Last season was the first for the new 12-team College Football Playoff, and of course, it didn't sit well with a lot of people in terms of how the teams were seeded. Go figure, right? However, after just one season, changes are coming for 2025.
On Thursday, the CFP selection committee agreed to move to a straight seeding model for this upcoming season, rewarding the top four seeds and a first-round bye. Last season, despite getting a bye, those four teams failed to advance to the championship as Ohio State won the title over Notre Dame as an eight-seed. The Irish were the seventh seed.
Moving forward, the top four ranked seeds, whether they are a conference champion or not, will receive byes instead of the top-ranked conference champions. If this was in place last season, the seeds would have looked differnet, to say the least.
Why should Virginia Tech fans care about this?
That's actually a great question. Last season the Hokies were a national darling in terms of being a dark horse for the new CFP, but they fell flat on their face and stumbled to another 6-6 season despite a very talented roster.
As for 2025, Virginia Tech is not expected to be in the conversation or anywhere near it for the CFP, but they will have a say in who makes and who may not with games against South Carolina, Miami, and Louisville, all teams who will likely be in the conversation. The ACC is seen as the lower tier of the power conferences, but this change in the rule levels the playing field for everyone.
Eventually and hopefully Virginia Tech will be back in the mix someday and when that time comes, there maybe an expanded CFP or different seeding method. Until then, it'll be interesting to see how this change affects the ACC.