CFP enhances conference strength metric amid SEC complaints — SkimNews
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- College Football Playoff selection committee members will receive a metric evaluating in-conference opponent strength with heightened visibility and depth during this season's selection process, entering the third year of the 12-team CFP.
- SEC coaches told CFP staff at spring meetings that they regret moving to nine conference games without expanding the postseason, with Georgia's Kirby Smart saying the committee can't truly acknowledge strength of schedule while ranking a team with more losses ahead of a team with fewer losses on the same schedule.
- Duke reached the ACC Championship Game having played only one AP Top 25 opponent, while Texas Tech faces a similar scenario in 2026 after beating No. 25 Houston — the only ranked team on its schedule.
- Four of seven at-large CFP selections last season went to SEC schools, and the conference failed to win a single CFP game against an opponent from another Power Four league.
- BYU, which did not make the playoff, finished ahead of both Texas and Vanderbilt in the rankings, with one fewer regular-season loss than Vanderbilt and two fewer than Texas — a result that specifically angered SEC coaches.
- Strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and outcomes against common opponents retain importance in the selection process, and the source notes it is unclear whether the new metric will have meaningful real-world impact.
- Notre Dame, which plays no conference schedule, will still be compared through standard strength-of-schedule conversations despite the conference-focused metric.
Why it matters: The CFP's new metric is a direct response to SEC complaints, yet the source questions its real impact since strength of schedule was already a selection factor. The SEC took 4 of 7 at-large bids last season but won zero CFP games against other Power Four opponents — a result that undercuts the conference's argument that it was undervalued.
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