11 months, 2 weeks ago

College Football Playoff delays tweaking 12-team format to decrease spots reserved for league champs

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The College Football Playoff delayed reducing the number of spots reserved for conference champions from six to five in the upcoming 12-team format on Monday, though the change is expected to be in place next season. For now, the playoff format for the next two years has spots reserved for six conference champions and six at-large selections. “They want to get all their issues resolved.” With only nine full major college football conferences in place for next season — and one fewer Power Five conference than when expansion was first agreed upon — the CFP management committee agreed to recommend changing the original 6-6 format to a 5-7 model. We’re playing the new 12-team playoff this year and we need to get a media deal done.” CFP THREATS CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock said the threats directed at him and members of the selection committee after Florida State was left out of the playoff with a perfect record led to the CFP arranging for extra security for some members.

Football Media College State Conference Playoff Format Cfp Next Season Power Five Keenum Decrease Spots playoff reserved format decrease spots media tweaking keenum cfp conference delays football college league state

History of this topic

What Everyone Is Missing About the College Football Playoff

Trending News

54 years, 11 months ago

What Everyone Is Missing About the College Football Playoff

Slate

The first 12-team iteration of the College Football Playoff had four chances to produce a competitive first-round game. ProFootballTalk opined, “A 12-team college football playoff sounds like a great idea until it’s all lesser teams going on the road to play better teams in late December and getting their asses kicked.” These people are all making different points but missing …

2 days, 4 hours ago

College playoffs looks for good matchups after snoozy first round of blowouts

Associated Press

For those who dozed through it, or flipped to more compelling fare in the NFL, here’s a brief recap of the rollout of the much-anticipated College Football Playoff. One part that did feel like a success was that the stands were full in all four stadiums — at Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State and Ohio State. “I think college football …

5 days, 4 hours ago

12-team college football playoff arrives after 100 years, a few billion dollars and many detours

Associated Press

It took more than 100 years, a few billion dollars and the cold, hard realization that you can’t fight progress forever. The first 12-team College Football Playoff kicks off Friday and Saturday with four first-round games on campuses steeped in gridiron tradition: Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. A deal struck decades ago as part of the NFL’s …

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin calls college football’s crammed calendar ‘a dumb system’

Trending News

2 weeks ago

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin calls college football’s crammed calendar ‘a dumb system’

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin on Tuesday called college football’s current setup “a dumb system,” and he wasn’t referring to the playoff selection process for a change. “It really is a dumb system.” Kiffin’s comments came after first-year Duke coach Manny Diaz confirmed that …

2 weeks, 1 day ago

What are the matchups in the College Football Playoff?

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 7 seed Notre Dame, Dec. 20, 8 p.m. BetMGM College Football Odds: Notre Dame by 8.5. 6 seed Penn State, Dec. 21, noon BetMGM College Football Odds: Penn State by 8.5. 5 seed Texas, Dec. 21, 4 p.m. BetMGM College Football Odds: Texas by 10.5. 8 …

2 weeks, 2 days ago

Alabama left out of playoff as committee rewards SMU’s wins over Crimson Tide’s strong schedule

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The College Football Playoff committee took SMU’s wins over Alabama’s strength of schedule, picking the Mustangs for the final at-large spot Sunday after a furious public debate and days of lobbying and arguing over which teams should make the 12-team field. “We had an extremely challenging …

2 weeks, 2 days ago

2024 College Football Playoff guide: What to know about the new 12-team format, at-large bids

New York Times

College football entered a new era Sunday with the unveiling of the first 12-team Playoff bracket. For most of its century-plus existence, college football had a “mythical national champion.” The sport’s season champion was determined after teams played in bowl games by various polls and rankings, which, of course, led to significant debate. The four quarterfinal games and both semifinals …

2 weeks, 2 days ago

5 takeaways from the unveiling of the 12-team College Football Playoff field

CNN

CNN — The field is set, the games are scheduled, and college football fans have an absolutely scrumptious holiday buffet of playoff games set out in front of them. Oregon offensive lineman Iapani Laloulu celebrates after the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game against Penn State, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Indianapolis. Darron Cummings/AP The top four seeds are …

2 weeks, 5 days ago

College football conference championship odds, picks against the spread for all 9 title games

New York Times

The song of championship week has a running refrain: It’s tough to beat the same team twice. Sign Up Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State Friday 7 p.m. on CBSSN Jacksonville State joined the FBS last year, and coach Rich Rodriguez already has the Gamecocks in a conference title game. 10 Boise State Friday 8 p.m. on FOX It’s a banner …

2 weeks, 6 days ago

College football picks: ‘Let’s play two’ a theme for handful of conference championship games

