CFP makes previously unknown change with 12-team Group of 6 bids
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
The College Football Playoff is making a slight change to the 12-team format for the 2026 season.
The guaranteed Group of Six CFP bid no longer has to be a conference champion but will rather go to the highest-ranked non-Power Four program, The Athletic reported Jan. 27. The previous format included the five highest-ranked conference champions but now guarantees bids to the four Power Four conference title winners, while also granting Notre Dame a spot if it is anywhere in the top 12.
The report notably mentioned that multiple Group of Six leaders were unaware of the change away from the Group of Six inclusion not needing to be a conference champion.
The change, in theory, would make it more difficult for non-Power Four programs to put multiple teams in the CFP like it did in 2025. Both Tulane and James Madison reached the 12-team field over ACC champion Duke, which was unranked, as the Green Wave and the Dukes were the fourth and fifth highest-ranked conference champions in college football.
The Athletic reported the current CFP contract expired after the 2025 season and is being replaced by a memorandum of understanding signed by every conference and Notre Dame.
The 12-team playoff remains for the third consecutive season after the SEC and Big Ten couldn't come to an agreement to expand to a 16-team bracket before the deadline of Jan. 23. This past season changed the seeding format, as teams were seeded in a straight line based on the final CFP rankings rather than first-round byes going to the four highest-ranked conference champions.
The first two seasons of the 12-team CFP guaranteed five spots to the five highest-ranked conference champions, which will seemingly change to four guaranteed spots in 2026.
The CFP format is changing again, and it probably won't be the last time the format is different.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CFP makes slight change with 12-team Group of Six bids, per report
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos