A new college football season brings plenty of hopes, discussion and changes. Here are the most notable offseason developments to know about before the games begin: Tweaks to the College Football PlayoffThis happened in the dead of winter so in case you missed it: The CFP reiterated that automatic bids will go to the champions of the Power Four conferences — the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12. The CFP’s highest-ranked team in the Group of Six will also get a spot, whether it’s a conference champion or not. Group of Six, you say? Yes! The Group of Five is now a plus one with the relaunched Pac-12 joining the American, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West and Sun Belt.From there, the next seven-highest ranked teams, regardless of conference, will fill out the rest of the 12-team bracket.
But Notre Dame!Another tweak to the 12-team CFP bracket: If Notre Dame finishes the season ranked in the top 12 by the CFP it will automatically secure a playoff berth.It’s a more straightforward approach than last year, when Notre Dame fell short of the playoff despite being ranked No. 11 by the committee. Instead, Tulane and James Madison earned the final two spots as two of the five highest-ranked conference champions.One last thing about the CFP: Discussions continue over whether to expand to 16 or even 24 teams.
