When the 12-team playoff was introduced last season, college football experts and analysts expected it would settle debates about the best teams and bring positive change to the old four-team playoff format. Truth be told, it may be doing quite the opposite. Top programs can now reach their respective conference championship games without having to go toe-to-toe with the toughest opponents in their leagues. That raises a big question about the 2025 season’s conference leaders – the No. 1 ranked Ohio State and the No. 3 ranked SEC leaders, Texas A&M Aggies. Are we really seeing the best teams, or just the luckiest schedules disguised as “strength of schedule”?

On November 11, college football insider and senior writer for The Athletic took to X and exposed the recurring issue in modern college football, questioning the credibility of the “strength of schedule” metric: “Texas A&M could make the SEC champ game w/o playing Ole Miss, Bama, UGA, OU, Vandy. GTech could make the ACC title game w/o playing Miami, Lville, UVA, SMU, Duke. Ohio St could make B1G title game w/o playing Oregon, Indiana, Iowa, USC. This is not a good way to determine a champion.

Props to Mike Elko and the No. 3 ranked Texas A&M Aggies. But who have they actually beaten? Notre Dame? Out of conference. LSU? Fraud alert. The worrying factor is that they could make the SEC title game without facing heavyweights like No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia, No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 11 Oklahoma, or No. 13 Vanderbilt. Meanwhile, the Sooners had to face Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Texas. Four teams ranked in the top 10. Alabama had to go through four back-to-back ranked opponents in their September -October stretch.

Similarly, back in the ACC, the No. 14 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are the most likely to reach the ACC Championship. According to ESPN Analytics, they have the 63rd toughest schedule in the country. They didn’t face conference contenders like No. 16 Miami, No. 19 Louisville, or even N0. 20 ranked Virginia could give them a run for their money.

Some agree that the Big Ten has one of the nastiest collections of blue-blood programs and rosters in the country. But what’s the point if they don’t even play half of them? The Buckeyes can easily make the playoff and Big Ten Championship without facing teams like Curt Cignetti’s No. 2 ranked Indiana Hoosiers, the No. 6 Oregon Ducks, Iowa, or even USC. The last time the No. 1 ranked Ohio State played a legit powerhouse was nearly two months ago against Texas. That doesn’t feel fair to programs with tougher schedules that might miss out because they lost one or two high-stakes games.

Analysts also say this system weakens the meaning of conference titles. Fans want to see the best teams face each other, but now some champions can get in without ever being tested. It encourages easy schedules and could allow weaker teams to sneak into the playoffs. Critics worry this setup might produce champions who aren’t truly the top teams, taking away the excitement and fairness that make college football special.

College Football Analysts Criticize the CFP and Question Its Judgment

College football insider Ari Wasserman questioned the entire structure. “It cannot be overstated how nonsensical this last round of conference realignment was. It hurt the sport. The fans didn’t want it. It makes no sense. And now the CFP format is off-center as a result of the Pac-12 not existing. The whole thing is so stupid.” Wasserman is pointing out that recent conference realignments have caused chaos. Fans didn’t support the moves, and they’ve made the playoff system unbalanced — especially with the Pac-12 gone. He believes the entire setup has become unfair and confusing for the sport.

A Notre Dame analyst also called out the hypocrisy in the system, saying, “Join a Conference hacks telling #NotreDame fans they are not legit only to find out conference champs are basically playing nobody in-house this year and getting a free ride into the [playoffs].” While critics have long told Notre Dame fans that their team isn’t “real” or deserving because they don’t play in a conference, some conference champions are reaching the playoffs without facing the toughest competition within their own leagues.

Then, an SEC insider and Texas A&M fan kept it real while using their own team as an example: “Listen, I love the A&M story as much as anyone. But of their six SEC wins, four are against teams whose coaches have since been fired. One is against Mississippi State (1-5 in SEC play). If the committee put them at No. 2, cool. But it’s no major grievance that they’re not ahead of Indiana.” Couldn’t have exposed it any better.

Finally, Matt Pierce added, “I agree. As of today’s conference standings, Texas A&M will have had to play one team in the top half of the SEC: No. 5. Ohio State will have had to play three teams in the top half of the Big Ten: Nos. 5, 7, and 9.” This clearly shows how some teams can reach conference championships without being truly tested. That doesn’t sit right with fans or analysts who value fairness.