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The FBS rematches: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State in the Sun Belt, UNLV at Boise State in the Mountain West, Ohio vs. Miami in Detroit in the Mid-American and Georgia vs. Texas in Atlanta in the Southeastern Conference. “You can’t hang or your hat on the …

2 weeks, 6 days ago

Iowa State and SMU athletic directors in a ‘stay off my lawn’ moment regarding latest rankings

Associated Press

Athletic directors at Iowa State and SMU are in a turf war over the latest College Football Playoff rankings, leading to a “stay off my lawn” moment on social media. “Looks like your lawn may be artificial,” Pollard wrote in a post directed to SMU’s AD, Rick Hart. Hart mowed down Pollard with a response of his own that started …

3 weeks ago

Ohio State and Miami tumble in College Football Playoff penultimate rankings

CNN

CNN — Buckeye and Hurricane fans must have known this moment was coming as the College Football Playoff comes into focus ahead of conference championship week. After suffering shocking upsets to unranked opponents on Saturday, Ohio State and Miami dropped in the penultimate CFP rankings, which were revealed Tuesday. After winning their first five ACC games, Miami lost two of …

1 month ago

Chase for spots in SEC championship game still up for grabs with two games left in regular season

Associated Press

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — With two games left in the regular season, No. “There’s been no time ever where Texas A&M has been in the SEC, in the last two games controlled their own destiny to go to Atlanta. It’s the opportunity that you’ve trained for.” But a loss would create more chaos in an already tight race that could …

1 month, 1 week ago

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 11: Will shaky contenders feel an SEC squeeze?

New York Times

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. The ACC and Big 12’s hopes of sending multiple teams to the first 12-team College Football Playoff took a big hit over the weekend. Meanwhile, Ole Miss’ win at Georgia brought more SEC teams into the Playoff mix rather than knocking one out with a …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

College football Week 11 odds, picks against the spread: Ole Miss-Georgia, Alabama-LSU and more

New York Times

The initial College Football Playoff rankings have been released, and several games on the Week 11 slate will significantly impact the eventual 12-team field. 16 Ole Miss 3:30 p.m. on Fubo, ABC The big change with the expanded playoff in college football isn’t that it cheapened the regular season. So it’s pretty simple — win on Saturday night to keep …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

First College Football Playoff Rankings Set for Reveal

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is released each week throughout the season, and the first set of rankings will determine the 12 teams that will participate in the first round of the playoffs. Oregon, currently ranked number one, will be the top seed in the poll, while Miami, BYU, and Indiana are also undefeated and ranked in the …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Predicting the first 12-team College Football Playoff selection committee rankings

New York Times

The first College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed Tuesday night, and once again I’ll be using my projections model to try to predict how the selection committee will rank the teams each week. Here’s what I expect Tuesday’s rankings to be: Next five: Missouri, South Carolina, UNLV, Arizona State, Tulane Biggest question: What to do with Notre Dame? There …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Will the first College Football Playoff rankings of 12-team era favor Big Ten, SEC?

New York Times

Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings will surely be the most picked-apart first installment of a season since the CFP debuted in 2014. It’s also the committee’s first set of rankings in the new era of superconferences, where the SEC and Big Ten are trying to position themselves as superior to everyone else. “You can come from a …

1 month, 3 weeks ago

Strength of Schedule: A Key Factor in the 12-Team Playoff Brackets

Associated Press

The 12-team College Football Playoff selection committee will consider strength of schedule as a factor in determining the bracket. Strength of schedule is a measure of how difficult it is for a team to schedule games against other teams. This factor is not included in the traditional AP Top 25 poll, but it could play a significant role in determining …

2 months ago

How 30-plus College Football Playoff contenders and their conference races collide in the weeks ahead

New York Times

As November approaches, more and more programs’ College Football Playoff hopes are dropping like autumn leaves from the trees. Key games before first CFP rankings: BYU at UCF, Oct. 26; Cincinnati at Colorado, Oct. 26; Texas Tech at Iowa State, Nov. 2. A failed drive for a last-second field goal cost them at Oregon, but games against Penn State, Indiana …

2 months, 1 week ago

College football midseason bowl projections: How new CFP format impacts rest of bowl season

New York Times

The expanded College Football Playoff will give this sport something that previously was unrivaled by the other sport: a true Selection Sunday. Texas Clemson-Alabama winner 8:45 p.m. ESPN Orange Jan. 9 Miami, Fla. Quarterfinal winner Quarterfinal winner 7:30 p.m. ESPN Cotton Jan. 10 Arlington, Texas Quarterfinal winner Quarterfinal winner 7:30 p.m. ESPN Championship Jan. 20 Atlanta Semifinal winner Semifinal winner …

