College Football Playoff should reveal new expanded format soon: report

The destruction of the Pac-12 amid college football realignment means the playoff committee has to head back to the drawing board for its expanded format

The board of managers for the College Football Playoff is expected to vote on the new format for the expanded 12-team playoff format and how teams will be seeded in the rankings, according to ESPN.

Currently, the College Football Playoff field is slated to include the six highest-ranked conference champions, which will receive automatic bids, followed by six of the highest-ranked at-large teams with first-round games played on campuses.

But after the latest wave of conference realignment that becomes official this summer, the practical non-existence of the Pac-12 as one of the Power Five conferences means that the CFP could either settle on five conference champions and seven at-large teams or some other option.

The current belief is that the so-called 5-7 vote will go through as the favored format for the College Football Playoff in 2024 and beyond.

Those five conference champions will come from the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, and the highest-ranked Group of Five league champ.

The plan is expected to be fleshed out in the coming days, insiders say. 

Oregon State and Washington State are the only two remaining members of the diminished Pac-12, leaving four of the former Power Five leagues in operation.

Some college football programs have already begun spring practice, or are likely to begin spring practice in the next few weeks, so there has been some pressure on the CFP decision-makers to make the postseason format official.

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