With Duke winning the ACC and bigger programs such as Alabama and Notre Dame on the bubble, the 2025-2026 College Football Playoff selection committee has a lot to break down on Sunday. Multiple parties are likely to be upset regardless of the final bracket decision, which some speculate could affect the long-term future of the current format.
The current College Football Playoff landscape will leave multiple big programs out regardless of the committee's final decision, making a public uproar inevitable. The wide variety of outcomes could lead to Sunday being “the day the CFP collapses,” according to On3 Sports' Brett McMurphy.
“Not much at stake today says industry source, who tells [On3Sports]: ‘No matter what, today could be the day the CFP collapses,'” McMurphy tweeted. “‘If they hose Notre Dame or Alabama or an entire P4 league (ACC). Then they let 2 G5 teams in & only 1 from Big 12/ACC? I'm praying this ends committees.'”
Duke's title win created the most chaos in relation to the bubble teams. The 8-5 Blue Devils are now suddenly in the picture, forcing the committee to either let them in over a team like 10-3 Alabama or 11-2 BYU, or leave them out and shun the ACC entirely.
Duke's exclusion would likely lead to Miami losing a bid, which in turn would also negatively affect Notre Dame. That could lead to BYU remaining in the 12-team bracket, or to both Tulane and James Madison earning Group of Five bids, as ESPN's Heather Dinich predicts.
With Alabama and BYU fans already bitter over the committee's decision in 2024, leaving either program out for two consecutive seasons will ruffle feathers. Either way, there is not a single decision that will not be met with controversy and criticism.
