Analyst RJ Young didn’t hold back this week, zeroing in on a glaring issue within the College Football Playoff system, including how it seeds teams and treats conference champions.
The backlash follows Boise State’s surprise 2024 playoff appearance, seemingly triggering a shift to straight seeding. With a new seeding system for the CFP on the horizon, what does this mean for the future of the sport?
RJ Young Slams CFP Committee, As Boise State’s 2024 Cinderella Run Triggers Policy Debate
Boise State’s improbable 2024 College Football Playoff appearance has reignited a fierce debate about fairness and access within the postseason structure. The controversy intensified when RJ Young, Fox Sports’ national college football analyst, delivered a scathing critique.
Under the previous format, which awarded automatic first-round byes to the four highest-ranked conference champions, Boise State—representing the Mountain West—secured the No. 3 seed. That raised eyebrows nationally, as the Group of Five teams seldom reach such heights.
Although their playoff run ended with a 31-14 loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl, their presence alone stirred discomfort among Power Four loyalists and prompted structural change.
Following the season, the CFP scrapped automatic byes and adopted a straight seeding model ranking all 12 teams from 1 to 12 regardless of conference status. That adjustment effectively diminished the weight of conference championships, a shift that did not sit well with Boise State AD Jeramiah Dickey.
Taking to social media, Dickey labeled the change the “Boise State Policy,” suggesting it was a direct reaction to his program’s breakthrough.
“When the system is created to keep you [Boise State] down,” he posted, expressing clear frustration, “you fight like hell to break it.”
.@CFBPlayoff, please call it the Boise State policy…legacy is important…would make us feel better.
When the system is created to keep you down, you fight like hell to break it. Nothing to lose…Always What’s Next! 😈 Believe in epic! 1-0! #BleedBlue 🙏🏼 https://t.co/1tRJhuJUXT
— Jeramiah Dickey (@JeramiahDickey) May 23, 2025
Young, however, had little sympathy. “Boise State’s athletic director is in his feelings because he’s being boxed out. Full stop,” Young said. He pointed out that the Group of Five programs face steeper uphill battles in a landscape increasingly shaped by television contracts, brand value, and financial interests.
“We’re never going to look at the schedule that Boise State plays in the Mountain West… the same way we say we do Tennessee or Iowa State.”
Young highlighted the inequities in perception between Power Four and Group of Five programs, noting that a two-loss SEC team is still often viewed more favorably than an undefeated Group of Five champion.
“A team with one loss or even two losses that plays in one of those two conferences is valued higher than an undefeated or one-loss Boise State,” he stated.
The CFP’s new format, according to Young, devalues conference titles across the board.
“It takes all of the wind out of the conference champion conversation, making it all but unimportant who wins the conference championship game at any level,” he said. “You could get boat raced and still slide into the playoffs. You wouldn’t be one of the four highest seeds, but you make the playoffs.”
He also criticized the system for punishing teams for losing their conference title game rather than rewarding them for getting there in the first place.
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Young addressed broader financial motivations behind the policy shift. With ESPN paying nearly $7.8 billion for playoff broadcasting rights and an expanded 16-team model on the horizon, maximizing viewership becomes essential.
“The more you put those brand-name teams into the playoffs, the more people you’re going to get from other parts of sports to watch them,” he argued.
In Young’s view, Boise State’s Cinderella story collided with a postseason model that no longer values such narratives.
“I don’t know where you have been for the last 100 years because that’s as it’s been, that’s as it will be, and frankly, it’s as it should be,” he concluded.
Young’s blunt analysis exposes the ongoing tension between expanding playoff access and preserving the power and financial stability of major college football conferences.
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