important than scheduling quality opponents. Sankey’s comments come as the playoffs are expected to change its seeding format ahead of the 2025 season.

According to reports, the College Football Playoff will adopt a straight seeding model beginning this season. This means playoff seedings will be determined by final rankings instead of the conference championship-friendly model it used in 2024.

When the CFP expanded to 12 teams for the first time in 2024, it forced the playoff committee to find a way to determine the criteria for how teams can make the final field. They drew criticism for the format that was used, which saw the top-four ranked conference champions earn a first-round bye. The remaining teams were seeded in the order that the selection committee had ranked them.

In its original format, there was much speculation whether or not teams would stop scheduling Power 4 opponents during the non-conference slate. With eight playoff spots available to teams that don’t win their conference, losing any game prior to the start of conference play was a major setback to any team looking to make the playoffs.

In the end, the CFP drew more criticism when the final rankings were revealed as ninth-ranked Boise State and 12th-ranked Arizona State earned first-round byes in this format in 2024. In the expected straight seeding model, this would not be the case even with a conference championship win. This means that more than one team in each conference could earn a bye in the first round.

The five highest-ranked conference champions will still receive a spot in the playoffs. The first-round bye is what would no longer be guaranteed.

Even more changes could be coming to the College Football Playoff in the near future. Talks over a potential expansion to 14 of 16 teams have been rumored since it expanded to 12 teams last season. One such proposal would see a set number of automatic qualifiers make the field per conference. It would include four SEC teams, four Big Ten teams, two Big 12 teams, two ACC teams, one Group of Six team, and three automatic bids.

However, nothing is set in stone as of this report. Whether the new seeding format changes how teams schedule their non-conference opponents from here on out remains to be seen.