Go to 16 teams, 3 guaranteed for B1G and 3 guaranteed for SEC, 2 for ACC, 1 for Big 12, 1 for non-power 5, 6 at large births. Force ND to join B1G or ACC. Done
Power 2 Conf Commissioners had a Jan 23, 2026 Deadline to EITHER EXPAND to 16 or 24 CFP teams for 2026 OR remain at 12 teams for 1 More Year
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
It will be interesting to see how Indiana performs.
www.espn.com
Curt Cignetti not loving Indiana prep before Bama game
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is not thrilled with his team's preparation after landing in Southern California.
www.espn.com
Remember when there was just a 4 team CFP?
If that were the case this season, 3 of the 4 semi-finalists would not have even been in the field.
1............Indiana
5............Oregon
6............Ole Miss
10.......Miami
If that were the case this season, 3 of the 4 semi-finalists would not have even been in the field.
1............Indiana
5............Oregon
6............Ole Miss
10.......Miami
I could see a push to 16. As it stands now, the top four seeds have a 1-7 record over last two CFP. Is it better to get a warm up game against JMU, or have a 27 day layoff? I could see going to 16 to eliminate those layoffs.
If they had the 16 format this year with 4 auto bids for BIG and SEC it would have played out:
Nov 28-29 Traditional rivalry games
Dec 6- BIG title game, Iowa vs Oregon,USC vs Michigan to determine bids#3&4.
Dec12/13 - 8 playoff games on campus
Dec 19- 20- 4 playoff games- on campus
Jan 1- playoff bowl games- semifinals
Jan 8- championship game- neutral site.
Nov 28-29 Traditional rivalry games
Dec 6- BIG title game, Iowa vs Oregon,USC vs Michigan to determine bids#3&4.
Dec12/13 - 8 playoff games on campus
Dec 19- 20- 4 playoff games- on campus
Jan 1- playoff bowl games- semifinals
Jan 8- championship game- neutral site.
Notre Dame is never going to join a conference, I was hoping by freezing them out of schedules, this would happen, but they have a cakewalk schedule next year outside of Miami, and maybe BYU. No revenue sharing for them with a conference means that money is all theirs.
* As you and most know, ND is a full member of the ACC in all sports except football.
* ND is guaranteed a spot in the 2026 CFP as long as they are ranked 12 or better
Why do the conferences roll over for Notre Dame? I don't get it.
The ACC does need ND, it is highly likely that 2030-2031 (wow that is weird to type), the ACC may no longer exist.
Iowa, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Texas, Utah, USC . . . to name a few. Thanks for asking.
Sure. That's why the No. 10 seed is in the championship game, and that's why every other division of college football has between 24 and 40 teams in their playoffs.
The BIG wants to drop conference championship games as a move to a 24-team playoff. And the other bowl games could still happen with at least the first two rounds of the CFP played on campus. There were 41 non-CFP bowls this year, which means 82 teams, so there would still be plenty of teams to fill non-CFP bowls even with a 24-team CFP.
Just rank them lower than 12, problem solved. And that's exactly what the CFP should do until they join a conference.
I don't like this one bit.
The full text of the tweet:
The Big Ten continues to push for a 24-team playoff down the road, as decisions are still being made about the future format of the CFP.
Here's what this year's CFB Playoff would've looked like under the Big Ten's proposed 24-team format.
- 4 AQs from ACC
- 4 AQs from Big Ten
- 4 AQs from Big 12
- 4 AQs from SEC
- 2 AQs from highest ranked G5 champs
- 6 at-larges
Click on image for a LARGER view
The full text of the tweet:
The Big Ten continues to push for a 24-team playoff down the road, as decisions are still being made about the future format of the CFP.
Here's what this year's CFB Playoff would've looked like under the Big Ten's proposed 24-team format.
- 4 AQs from ACC
- 4 AQs from Big Ten
- 4 AQs from Big 12
- 4 AQs from SEC
- 2 AQs from highest ranked G5 champs
- 6 at-larges
Click on image for a LARGER view
12 teams is all that is needed. You are not going to miss out on a National Champion beyond 12.
Maybe 16 for the TV dollars, and stop the Whining of the Vanderbilts & Notre Lames of the world.
Yeah well money will win out. They ain’t gonna leave money on the table.
I don't like this one bit.
The full text of the tweet:
The Big Ten continues to push for a 24-team playoff down the road, as decisions are still being made about the future format of the CFP.
Here's what this year's CFB Playoff would've looked like under the Big Ten's proposed 24-team format.
- 4 AQs from ACC
- 4 AQs from Big Ten
- 4 AQs from Big 12
- 4 AQs from SEC
- 2 AQs from highest ranked G5 champs
- 6 at-larges
Click on image for a LARGER view
Should be two autos from Bug 12 and ACC
I don't like this one bit.
The full text of the tweet:
The Big Ten continues to push for a 24-team playoff down the road, as decisions are still being made about the future format of the CFP.
Here's what this year's CFB Playoff would've looked like under the Big Ten's proposed 24-team format.
- 4 AQs from ACC
- 4 AQs from Big Ten
- 4 AQs from Big 12
- 4 AQs from SEC
- 2 AQs from highest ranked G5 champs
- 6 at-larges
Click on image for a LARGER view
Automatic qualification is just dumb.
