Group of 6 playoff spot: Champion first or just the highest-ranked survivor?

April 30, 2026

By Vic Aquino, SBNation via Yahoo Sports: For years, the Group of 6’s playoff path was clean, at least conceptually: win your conference, stack your résumé and hope your league champion stood tallest among the rest.

Now, college football may be inching toward something cloudier.

As the CFP’s next format takes shape, one of biggest debates is whether the Group of 6 berth should go to the highest-ranked conference champion or simply the highest-ranked Group of 6 team, champion or not.

On paper, it sounds like a minor procedural tweak. In practice, it could fundamentally alter how the Mountain West, AAC, Sun Belt, MAC, Conference USA, and the rebuilt Pac-12 operate.