Notre Dame was dramatic over their College Football Playoff snub this past season. Sure, there was an argument to be had about being in the CFP rankings and then getting bumped out even though they didn’t have a game that affected their standing. That said, to go around and opt out of the Pop Tarts Bowl and then gloat about it, that was unnecessary.
Well, now they’re finally getting what they want — along with the other top conferences. At some point, the powers that be have to be happy with what they have, right? Unfortunately, we’ll never know because every year the College Football Playoff changes. Since the playoff expanded from four teams to 12 teams ahead of the 2024-25 season, there have been changes each year.
This next change is not only the most drastic, but the most detrimental to the credibility of the College Football Playoff and its rankings.
Why the latest changes threaten the credibility of the College Football Playoff
The new changes coming to the CFP for the 2026 season are bad because they diminish what the rankings mean. According to college football insider Brett McMurphy, now the Power 4 conferences will each get an automatic bid for their conference champion, regardless of their ranking. In this year’s field, that means Duke would take one of the spots Tulane and James Madison rightfully earned.
Changes in 2026 playoff: auto bids to each Power 4 champ (regardless of ranking) & Notre Dame guaranteed at-large bid if ranked in Top 12 in final poll https://t.co/zPOpcXBBut
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 23, 2026
The Blue Devils, while putting together a strong end to the season, were a four-loss team and weren't ranked in the final CFP rankings before bowl season, yet they would have gotten in with this new change. Notre Dame would have also gotten in. The addition of Duke and the Irish would have bumped the two Group of 5 teams out.
That’s not what the CFP is about, but it’s unfortunately what it’s becoming. With this new rule, it’s clear rankings won’t mean anything. It just opens the door for more Power 4 teams to get in and mediocre ones at that.
Do away with the arguments that the G5 teams were blown out in the CFP and don’t compare to the top teams. We saw Oregon, Texas Tech and Alabama all get whooped as well. This isn’t about a competitive balance. This is about greed and you can’t punish the smaller teams for having good seasons, simply because of their conference affiliation. The latest changes to the CFP help no one except the greedy conferences that seemingly can’t get enough.
College Football Playoff expansion won’t solve a problem that doesn’t exist
For all you expansion enthusiasts, adding more teams doesn’t solve the problem either. The Big Ten and SEC were at an impasse trying to decide between 16 teams and 24 teams, which is why the field remained at 12. Adding more teams just means there’s more drama because nobody will be satisfied. It will probably take a March Madness-style bracket to appease everybody.
With 16 teams, then you have to argue the difference in the bottom half of the rankings. With 24 teams, then you have to figure out if the No. 24 team is better than the No. 25 team, what conference they’re in and why their conference schedule means they get in – the same problem we have with 12 teams and had with four teams.
New CFP changes should be final straw for the “mid-major” football teams
At this point, the Group of 5 teams should just create their playoff. Would it be anything close to the original College Football Playoff? Probably not, but it would keep them from feeling left out. The Power 4 conferences are doing everything they can to exile the smaller schools out, so no need to play their game at this point.
Indiana proved that the misfits of college football have a place at the table. Unfortunately, though, Indiana is blessed with being a Big Ten team and gets the benefits of Power 4 affiliation. Teams like Tulane, James Madison, Boise State and everybody else don’t get the same benefit, even during a season in which they deserved to be in the CFP.
Creating their own playoff isn’t the best solution, but it might be the only one they're left with. The Power 4 conferences want all the control over the CFP. Not only do the CFP rankings no longer have any credibility to them, but we're seeing just how little the Power 4 conferences think of what a true playoff should look like.