The new format was widely expected after last season’s jumbled bracket gave byes to Big 12 champion Arizona State and Mountain West champion Boise State, even though those teams were ranked ninth and 12th by the playoff selection committee.

Under the new format, which was announced Thursday by the CFP’s management committee, the highest-ranked teams will have an advantage over conference champions.

One year after expanding to 12 teams, the College Football Playoff is changing its seeding model to remove automatic byes for conference champions.