Re-ranking the 2025 CFP field if conference champs weren't guaranteed top-4 spot

It took exactly one weekend of the 12-team College Football Playoff for fans to start complaining about the format. Granted, the first round of the CFP was full of blowouts, so you can't really blame them.

Plus, it sounds like that complaining might have worked — as the top brass of college football is reportedly going to discuss the possibility of not guaranteeing a top-four seed in the CFP for the four highest-ranked conference champions. According to Brett McMurphy, in a new format, the five highest-ranked conference champions would still make the field, but their seed in the field would be based on ranking, not whether they won a conference championship.

Change to the CFP format was inevitable — expanding to 12 teams was such a big change that it's not surprising we're having some hiccups in year one.

And while this potential format change would switch up the matchups for next year, it wouldn't change which teams made the field this year because the top five conference champions would still automatically get a bid.

Re-ranking the 2025 CFP field

Again, this ranking maintains the 12 teams currently in the field — even though I don't necessarily agree with that group — it just re-orders them by how I think they should be ranked within the bracket.

1. Oregon Ducks
2. Georgia Bulldogs
3. Texas Longhorns
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Penn State Nittany Lions
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
7. Boise State Broncos
8. Tennessee Volunteers
9. Arizona State Sun Devils
10. Indiana Hoosiers
11. SMU Mustangs
12. Clemson Tigers

In this hypothetical scenario that could be implemented next season, Boise State and Arizona State don't receive byes in the first round — but they both still make the field thanks to winning their respective conferences. Clemson also makes the field because it won the ACC, and in the potential new system, that would still be enough to squeeze them in... whether deserved or not.

I'm curious if the rule of the top five conference champions making the field will stick around for long. Alabama being ranked No. 11 and not making the CFP — due to Arizona State and Clemson being conference champs — angered some folks.

Granted, I don't think Alabama should have made the field (win more games) but it does seem odd that hypothetically, a non-conference championship team could be ranked in the top 10, but three conference champs ranked lower could all get into a future version of the CFP. For the record, I like placing emphasis on winning your conference. But if we're going to continue with this system, we should probably stop ranking non-conference teams higher in the CFP rankings.

That just feels like an admission that one team is better — but still isn't getting in due to a made up set of rules. Maybe the way we rank teams in general should be changed. Maybe the "CFP ranking" doesn't even need to exist.

First-round matchups in re-seeded CFP

#5 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. #12. Clemson Tigers

#6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. #11 SMU Mustangs

#7 Boise State Broncos vs. #10 Indiana Hoosiers

#8 Tennessee Volunteers vs. #9 Arizona State Sun Devils