The SEC and Big Ten met in New Orleans Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss potential changes to future editions of the College Football Playoff. The two have established themselves as the dominant powers in the sport in recent years, and thus hold oversized sway when it comes to how a national champion will be crowned.
According to ESPN's Heather Dinich, both commissioners — the SEC's Greg Sankey and the Big Ten's Tony Petitti — have reportedly agreed to alter the seeding format for future CFP brackets. She reports they both want to see "straight seeding" that reflects the selection committee's final rankings rather than upgrading teams to higher seeds for winning their respective conferences.
But while they did agree on some changes, both ceded that auto-bids for five conference champions should remain a part of the CFP format. Which means that the Big 12, ACC and the Group of Five aren't entirely cut out of the process. But outside the traditional conference setup, one team has the most to gain from these propositions.
Notre Dame is sitting pretty after latest CFP format discussions
As an NCAA independent — one of the most historic in the sport — Notre Dame has been able to create its own schedules and play some of the toughest teams in the nation. Now, in some recent seasons there has been criticism aimed at the Fighting Irish for not participating in a conference and instead avoiding some of the toughest teams in the country. But the program disproved those haters this season by reaching the national championship game, and despite falling to a very good Ohio State team, it once again proved that conferences aren't all that they're hyped up to be.
Given what Sankey and Petitti want to do with the CFP seeding system, Notre Dame could benefit the most. With bracket expansion to 14 teams set for 2026 (and potentially 16 teams down the road), the Fighting Irish won't have to fear being excluded as long as they don't have more than two losses. They also figure to benefit from an evening of the playing field when it comes to seeding.
Five auto-bids will be given to conference champions. Two of those will belong to the SEC and Big Ten, which will have an additional three auto-bids each included. That leaves three open slots for at-large teams in the 14-team format, among which Notre Dame's schedule will still be of great value. In the potential 16-team format, the Big 12 and ACC would receive an extra auto-bid each, which still leaves three at-large bids for everyone else.
On top of all that, the "straight seeding" model would mean Notre Dame wouldn't be locked out of a top-four seed if its resume warrants it. Whether the first-round byes will survive the latest round of talks has yet to be seen but for now, they are still desirable spots to earn.
Changes are coming to the CFP, whether fans or teams like them or not. It'll be interesting to see how they'll affect conferences and whether the SEC and Big Ten have finally devised a way to guarantee a perennial face-off in the national championship game.