While the Tulane Green Wave gear up for a run at the College Football Playoff, they may have an acutely more difficult path as soon as this fall.
As the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame Fighting Irish athletic director meet in Dallas over the future of the format, the CFP management committee is expected to address a potential change to the 12-team seeding in the 2025 season.
ESPN insider Heather Dinich reports that there may be a one-season alteration to the seeding for the four highest-ranked conference champions that consequently earned the top four seeds and first-round byes.
It’s known that the SEC and Big Ten have control over the future of the CFP format, and most of the conversation is about the significant changes expected in the 2026 season. However, per Dinich, a larger group of decision-makers supports using the selection committee’s ranking for the seeding.
The proposal safeguards the slot by including the five highest-ranked conference champions. If Tulane football were selected as the Group of Five representative, they would confront a considerably more formidable challenge.
That representative would also lose out on an automatic $4 million for reaching the quarterfinals.
Last season, the Boise State Broncos won out as the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. They faced the winners of the No. 6 and 11 seeds after bumping to No. 3.
The final CFP rankings put the Broncos at No. 9. The new model would have prevented both Boise State and the Arizona State Sun Devils from the benefits of seeding and the significant financial payout.
It’s ultimately one more game for the Group of Five representative to fight through, and the loss of guaranteed revenue is one that would be hard to support without some benefit to offset. A CFP source confirmed this to Dinich.
“I don’t see a willingness to do that,” the source said. “I don’t see the incentive for the G5 schools to agree to do away with the current seeding—just a self-interest thing—unless there’s something else that’s being committed to them for next year.”
The Green Wave will have a lot of season goals in head coach Jon Sumrall’s second season, and the unrealized one of reaching the College Football Playoff will be a priority. There is a lot to take care of, including finding the team’s next starting quarterback, before those discussions can become tangible.
However, monitoring a protected path to the seeding is crucial. The Group of Five would need a sign of commitment from the Power Four decision-makers to incentivize entering negotiations to amend the format ahead of the fall season.
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