On the eve of the eve of the 2025 season, the SEC delivered thunderous news that will impact the sport for many seasons. After years of discussion and consideration, the university presidents voted to adopt a nine-game conference schedule beginning next fall.

The decision, announced Thursday, has sweeping ramifications for the regular season and the College Football Playoff.

Remember those stalled negotiations over the future CFP format?

The Big Ten supported a radical 16-team proposal full of automatic qualifiers while the SEC, ACC and Big 12 backed a model (dubbed 5+11) that leaned into at-large berths. The end result? Paralysis.

Well, the SEC’s schedule change could lead to a postseason breakthrough that benefits, among others, the Big 12.

Then again, the schedule change could have

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