The College Football Playoff has approved immediate changes to its format for the 12-team model ahead of the 2025 season, and in doing so created a better tournament for the fall while also setting a standard for the ongoing negotiations around 2026 and beyond.

Indiana's College Football Playoff experience in 2024 would have been dramatically different if the changes announced for the 2025 playoff had been used.

It’s easy to envision the Big Two, loaded with blue blood programs, gobbling up all four of the highest seeds, and the accompanying byes into the quarterfinals, while relegating the ACC and Big 12 champions to lower-tier status.