Life just got a lot easier for SEC teams after CFP seeding change announcement

One of the biggest differences between being an SEC head football coach and a coach in any other conference is that it’s a lot harder to get into the College Football Playoff and national title game.

But once you’re in that final game, it’s a lot easier (unless the other team is also an SEC team).

Now, with the seeding policy changes announced by the CFP, it’s easier to get into the playoff and, consequentially, the national championship game.

The CFP announced Thursday that its “Management Committee, comprised of the 10 FBS conference commissioners and the Director of Athletics at the University of Notre Dame, today voted unanimously to modify the seeding and bye policies of the 12-team Playoff for the 2025-26 season.”

You can read the exact wording of the changes here. To put it simply, the CFP Selection Committee will base its seeding on its rankings. Meaning, the top four teams will get first round byes no matter if they win their conference championship or don’t even play in their conference’s championship game, the top four teams get a bye.

BREAKING: CFP executives are expected to adopt a straight-seeding model for this season’s College Football Playoff.

Here’s how last year’s bracket would’ve been seeded: pic.twitter.com/6pA3sjBRgO
— College Football Overtime (@CFB_Overtime) May 22, 2025

The only guarantee conference champions get is that if they’re ranked outside the playoff committee’s top 12, they’ll get into the playoff. What happened last year – Arizona State and Boise State getting byes – won’t happen again.

And that’s exactly what SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, based on comments made in an appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show last week, wanted.

“Texas went from No. 3 to No. 5. Tennessee went from hosting to not hosting,” Sankey said. “It’s difficult to explain and defend that decision-making.” (No, it’s not.) “Not to mention that group that’s left out. The way you break it down is, we have the top four spots in the 12-team Playoff that matter. Then, we have the next four, those are home games, the next four who are in, and the next four who are out.”

Sankey made those comments in regards to the possibility of the SEC adding a ninth conference game to its teams’ schedules. And with reports that ESPN is willing to pay up to $80 million for a ninth game between SEC teams, we shouldn’t be surprised to see that schedule change happen.

But another SEC game, under last season’s format, may have seen even fewer SEC teams make the playoff. With the change in how the playoff seeds are determined and another conference game, the SEC may have seen more teams make the 12-team playoff.

Money is important, but winning is just as important. And, yes, winning means winning the national championship. The more SEC teams in the playoff, the better are the chances the national champion is an SEC team.

And another SEC game on the resumes for its playoff contenders will only help their RPI, strength of schedule or whatever metric you prefer, giving SEC teams at least a better-possible path.

However, the SEC wasn’t going to make that change without some assurances its teams wouldn’t be penalized for having (i.e., losing) another SEC game on its schedule. Sankey and the 16 members of the SEC just got that assurance.

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