As the Pac-12 rejoins the landscape, the reshaped conference is bumping the “Group of Five” leagues to “Group of Six” status.
The greatest impact, of course, is felt in Playoff discussions. Now, schools in the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West and Sun Belt have an extra conference with which to contend for a trip to the CFP.
That’s merely part of the discussion, though.
Within the aforementioned MOU that locked in Notre Dame’s top-12 selection, the altered P4 language also affected the G6 realm.
No longer are the five highest-ranked conference winners guaranteed a spot in the field. In 2026, the Power Four leagues have their locked-in bids, while the highest-ranked G6 team, champion or not, will be part of the field.
Last season, thanks to Duke’s upset of Virginia, both Tulane and James Madison crashed the CFP party. This change is not a reaction to those results, considering the MOU was signed in 2024, but it sure is an untimely adjustment for the G6.
It’s hard to envision a pair of G6 schools making the CFP again this year.