The 12-team College Football Playoff is one year away, but the format has already changed.
On Tuesday, the CFP Board of Managers unanimously voted to reduce the number of automatic qualifiers from six to five, creating an additional at-large bid for the next two seasons.
The new model – known as the “5+7” – includes the five highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large bids. The original model for the 12-team CFP – known as the "6+6" – included six automatic bids for conference champions and six at-large bids.
The Pac-12’s fall left one fewer power conference that could assure its champion a playoff berth.