CFP Format Overhaul Could Give Sooners an Edge in New Playoff Era
College football teams are finally set to be rewarded for taking on tougher schedules.
On Thursday, the College Football Playoff Committee approved a major shift in how the newly expanded 12-team playoff will be seeded. Starting this upcoming season, the four highest-ranked teams in the final CFP rankings—regardless of conference affiliation—will earn top-four seeds and first-round byes. This change eliminates the previous rule that only conference champions could claim those coveted top-four spots.
It’s a move that could significantly benefit programs like Oklahoma, which faces a brutal SEC schedule and routinely schedules marquee nonconference games.
Under the new model, the five highest-ranked conference champions will still be guaranteed a playoff berth, but not necessarily a top-four seed. That means a second SEC team that finishes in the top four nationally won’t be penalized if it falls short in the conference title game—or doesn’t even reach it—but proves its strength over the course of the season.
This rule change corrects scenarios like last season’s, where Texas landed the No. 5 seed despite its only loss coming to No. 2 Georgia. Meanwhile, a lower-ranked conference champion such as Arizona State received a first-round bye, even with two regular season losses to unranked teams. Texas went on to beat Arizona State in the quarterfinals, highlighting the flaw in the old system.
While it may be tough for Oklahoma fans to acknowledge a favorable example involving rival Texas, it underscores how SEC teams were previously disadvantaged. Surviving the toughest schedule in college football didn’t matter unless you won the conference title. Now, consistency and overall strength of schedule will count more than ever.
Some critics argue that if you’re not your conference’s best, you shouldn’t be in contention for a national title. But last year’s playoff outcomes challenged that notion. That kind of thinking also leads coaches like Nebraska’s Matt Rhule to question the value of scheduling difficult nonconference games, knowing that strength of schedule wasn’t always rewarded.
This new format wouldn’t have helped the Sooners last season—but it could in the near future. With high-profile nonconference matchups against Michigan, Nebraska, and Clemson on the horizon, plus the week-in, week-out challenge of the SEC, Oklahoma could finally start seeing real payoff for playing one of the nation’s toughest schedules.
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