2025–26 College Football Playoff schedule
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Full list of winners, finalists in 2025
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ESPN's Paul Finebaum has made his disdain for the current College Football Playoff system abundantly clear. Nevertheless, he took his biggest step forward in stating his hatred for it by demanding a controversial change to the format.
The College Football Playoff bracket was released last weekend, making the 12 coaches of the teams playing in the newly expanded bracket wealthier. However, in the ever-changing landscape of college sports, three coaches who entered the season coaching their respective teams won't be there next season.
After Notre Dame was left out of the College Football Playoff, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum proposed shutting out Group of Five schools from the 12-team tournament, a plan that would exclude more than half of Division I Football Bowl Subdivision programs.
Athletic director Pete Bevacqua also took issue with the playoff selection committee that left the Fighting Irish out of its 12-team field.
The majority of Ole Miss' defensive staff also remains intact for the postseason. The Rebels announced former defensive coordinator Pete Golding as their permanent head coach, and he figures to retain select assistants for 2026. Secondary coach Bryan Brown, for one, will stay as Golding's defensive coordinator.
With Indiana beating Ohio State, they moved up to No. 1, while the Buckeyes dropped to No. 2. In addition, Virginia's loss moved Tulane up to the No. 11 seed, while James Madison earned the final automatic qualifier berth for a conference champion due to Duke being probably the worst power conference champion in the modern era of college football.