Totally agree, see Tulane and JMU. I realize there will always be someone “left out”, but the present system has to be changed. Not sure if polls are the answer or how many teams should qualify. I personally don’t want the bowls damaged more than they have.
Won't be like that because bowl cities want theirs yet too. Round 1 maybe, but def not 2.
I'd like two, but at the very least, the first round at home is a much better advantage for a higher seed than the bye week. 1-7 is enough of a case study.
16 teams.
4 from B1G
4 from SEC
3 from ACC
3 from Big 12
2 at large
No byes. All first round games at home on 2nd Sat of December.
Quarterfinals at Peach, Orange, Fiesta, and Cotton on 3rd Sat of Dec
Semis at Sugar and Rose on last Sat of Dec.
Final at highest bidding NFL stadium on 1st Sat of Jan.
4 from B1G
4 from SEC
3 from ACC
3 from Big 12
2 at large
No byes. All first round games at home on 2nd Sat of December.
Quarterfinals at Peach, Orange, Fiesta, and Cotton on 3rd Sat of Dec
Semis at Sugar and Rose on last Sat of Dec.
Final at highest bidding NFL stadium on 1st Sat of Jan.
I'd be okay with moving it to 16 teams, lock that in for 4 years and see how it goes with an option to ONLY go back down to 12 (or even 8) if data shows that is the best number.
Don't know why this is so complicated. Add 4 to make it an even 16. Same number of rounds, no byes. No 17th ranked team has ever had a claim at the National Championship.
NO written deal w Notre Dame. They have to earn their way in via at-large like any other team.
NO written deal w Notre Dame. They have to earn their way in via at-large like any other team.
Last edited:
College Football Playoff to remain at 12 teams after SEC and Big Ten fail to agree on expansion
By EDDIE PELLS and ERIC OLSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 23, 2026
The College Football Playoff resolved a few of its thorny issues Friday — including how to deal with Notre Dame — but left the toughest one unresolved, staying at 12 teams for next year and failing to expand the postseason to 16 or more.
The CFP’s management committee made the predictable announcement that the 12-team format would stay the same for next season, with executive director Rich Clark selling that as a way for the conferences to “better assess the need for potential change.”
That conclusion became obvious over the weekend, when the commissioners came out of their last scheduled meeting before Friday’s deadline with no agreement.
The most notable changes they agreed to: Guaranteeing Notre Dame a spot in the field if it finishes in the top 12 in the rankings and holding automatic spots to the champions of the Power Four conferences — Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12.
The bracket in the just-completed playoff excluded the ACC champion, Duke, along with Notre Dame, which finished ranked 11th but was passed over by Miami. Two Group of Six champions — Tulane and James Madison — were ranked higher than the Blue Devils and got the spots under last year’s format.
But the key issue of expansion remains unresolved. The SEC and most of the other conferences favored moving to 16 teams, with an emphasis on at-large berths. The Big Ten wanted 24 or more with a large group of automatic qualifiers — a system that would further diminish the value of conference title games in exchange for play-in games for, say second, third and fourth place.
Per the CFP agreement, the SEC and Big Ten hold all the cards in this negotiation and remained stuck, meaning ESPN’s six-year, $7.8 billion deal to carry the playoff will start next season with 12 teams, the same as it’s been the last two years.
“While they all agree the current format has brought more excitement to college football and has given more schools a real shot in the postseason, another year of evaluation will be helpful,” Clark said.
Also unchanged was the format. The opening round of games, featuring the fifth through 12th seeds, will be played on campus, with the final three rounds going to traditional bowl sites. Next season’s final is set for Las Vegas on Jan. 25, 2027.
This season, Oregon traveled more than 11,500 miles to play in the Orange Bowl (quarterfinals) and Peach Bowl (semifinals).
Before the Orange Bowl, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said “we have to examine” bringing quarterfinals to campus — where the crowds and the games have had a more electric (and jam-packed) atmosphere than the quarterfinal games — but no decision was reached.
Biggest winners and losers
The biggest winner coming out of the small changes is Notre Dame. When the Irish were leapfrogged by Miami in the last rankings, they found themselves on the outside — pushed out by two lower-ranked conference champions and the Hurricanes. Athletic director Pete Bevacqua complained the ACC’s lobbying for Miami amounted to an unfair tipping of the playing field.The ACC — or any struggling Power Four conference — got a victory of sorts with the guarantee that their champion gets in regardless of ranking.
That amounts to a loss for the G6 teams, though James Madison and Tulane didn’t do that group any favors — losing their two playoff games by a combined 92-44.
The move also gives conferences a chance to evaluate how moving to nine league games will impact their strength of schedules and other factors related to selection. The SEC, Big 12 and most ACC teams are transitioning to nine-game schedules for 2026, while the Big Ten has been there for a decade.
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College Football Playoff to remain at 12 teams after SEC and Big Ten fail to agree on expansion
The College Football Playoff will remain at 12 teams after the commissioners of the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten couldn’t come up with a compromise for expansion.
apnews.com
Momentum for a 24 team field grows....
Story from today:
The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) board has voted in favor of multiple major changes to the sport, the organization announced Tuesday. They include the idea of a potential 24-team College Football Playoff and the elimination of conference championship games.
The Full Story:
Story from today:
The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) board has voted in favor of multiple major changes to the sport, the organization announced Tuesday. They include the idea of a potential 24-team College Football Playoff and the elimination of conference championship games.
The Full Story:
