12-Team College Football Playoff Format Officially Approved
The new College Football Playoff format is set to make for a season like never before.
Earlier this week, the new CFP format was officially approved to begin next season. The format features the five highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large bids.
Of the five conference champions that make the playoff, four will earn first-round byes. The remaining eight teams will play games at the campus of the higher-seeded team.
With the new look of the Big 12, the format will have significant effects on Oklahoma State moving forward. Considering the Pac-12’s breakup, the remaining power five conferences will likely earn the four byes, with a group of five team getting the other auto-bid.
Although there are already discussions focused on expanding the field to 14 or 16, the 12-team format will be in place for at least 2024 and 2025. In the next two seasons, OSU might have its best opportunity to make a postseason appearance with national title hopes.
Ollie Gordon II will lead the Cowboys into next season with some of the highest expectations the team has had in the past decade. Although the Cowboys have entered seasons with playoff aspirations in the past, the four-team format required a nearly perfect season.
If OSU had high expectations in 2023, its loss to South Alabama would have all but eliminated the team from national championship consideration. However, with the 12-team playoff, even a loss to South Dakota State to open the season would not devastate OSU’s championship hopes.
The Cowboys, along with any other team in a power conference, would need to make a run in their conference slate. That could devalue the nonconference schedule in some ways, but nonconference play could be as important as ever for the at-large bids.
With more than six months until the season kicks off, the Cowboys have plenty of time to prepare to make a run into the top 12 next season.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.