The College Football Playoff is going to look very different next season. Now there will be 12 teams selected to battle for a National Championship instead of the four. This is an long-anticipated change by college football fans everywhere ready to see more than just four elite teams make it in.
That is what we all looked forward to right? Seeing who was going to get in, or was it seeing who was going to be left out? This past season, there seemed to be more talk about who didn't make it versus who did make it. Everyone was talking about the undefeated ACC champion Florida State Seminoles and how they did everything the Committee typically asks for in order to make it into the Playoff.
Ultimately they didn't make it in though whether because of their quarterback getting injured or thier weak strength of schedule they didn't make it in. So what is the Committee doing in order to fix that situation? Well, the CFP Committee voted on and unanimously approved a 5-7 format for the playoff.
OFFICIAL: The CFP Board of Managers unanimously revised the qualifying criteria for the 12-team event to include the five highest-ranked conference champions plus the next seven highest-ranked teams determined by the CFP Selection Committee.https://t.co/gUSXtwr39G#CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/QQRVQPFJJB
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) February 20, 2024
A 5-7 format is simple, it means that the five conference champions will automatically be in the playoff, similar to March Madness. For the seven remaining spots, well those will go to the next seven best teams. The teams that have the best records that maybe couldn't get it done in the conference title games, or just could make it into the conference championships due to divisions. Whatever it may be the next seven best teams will be in.
So how does this affect Wisconsin? Well make it to the conference title game and there is your shot. If the Badgers can play well enough to make it into the Big 10 title game and at least compete for the conference title, they have a great shot at making it into the playoff. With divisions going away in the Big 10, it will be tough, but not impossible.