Fix the CFP

The actual 2025 College Football Playoff bracket is:

Imagine if it was this instead:

Better, right?

Here are the fixes to the process:

1. Expand the field to 16 teams
2. Eliminate first round byes
3. Eliminate automatic qualifiers
4. Replace the selection committee with the AP poll
5. Assign bowl locations by proximity to top seeds
6. Move recruiting window after the championship

Together these changes create four full rounds of playoff football. More games means more drama, more revenue, and a more satisfying conclusion to the college football season.

1. Expand the field to 16 teams

Expanding the playoff field from 12 to 16 teams increases representation across conferences and independents. It is more resilient to issues caused by conference realignment.

2. Eliminate first round byes

All teams play in the first round, maintaining their normal weekly rhythm throughout the playoffs.

In the current 12-team format, #1-4 seeds sit idle while #5-12 seeds build momentum playing meaningful games. In 2024, all four bye teams (#1 Oregon, #2 Georgia, #3 Boise State, and #4 Arizona State) lost in the quarterfinals.

3. Eliminate automatic qualifiers

Select the top 16 teams and eliminate automatic qualifiers for conference champions. This approach is conference-agnostic and avoids complications from conference tiebreaker rules.

4. Replace the selection committee with the AP poll

Replace the selection committee with the Associated Press poll, a weekly vote by 62 independent sportswriters and broadcasters. This long-running, well-understood system reduces perceived conflicts of interest.

The top 16 teams in the final 2025 AP poll following conference championship games were:

1. Indiana
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon
6. Ole Miss
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma
9. Notre Dame
10. Miami
11. Alabama
12. BYU
13. Vanderbilt
14. Texas
15. Utah
16. USC

The conferences represented in the top 16 include seven teams from the SEC, four from the Big Ten, three from the Big 12, one from the ACC, and one independent.

The remaining teams in the top 25 that would be left out of the CFP would be:

17. Tulane
18. Michigan
19. James Madison
20. Virginia
21. Arizona
22. Navy
23. North Texas
24. Georgia Tech
25. Missouri

The conferences represented by those left out include three from the American, two from the ACC, one from the SEC, one from the Big Ten, one from the Big 12, and one from the Sun Belt.

This approach may seem to disadvantage teams from smaller conferences. How does a program in the American, Sun Belt, or Conference USA climb into the top 16?

The answer is to do what James Madison's former coach did. Curt Cignetti left JMU for Indiana, a program with the most losses in college football history. Using the transfer portal and NIL, he went 24-2 in two seasons, won the Big Ten championship, and led Indiana to their first #1 ranking in the AP poll. These tools are available to any program willing to invest.

5. Assign bowl locations by proximity to top seeds

Assign quarterfinal and semifinal bowl locations by proximity to the top seeds' campuses. The #1 seed's side of the bracket gets the nearest quarterfinal bowl, then #2, #3, and #4; apply the same order for semifinals.

This reduces travel for top seeds in a 16-team bracket without byes.

Quarterfinal bowl assignments by proximity to top seeds:

• #1 Indiana → Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA)
• #2 Georgia → Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, FL)
• #3 Ohio State → Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX)
• #4 Texas Tech → Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)

Semifinal assignments:

• #1 Indiana's side → Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA)
• #2 Georgia's side → Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)

The CFP would still sets the bowl calendar: primetime vs. afternoon, Friday vs. Saturday, and quarterfinals vs. semifinals.

6. Move recruiting window after the championship

Move all portal entries, signings, and binding agreements to a single 30‑day window that opens the first Monday after the championship game.

Today transfer portal activity and signing periods fall in December, overlapping the playoff. Teams may lose players before postseason games, and staffs must recruit while preparing for opponents. For top seeds with first round byes, this compounds the competitive disadvantage—coaches spend their "rest" week juggling recruiting calls instead of focusing on their next opponent.

Recent December moves illustrate the overlap: UCLA hired James Madison head coach Bob Chesney, Kentucky hired Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein, and Cal hired Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake publicly declined Penn State after reported overtures north of $10 million annually.

The NCAA (not the CFP) controls the recruiting calendar and would need to make this change.