The change means the top four seeds will go to the four highest-ranked teams regardless of their finish within the conference.

In a move that was widely expected, the 12-team bracket will reward the selection committee’s top four teams with the top four seeds and a first-round bye, instead of moving pieces around to

On Thursday, the CFP’s management committee unanimously approved a move to straight seeding for the 12-team format. Instead of giving the top four seeds to the highest-ranked conference champions, the playoff will now seed teams strictly by their ranking—Nos. 1 through 12—regardless of whether they won a league title.