Rece Davis reveals the 'dumbest thing we do' with College Football Playoff

The expanded College Football Playoff was a hit in Year 1, but there’s a myriad of changes coming for Year 2 and beyond. ESPN’s Rece Davis has his focus on an area that many people wouldn’t have circled though.

The College GameDay host took issue with the way the national title game is categorized. For example, last season’s championship showdown was called the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship, but it was the finale for the 2024 season. Davis wants to see that rectified in the future.

“The dumbest thing we do with the College Football Playoff is play the 2024 season and then call it the 2025 College Football Playoff [National] Championship. I have to do those wrap-up shows, where we go back through the Playoff and do the intros, they always say it. I refuse to say it that way,” Davis adamantly stated, via the latest episode of the College GameDay Podcast.

“I will say College Football Playoff [National] Championship for the 2024 season, because that’s how you organize it in your mind when you’re thinking about the championships. There’s the answer. I mean, you don’t have to use the Roman numerals if you don’t want to. Use Helvetica font, I don’t care what you do. Just do it something where it’s consistent and everybody understands what year it is, or what season it represents.”

If you couldn’t tell, it’s the football offseason, so there’s going to be some off-the-wall topics that pundits like Davis nitpick. While this doesn’t feel like too big of a deal to some, it’s obviously something that’s weighed heavy on his mind throughout the last couple of months.

As Davis awaits change on that front, the Playoff will look different in 2025 and beyond. After a bit of controversy in Year 1, the system will adopt a straight-seeding model for this coming season.

This comes following criticism of seeding in last year’s CFP. Under the seeding model used last season, the top-four ranked conference champions earned a bye week. The remaining teams were seeded in the order that the selection committee had ranked them. However, that ended up with teams ranked lower by the selection committee getting the bye ahead of teams ranked higher.

Of the four teams that earned the bye last season, none were able to win their first game. That included ninth-ranked Boise State and 12th-ranked Arizona State. It also included the top-two ranked teams in Oregon and Georgia.

As you can tell, the College Football Playoff is ever-changing, so perhaps Rece Davis will get his wish. Last season’s iteration was a resounding success, and we can’t wait to see what’s in-store for an encore.