We’ve been hearing a lot about the possibilities of an expansion to the 12 team college football playoff over the last several months with several different options on the table. Our discussion here concerning future games between Notre Dame and Texas already started to go in that direction, but let’s talk about it a little more broadly.
The SEC wants 24 teams in the CFP and the Big 10 wants 16 teams in the CFP. Currently, we are set to play the third different version of the 12 team CFP in 2026.
So… what do YOU want the College Football Playoff to be in the future?
Here’s a pro and con for each version:
24 Team Playoff
PRO: It does setup for TWO rounds of playoff games inside college football stadiums, while keeping the major bowls for the quarterfinals and the semifinals.
CON: Cheapens the CFB regular season too much. While we could see more ranked matchups, the consequences of the game are lessened greatly which takes away from so much of what makes CFB special.
16 Team Playoff
PRO: It significantly reduces the “this team just got screwed out of the playoff” factor, and eliminates the seemingly useless first round bye.
CON: Could easily setup to have 8 teams from ONE conference, and forces us to ask “what are we even doing here bro?”.
12 Team Playoff
PRO: We’re letting this format (which has already been tweaked twice) a chance to breathe and become a standard to prepare for each season.
CON: The committee really doesn’t do the best job of setting guidelines and following them, and instead, they change the parameters each week to fit their own interests — and makes a mockery of schedules and the sport itself.
Sound off in the comments below about which version of the CFP you want to see and why you want it to be that way. I’m definitely in the camp for letting the 12 team playoff have time to play out, but I also do like the prospect of more playoff games on college campuses.