2 months, 3 weeks ago

College football Week 6: Missouri-Texas A&M is the only Top 25 matchup, but other games loom large

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The ebb and flow of the college football season hits a low this week if measured by the number of Top 25 matchups. 38 — Navy has scored at least this many points in its first four games of a season for the first time in …

2 months, 3 weeks ago

UNLV Makes Historic Return to AP Top 25 Poll, Earns Ranking in First Week of Season

Associated Press

UNLV's football program had a week to remember, starting with quarterback Matthew Sluka's decision to sit out the rest of the season. Despite the setback, the Rebels made their first-ever appearance in the AP Top 25, tied with Texas A&M at No. 25. The team's performance was praised by coach Barry Odom, who attributed their success to the team's maturity …

2 months, 4 weeks ago

College football picks: Georgia-Alabama showdown not as consequential with 12-team CFP but still big

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 4 Alabama on Saturday in a showdown of two Southeastern Conference superpowers who have combined to win five national titles since the College Football Playoff’s implementation in 2014. Back in the days before the Bowl Championship Series and CFP, a game like Alabama-Georgia could have essentially …

2 months, 4 weeks ago

For ACC teams, adding an NFL-like front office is the new norm for transfer-portal recruiting

Associated Press

New Boston College coach Bill O’Brien wanted to build a pro-style approach to handle the growing demands of recruiting in the transfer-portal era. “We’re continuing to grow,” said California coach Justin Wilcox, whose Bears are in their first ACC season. If there’s more investment on the front end, I’ve got to believe the back end is going to look better, …

3 months ago

CFP Bracket Watch: Texas, Ohio State, Miami, Utah are top seeds as SEC hoards 1st-round home games

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The top four seeds remain locked into The Associated Press’ College Football Playoff bracket projection as Miami and Utah move up the Top 25. 1 seed as the projected Southeastern Conference champion, followed by Ohio State as the second seed out of the Big Ten. ___ …

3 months ago

College football Week 4: As conference play ramps up, more mismatches are on the slate for top teams

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! We aren’t quite in the throes of conference play as the first month of the college football season winds down. Utah hopes to have quarterback Cam Rising back, though true freshman Isaac Wilson filled in admirably against Utah State last week in his first start. USC …

3 months, 3 weeks ago

Conference realignment makes future USC-LSU opening matchups unlikely

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “The first game, there’s always the sense of new and excitement and you’re kind of waiting to see what you really are and what the opponent really is.” Or as Trojans quarterback Miller Moss noted: “These are the kinds of games you come to USC to …

3 months, 3 weeks ago

Comcast-Big Ten Network impasse with West Coast schools part of realignment headaches

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Huskies and Ducks fans who subscribe to Comcast might not be able to see their team’s openers on Saturday due to a carriage dispute with the Big Ten Network. As the one distribution partner that declined to expand along with us, Comcast Xfinity viewers in many …

3 months, 3 weeks ago

College football Week 1: Race for the 12 playoff spots is on with Clemson-Georgia topping schedule

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! College football season begins in earnest this week with a full slate of games highlighted by three Top 25 matchups. The Seminoles’ 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech last week as a double-digit favorite dropped their odds of getting picked this year from 3-2 to 5-1, according …

4 months ago

Bulked-up Big Ten and SEC set to dominate college football on and off the field

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “An incredibly strong conference, amazing TV deals, incredible partner, certainly exciting times to be part of the Big Ten,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens recent said recently on the Navigating Sports Business podcast. “Now, as a TV guy, if I’m going to pay increasing dollars, I’m …

4 months ago

Expanded college football playoff field provides more opportunities for bettors

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! LAS VEGAS — Missouri and Tennessee typically aren’t confused for Georgia and Ohio State when it comes to college football’s powers. Those teams still might not be, but they’re more in the conversation thanks to the expansion of the College Football Playoff field from four to …

4 months ago

A dream road trip to see every AP Top 25 team with conference realignment adding some spice

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! These clashes between big-name powers provide plenty of new options for AP’s annual attempt to map out college football’s hypothetical dream road trip. 22 Kansas at BYU Yes, that’s two straight games in the state of Utah and you can kill some time catching two home …

4 months ago

Coast-to-coast conferences and expanded playoff mark a season of change in college football

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! College Football Playoff The expanded playoff will be spread over a month beginning Dec. 20-21 and could require the last two teams standing to play an unprecedented 17 games. The 12 playoff teams will be the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, …

4 months, 1 week ago

Who will make an expanded College Football Playoff? A potential bracket, using the Top 25 as a guide

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! — Unpredictability lingered into 2022, when five teams that would have gone on to make a 12-team playoff started the season unranked by AP, including national runner-up TCU. — Overall, 29 teams from 2014-23 that started the season unranked by AP would have made a 12-team …

