Despite sticking with the 12-team format, there will be a few things different with the 2026 playoffs based on agreements from before
Notre Dame will automatically qualify for the 12 team CFP if they finished ranked in the top 12.
The ACC champion, and all P4 champions, will now automatically get a spot in the 12-team CFP no matter what they are ranked. Which means the G6 will only get 1 champion, and only 1 champion, automatically in the CFP..
The G5 will expand to the G6. The Pac will officially come back to life with 8 teams and will once again have a CCG to determine its champion. However, the Pac is no longer considered a power conference, and will be grouped in with the other G6 conferences.
It also worth noting that the ACC has not decided yet how its 2026 tiebreaker will work that will determine which 2 teams play in the ACC CCG. This will be especially tricky because 5 ACC teams will play 8 conference games and 12 ACC teams will play 9 conference games in 2026. My guess is the ACC will just have its top 2 ranked teams play in its CCG.
So if these changes were already in place in 2025, Notre Dame would have got in , and the ACC champion would have got in, and JMU would have been out. The ACC CCG would probably had Virginia playing Miami, so whoever won that game would have been in, who ever lost would probably have been out.