Ohio State reigned supreme within the first yr of the 12-team Faculty Soccer Playoff, defeating Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame on its street to glory.
Like most issues in faculty sports activities proper now, although, the way forward for the 12-team format is up within the air as soon as the preliminary 12-year contract runs out in 2026. There was appreciable knowledgeable hypothesis that the playoff will in the end develop once more, prone to a 14-team playoff format that has gotten extra traction with the game’s leaders than 16 groups.
Ought to that enlargement happen it may include extra automated qualifiers, a change in convention championship sport codecs and rather more. CBS Sports activities beforehand reported there’s concern among the many sport’s strongest leaders about whether or not the present CFP choice course of is sensible shifting ahead.
With that in thoughts, CBS Sports activities is providing up what a hypothetical 14-team playoff would have seemed like this season underneath among the proposed codecs.
The 4-4-2-2-2 mannequin
On this state of affairs, the Massive Ten and SEC every get 4 automated qualifiers, the ACC and Massive 12 get two every, the Group of 5 will get one and there’s one at-large bid. This proposal acquired shut down a yr in the past however count on it to come back again up in dialog when the Faculty Soccer Playoff administration committee meets once more later this yr.
Spinning the rankings to this mannequin is straightforward. The Massive Ten already acquired 4 groups in, the ACC obtained two spots, Boise State would stay because the Group of 5 possibility and Notre Dame because the highest-ranked at-large faculty will get that spot.
The one actual change could be Alabama getting the SEC’s fourth spot and Iowa State, the second-highest ranked Massive 12 group, getting that remaining spot.
This is how the format may have seemed if the committee additionally fastened the seeding drawback and paired them solely on how they’re ranked:
| Spherical | Staff 1 | Seed | vs. | Staff 2 | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-round byes | Oregon | 1 | Georgia | 2 | |
| First-round matchups | Texas | 3 | vs. | Iowa State | 14 |
| Penn State | 4 | vs. | Clemson | 13 | |
| Notre Dame | 5 | vs. | Arizona State | 12 | |
| Ohio State | 6 | vs. | Alabama | 11 | |
| Tennessee | 7 | vs. | SMU | 10 | |
| Indiana | 8 | vs. | Boise State | 9 |
The Ohio State-Alabama first-round sport is juicy, although we thought the identical about its precise sport in opposition to Tennessee and the Buckeyes routed the Vols. Notre Dame-Arizona State would have been fascinating whereas Indiana-Boise State may have been lots of enjoyable with a possibility for every group to assert its first CFP win. Tennessee actually would admire seeing SMU as a substitute of the buzzsaw it acquired in Ohio State.
Oregon would face the winner of No. 8 Indiana vs. No. 9 Boise State and Georgia would face the winner of No. 7 Tennessee vs. No. 10 SMU sport.
But when the committee continues to reward convention champions within the seeding, a supply of frustration for some this yr, the matchups change to:
| Spherical | Staff 1 | Seed | vs. | Staff 2 | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-round byes | Oregon | 1 | Georgia | 2 | |
| First-round matchups | Boise State | 3 | vs. | Iowa State | 14 |
| Arizona State | 4 | vs. | Clemson | 13 | |
| Texas | 5 | vs. | Alabama | 12 | |
| Penn State | 6 | vs. | SMU | 11 | |
| Notre Dame | 7 | vs. | Indiana | 10 | |
| Ohio State | 8 | vs. | Tennessee | 9 |
There’s not a lot change right here from the precise 12-team format as three video games keep the identical (Penn State-SMU, Notre Dame-Indiana and OSU-Tennessee). Nonetheless, that Texas-Alabama sport jumps proper out at you as a monster first-round sport. Arizona State-Clemson is intriguing, too.
You possibly can perceive why that is an unappetizing mannequin nonetheless, although, as No. 1 Oregon would as soon as once more draw Ohio State.
The three-3-2-2 mannequin
On this proposed format, the breakdowns is as such:
- The SEC and Massive Ten get three groups every
- The Massive 12 and ACC get two groups every
- The Group of 5 will get one group
- There are three at-large bids.
This proposal has misplaced steam — the SEC and Massive Ten are going to need greater than three automated bids if the Massive 12 and ACC are additionally getting a number of — but when it had been in impact this previous season, the 14 groups included are the very same within the above 4-4-2-2-2 format.
Alabama would get the final at-large bid and Iowa State would get the second Massive 12 bid.
The 5 + 9 mannequin
If the CFP expands its present format, it feels more and more seemingly, if not a close to certainty, it’ll include extra automated bids for the facility conferences. But when the CFP saved its 5 convention champion automated qualifiers, fastened its seeding state of affairs with solely two byes and added two extra groups, the sphere would have seemed like:
| First-round byes | Oregon | 1 | Georgia | 2 | |
| First-round matchups | Texas | 3 | vs. | Clemson | 14 |
| Penn State | 4 | vs. | Miami | 13 | |
| Notre Dame | 5 | vs. | Arizona State | 12 | |
| Ohio State | 6 | vs. | Alabama | 11 | |
| Tennessee | 7 | vs. | SMU | 10 | |
| Indiana | 8 | vs. | Boise State | 9 |
You’ll once more get Ohio State-Alabama on this state of affairs. The large distinction right here is Miami, the third-ranked ACC group, will get in over Iowa State if the Massive 12 would not have two automated bids. It might have been a blast seeing Cam Ward in opposition to that proficient Penn State protection.
One sport every group in way-too-early High 25 rankings has circled forward of 2025 faculty soccer season
Will Backus
The trail right here is less complicated for No. 1 Oregon, too, getting the winner of Indiana-Boise State as a substitute of getting eventual nationwide champion Ohio State within the Rose Bowl prefer it did in actual life.