5 months ago

SMU embracing challenge of ‘moving up in weight class’ and joining Atlantic Coast Conference

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “I think it just speaks to the acknowledgement from our community, the SMU community, this isn’t just about athletics,” athletics director Rick Hart said. “That us off pretty bad and we are mad at that.. That’s a big motivator because now we know we just can’t …

5 months, 1 week ago

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey: ‘Time to update your expectations for what college athletics can be’

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! DALLAS — Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey unofficially opened the league’s first football season as 16-team league Monday in a massive hotel ballroom in North Texas, a new setting for SEC Media Days at a time when everything about college sports seems to be in flux. …

6 months, 2 weeks ago

Expanded College Football Playoff will begin with 1st-round game on Dec. 20 in prime time

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff will kick off with a first-round game on Dec. 20 and conclude with the title game one month later in Atlanta. ABC and ESPN will televise games on Friday and Saturday night with an 8 p.m. EST …

6 months, 3 weeks ago

SEC gathers to sort through consequences of settlement, comes away with more questions than answers

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “It’s going to be a process,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “We have to recognize we don’t have all the answers right now.” One way to boost revenue schools are already considering is selling advertising that would be displayed on football fields or uniforms. In …

7 months ago

TNT will begin airing College Football Playoff games through sublicense with ESPN

The Independent

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy TNT Sports will begin airing …

7 months ago

New Big Ten schools will make at least 1 appearance on Fox’s Friday night college football package

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! LOS ANGELES — Each of the Big Ten Conference’s new West Coast schools will make at least one appearance this coming season on Fox Sports’ “College Football Friday” package. Washington — which got to the College Football Playoff title game before losing to Michigan — visits …

7 months, 1 week ago

College football portal classes: Ole Miss all in, Ohio State shops high end. Prime restocks again

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! With the spring transfer portal window closed, a look at six college football teams that cleaned up in various ways. The Rebels had good returning pieces at quarterback and receiver, and then Lane Kiffin went all in behind the Grove Collective to build a contender in …

7 months, 2 weeks ago

Michigan’s Edwards, Texas’ Ewers, Colorado’s Hunter among 6 on college football video game cover

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter are among the six players displayed on the cover of EA Sports College Football 25, which is set to return after being discontinued 11 years ago. College Football 25 will be …

9 months ago

ESPN will remain the home of the College Football Playoff through 2031 under $7.8 billion deal

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The College Football Playoff and ESPN announced a $7.8 billion deal Tuesday that will give the network exclusive rights to the expanded postseason through the 2031 season, with the national championship game moving to ABC starting in 2026. “It’s a significant day for the CFP and …

9 months ago

College Football Playoff finalizes agreement giving ESPN exclusive rights through 2031-32

New York Times

ESPN and the College Football Playoff on Tuesday announced a finalized agreement granting the network exclusive rights through the 2031-32 season. Two seasons remain on ESPN’s original 12-year deal for the New Year’s Six bowls and national championship game. ESPN, which to this point has aired all CFP games on its flagship cable network, said it will move the national …

9 months, 1 week ago

College Football Playoff moving toward agreement between conferences needed to complete ESPN deal

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The College Football Playoff is moving toward a revenue-sharing agreement among participating conferences that is needed in order to finalize a new media rights contact with ESPN. Conference officials were meeting separately this week with their schools to consider a deal that would commit them to …

9 months, 3 weeks ago

Analysis: Big Ten and SEC power play undermines credibility of playoff, marginalizes ACC and Big 12

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! There will be at least two 12-team playoffs, this season and next, but the Power Five is now down to four, dominated by a Big Two: The Southeastern Conference and Big Ten have decided to throw their weight around to protect their own interests with little …

10 months ago

With 12-team playoff set, CFP already discussing possibly more teams for 2026 and beyond

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! DALLAS — Now that the yearslong process to finalize how the 12 teams for the expanded College Football Playoff will be selected for the next two seasons is complete, there are already discussions about maybe adding more teams for 2026 and beyond. The CFP management committee …

10 months ago

How the 12-team College Football Playoff will work

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The 12-team College Football Playoff is 10 months away from kicking off and the format for it has finally been locked in. University presidents who make up the CFP Board of Managers unanimously approved one last tweak to increase the number of at-large bids from six …

10 months ago

College Football Playoff approves 5+7 format and reduces spots for conference champions

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The field for the 12-team College Football Playoff beginning next season will comprise five conference champions and seven at-large selections after the university presidents who oversee the CFP voted unanimously Tuesday to tweak the format. The original plan for the 12-team format was to have the …

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1 day, 2 hours ago