A new college football season brings CFP tweaks, new rules and jersey patches among the changes
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman shakes hands with his players as they come off the field after scoring a touchdown against Arkansas during an NCAA college football game Sept. 27, 2025, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods, File)
A new college football season brings plenty of hopes, discussion and changes. Here are the most notable offseason developments to know about before the games begin:
Tweaks to the College Football Playoff
This happened in the dead of winter so in case you missed it: The CFP reiterated that automatic bids will go to the champions of the Power Four conferences — the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12.
The CFP’s highest-ranked team in the Group of Six will also get a spot, whether it’s a conference champion or not. Group of Six, you say? Yes! The Group of Five is now a plus one with the relaunched Pac-12 joining the American, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West and Sun Belt.
From there, the next seven-highest ranked teams, regardless of conference, will fill out the rest of the 12-team bracket.
But Notre Dame!
Another tweak to the 12-team CFP bracket: If Notre Dame finishes the season ranked in the top 12 by the CFP it will automatically secure a playoff berth.
It’s a more straightforward approach than last year, when Notre Dame fell short of the playoff despite being ranked No. 11 by the committee. Instead, Tulane and James Madison earned the final two spots as two of the five highest-ranked conference champions.
One last thing about the CFP: Discussions continue over whether to expand to 16 or even 24 teams.
A lighter consequence for targeting
Rule changes are to be expected in any offseason, and this year targeting was the headliner.
In 2026, a player’s first targeting offense will no longer impact their availability for the next game. If a player is disqualified for targeting a second time during the season, they will be held out for the first half of the following game. A third offense calls for a next-game suspension.
Conferences can initiate an appeals process after a player’s second offense, which would call for a video review facilitated by the NCAA national coordinator of football officials. If the appeal is successful, the player will be able to play the full game.
One of the more notable targeting penalties last season was on Miami DB Xavier Lucas in the fourth quarter of the Fiesta Bowl, causing Lucas to sit out for the first half of the national championship game loss to Indiana.
Another rule change fans will notice: Offensive pass interference is now a 10-yard penalty instead of 15.
A new scoring opportunity
Another rule change this offseason will allow teams to attempt a field goal after a fair catch. The kicker can choose to drop kick from where the returner caught the ball, or they can use a holder with no tee. Some fans may recall a recent NFL version, when Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker hit a 57-yarder before halftime against Denver in December 2024.
Do not adjust your sets
The NCAA cleared the way for schools to land new revenue by placing sponsored jersey patches on uniforms as of Aug. 1 and, boy, there are going to be a lot of those.
Ohio State and Notre Dame alone reportedly have patch deals worth a combined $30 million, but there are so many others — Tyson Foods (Arkansas), Axle Logistics (Tenneseee), SRM Concrete (Vanderbilt), Ripple XRP cryptocurrency (Kansas), even the Palmetto State Armory (The Citadel).
And while the NCAA approved on-field commercial logos for the 2024 season, the volume is picking up. Progressive insurance recently struck a deal to have its logo on the playing field of 13 different schools, including Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Georgia, USC and Colorado.
Two newcomers
Sacramento State and North Dakota State are the latest additions to the Bowl Subdivision, bumping its membership to 138 teams. The moves became official on July 1, with Sacramento State being the newest MAC member, and North Dakota State’s juggernaut FCS program joining the Mountain West.
Both teams will be eligible for bowl games immediately if they finish with at least six wins and can help fill one of their conference’s bowl slots.
Plenty of new coaches
Of the 138 FBS teams, 34 have new coaches.
The SEC led the way with six new coaches, and the American has five. The Big 12 and Big Ten each added four coaches. Three new coaches were added to the MAC, the ACC, the Sun Belt and the reconstructed Pac-12. The Mountain West, Conference USA and FBS independent UConn each hired a new coach.
Some major hires include former Penn State coach James Franklin, who was picked up by Virginia Tech after being fired midseason. Penn State hired Iowa State’s Matt Campbell as Franklin’s successor. Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU before the Rebels’ playoff run, and Ole Miss promoted Pete Golding from within. Oregon’s defensive and offensive coordinators left the Ducks (Tosh Lupoi headed to Cal and Will Stein to Kentucky).
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