The NCAA’s College Football Playoff finally expanded in 2024, allowing 12 teams to play for the title. It wasn’t without its issues, many of which were ironed out in recent adjustments to the 2025 version. But if the Big Ten and SEC have their way, confusion and frustration with the playoff might soon be at an all-time high. So how does this affect EA College Football 26 and future titles?
College Football Playoff Changes In 2025
2024’s format gave byes to the top four champions of the power conferences. That resulted in teams like Arizona State and Boise State getting byes. Both teams deserved to be in the tournament, but should have been playing on the first weekend. The format also resulted in Oregon having to play eventual champion Ohio State in its first game.
Something is broken when all four teams with byes lose their first game. The NCAA recognized this and stepped in to fix it. So, in 2025, the teams qualifying for the tournament will be reseeded 1-12, with the four best teams getting byes to the second round.
Everything seems reasonable now, right? Not so fast, my friend. If the Big Ten and SEC get their way, the College Football Playoff is about to become more confusing than sports games controls seem to someone who’s never played anything other than Candy Crush.
The Big Ten And SEC Proposal
Stay with me while I try to explain this. The Big Ten and SEC want to move the tournament to 16 teams. So far, so good. But they want four guaranteed spots in the tournament for their conferences, more than any other league will get. The Big 12 and ACC will get two each; smaller conferences will only get one. But that isn’t all. The Big Ten and SEC want there to still be byes instead of a classic 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15, etc. They seek “play-in” games between the 13-16 seeds. That means the top two seeds in the tournament wouldn’t play until the third weekend—the quarterfinals.
To give this context, imagine if the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions didn’t play until the third weekend of the NFL playoffs last year. It’s hard to find a way to justify that from a competitive standpoint. In a college football landscape that’s already lopsided, giving powerhouses like Ohio State or Georgia two weeks off would severely impact how competitive the tournament is. It’s a nonsensical problem to create when you have a classic 16-team bracket staring you in the face.
Of course, this is nothing more than an attempt to make more money while giving their own teams a competitive advantage. These sorts of brazen money and power grabs used to be done in dark, smoke-filled rooms. Now it’s somehow becoming more commonplace. They’re done in the open, accompanied by PR staff and influencers to tell us why we should love it.
The Impact On NCAA Football
I’m a fan of a Big Ten team that would benefit from this. With four guaranteed berths, the Minnesota Gophers might someday, maybe, hopefully have a chance to be in the CFP. I still hate it. When the Gophers eventually row the boat into the CFP, I want it to be because they earned it on the same level as every other team.
Imagine the uncertainty the EA Sports College Football developers (check out our picks for the most exciting CFB 26 players) might have over this. Coding this in any way that makes sense will be a challenge. Reseeding is simple enough. Do it based on CFP rankings. But the byes, schedules, and lopsided berths will create confusion. If not with the developers, definitely with fans.
College football would benefit if we all at least pretended that every school is equally important. That each school has the same chance to be great. When that is taken away in the name of power and money, it affects fan engagement. The College Football Playoff shouldn’t be the Big Ten-SEC Classic. Not when there are obvious answers that would make the product better for everyone.
