ESPN’s Jesse Palmer calls for change to CFP seeding format

Over the past few weeks, countless sports media personalities have voiced their frustrations with the College Football Playoff’s current format, particularly regarding the seeding.

In a recent conversation with Ryan Morik of Fox News Digital, ESPN color analyst Jesse Palmer echoed these concerns, pointing to Oregon’s quarterfinal matchup with Ohio State as an example of a game that likely should have occurred later in the bracket.

“I think conference champions should get in,” said Palmer. “I don’t think they should be given an automatic bye, though, in the quarterfinal. It just felt like to me, just as a fan of college football, watching Oregon play Ohio State and watching Georgia play Notre Dame, those felt like semifinal matches to me and not necessarily quarterfinal matches.”

The issue lies in the current system, where the top four conference champions automatically receive the top four seeds in the CFP. This setup puts non-conference champions like Ohio State, Penn State and Texas behind teams like Boise State and Arizona State.

While Palmer questions whether all conference champions deserve first-round byes, he witnessed firsthand how some can defy expectations.

Palmer was on the call for the Peach Bowl between Arizona State and Texas — a game in which a two-loss team from the Bog 12 nearly upset an SEC power in thrilling fashion.

The former NFL quarterback used this as an example of why conference champions should remain automatic qualifiers.

“Arizona State, to me, is one of the greatest stories this year in all of college football,” said Palmer. “A team that was 3-9 last year and went through all the NCAA sanctions and everything they had to go through, remarkable year, Cam Skattebo easily one of the best players in college football.

“It was incredible how well they played. They belonged on the field with Texas. No doubt about it. I still think there’s some tweaking needed in the College Football Playoff format, but if you just look at Arizona State specifically, they’re easily talented and nothing good enough to get to the semifinal, no question.”

Arizona State certainly put up a valiant effort against Texas in their quarterfinal matchup, but they ultimately fell just short in a double-overtime thriller.

Would the conversation have been different if Arizona State had beaten Texas and continued its run toward a National Championship appearance?

Would the narrative shift if Arizona State had beaten Texas and continued their run to a National Championship appearance? Perhaps. But it’s difficult to argue that Boise State, from a considerably weaker conference on paper, deserved a No. 3 seed in the CFP.

Notably, no conference champions advanced to the CFP semifinals, lending weight to Palmer’s point that winning a conference isn’t always the best indicator of a team’s overall strength in the 12-team playoff.

Regardless, Palmer is far from the only one who holds the opinion that this change is necessary.

Despite the public backlash against the potentially flawed seeding in the CFP, it was reported earlier this month that any changes to the current format are “unlikely” for the upcoming 2025 season.

So, we may have these same conversations this time next year.