Big Ten, SEC Commissioner Call For College Football Bracket Seeding Changes For 2025

The Oregon Ducks loss in the College Football Playoff to eventual national champion Ohio State may end up being a massive factor in the changing of the playoff format in the future. It was reported on Wednesday that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti want to change the seeding format for next season’s College Football Playoff.

Proposed Change To CFP Format

Oct 16, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; SEC commissioner Greg Sankey talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

ESPN’s Heather Dinich reported on Wednesday that SEC and Big Ten held meetings from New Orleans. She said that both Sankey and Petitti want the College Football Playoff format to be more reflective of the final rankings and not the auto-bids getting the first round bye based off conference titles.

Currently, the format has the top four seeds and first round byes reserved for the four highest ranked conference winners. Despite a team being ranked outside the top four, they still can get a top four seed and a first round bye for winning their conference. This was the case this past season.

The top two teams in the final rankings were Oregon and Georgia, so those two got the top two seeds and first round byes. Rounding out the top four in the final rankings were Texas and Penn State. Since neither Texas or Penn State won their respective conference, they were not eligible to get a first round bye. This cleared the way for Mountain West champion Boise State and Big 12 champion Arizona State. Boise State was ranked No. 9 and Arizona State was ranked No. 12.

In the proposed format, Boise State and Arizona State would not have had byes and Texas and Penn State would be in their place as the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti say they are both in favor of changing the seeding in the 2025 playoff, as they have suggested in the past. They want seeding base directly on the rankings and no automatic byes for conference champions.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) February 19, 2025

Furthermore, there is also momentum that a new format may include additional playoff spots, Ross Dellenger reported earlier this week.

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Oregon Ducks Path In Inaugural 12-Team Playoff

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a first down catch during the second half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2024 Oregon Ducks went 13-0, winning the Big Ten Championship game over Penn State. Oregon got a first round bye in the College Football Playoff, and had to play the winner of the first round matchup between Ohio State and Tennessee. Ohio State and Tennessee were seeded No. 8 and No. 9, but this did not reflect their rankings. The Buckeyes were No. 6 and the Volunteers were No. 7. So Oregon was guaranteed a quarterfinal matchup against a top seven team.

Meanwhile, the team they beat in the Big Ten Championship game, Penn State, had a much easier path to the semifinals. Penn State had a home game in the first round against No. 10 ranked and No. 11 seeded SMU, and then a neutral site quarterfinal game against No. 9 Boise State, who was seeded No. 3.

Even though they had a bye, did the Ducks have a more favorable path than a team like Penn State? The commissioners in the Big Ten and SEC want to make sure it isn’t a benefit to lose your conference title game.

2024 Ducks Path In Proposed Playoff Format

Oregon coach Dan Lanning celebrates with quarterback Dillon Gabriel during warmups before the game against Boise State at Autzen in Eugene Sept. 7, 2024. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

If this format were in place for this most recent playoff, it would look a whole lot different for Oregon. The Ducks would have still been waiting in the quarterfinals, but instead of playing No. 6 Ohio State or No. 7 Tennessee, it would have been against of the winner of No. 8 Indiana and No. 9 Boise State.

The team that beat Oregon and won the whole thing, Ohio State, would be on the complete opposite side of the bracket and would only face Oregon in the National Championship.