The 2025 College Football Playoff selection show on Dec. 7 lit the sports world on fire, leaving fans furious with both the committee–that selects the teams–and the show’s new format. 

The New Format 

The 12-team College Football Playoff includes the five highest-ranked conference champions—Big10, Big 12, SEC, AAC (American Athletic Conference) and Sun Belt—plus seven additional teams from in the Top 25. Those five conference champions earn automatic bids to the CFP.  The top four teams in the CFP earn first-round byes.  

Seeds five through eight host seeds nine through 12 in on-campus first-round games. The winners then face the top four seeds in neutral-site New Year’s Six bowl quarterfinals. From there, semifinal matchups are played in rotating major bowls, and the winners meet in the National Championship. 

“I think that the expanded format is a positive development, but ultimately whether the field has four teams, eight teams, or 12 teams, whoever is left out will complain,” said Daniel DiNozzi, social studies teacher at RHS.

The Controversy 

The controversy making headlines centers on Notre Dame being left out of the playoffs. Just five days earlier, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, the Fighting Irish sat at No. 12, one spot ahead of Miami at No. 13. Neither team played a game in the days between, but on Selection Sunday, Miami suddenly jumped ahead of Notre Dame to claim a playoff spot. 

“I was on my couch during Selection Sunday and couldn’t help but be angered by the incompetence of the CFP committee,” said senior Jackson Magley, a Notre Dame fan. “I ripped up couch cushions and threw multiple items around my house, breaking various things.” 

Fans questioned how Miami could leapfrog Notre Dame without taking the field. The controversy only grew when Alabama also jumped ahead of Notre Dame, largely due to a close win over a seven-loss Auburn team; a result many argued should not have carried that much weight. 

The combination of unexplained movement, inconsistent logic and a lack of transparency left fans feeling that the committee’s decisions were filled with bias from program ties, and the playoff format is still deeply flawed. 

“I am not sure what needs to be done with the playoff format and the committee, but leaving out Notre Dame, Texas and BYU and having JMU (James Madison) and Tulane in the CFP just shows something is wrong and needs changing,” said senior Hamza Brelvi, a Rutgers fan. 

Who Got In? 

• Indiana (Big 10 Champion, Automatic Bid, Bye) 
• Ohio State (Ranked No. 1 before losing to Indiana in Big 10 Championship, Bye) 
• Georgia (SEC Champion, Automatic Bid, Bye) 
• Texas Tech (Big 12 Champion, Automatic Bid, Bye) 
• Oregon 
• Ole Miss 
• Texas A&M 
• Oklahoma 
• Alabama (Lost to Georgia in SEC Championship) 
• Miami (Jumped up one spot to pass over Notre Dame) 
• Tulane (AAC Champion, Automatic Bid) 
• JMU (Sun Belt Champion, Automatic Bid) 

The College Football Playoff begins Friday, Dec. 19 with the first round of games, highlighted by Alabama vs. Oklahoma at 8 p.m.