The College Football Playoff Officially Approves 5+7 Model With the 5 Highest-Ranked Conference Champions and 7 At-Large Teams

The College Football Playoff has officially adopted the model it will have as it moves to 12 teams, with the five highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large teams making up the field. It had been presumed for some time the model would be the six highest-ranked conference champs and include an automatic spot for a Group of Five team, but with the Pac-12 now being just Oregon State and Washington State, that fifth conference champion is likely going to be a G5 team anyway.

The most interesting part of the model is that the top four spots are given to the four highest-ranked conference champions, not necessarily the four highest-ranked teams. So theoretically, ACC champion Florida State could get a bye at No. 7 over an SEC team at No. 4 who didn't win the conference. I'm sure that's going to go over swimmingly when it eventually happens.

As much as I have not been a proponent of expanding the CFP to 12 teams, those first four on-campus Playoff games are going to be incredible. It's hard to even imagine what those atmospheres are going to be like because it's something that's never existed before, but we know they're going to be awesome.

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I just can't wait for the 2024 college football season. Two super-conferences leading into a 12-team Playoff. We're going to remember this as the season the sport changed forever — hopefully for the better, but only time will tell.