The new format will give champions of various conference, like the Mountain West, a chance to square off for the national championship.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The new College Football Playoff format could allow the New Mexico Lobos to more easily go for the national championship in the future.
Starting next year, 24 teams will be competing to be the top program in the nation. The champion of each Power 4 conference – Big 10, SEC, ACC, Big 12 – will get in.
Then, the highest-ranked team from the Group of Six – American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, Sun Belt – will also get in. The other 19 spots will go to the highest-ranked remaining teams in the final CFP Selection Committee ranking.
The Lobos rank 23rd in the most recent AP Top 25 poll as one of two ranked Group of Six schools. They’re behind only No. 17 Boise State (Pac-12). The new format would give Boise State the nod and the Lobos would have to lean on the committee ranking.
Only two other Group of Six teams received votes in the poll: Conference USA’s Liberty University (14) and the American Conference’s University of North Texas Mean Green.
