College Football Playoff Format For 2026 Season Finalized Amid Calls For Expansion

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The exclusion of Notre Dame (along with BYU and Vanderbilt) from the College Football Playoff led to a ton of uproar, which in turn led to speculation that the tournament will be expanded again in the near future. With the CFP organizers working on tweaking the format, will expansion be on the menu for the 2026-27 season?

The answer appears to be no.

According to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, the College Football Playoff will be staying at 12 teams in 2026.

"As widely expected, the College Football Playoff is staying at 12 teams for 2026. A formal announcement is set for later today, per ESPN sources," Thamel wrote on X.

As widely expected, the College Football Playoff is staying at 12 teams for 2026. A formal announcement is set for later today, per ESPN sources. pic.twitter.com/c8JC1VQiI1

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 23, 2026

Fan Response

College football fans were instantly curious about the phrasing of Thamel's post, with many wondering if they're going to just keep reconsidering the field size every year until the end of the current media rights deal. Others believe that the field needs to be smaller, not larger.

"Why only through 2026? Why do we have to endure a debate about changing the CFP format every single year? Do we really have to go through this entire thing again next year? Set it at 12 teams for 2026-2029 and then reevaluate after that," one user suggested on X.

"Four too many," another said bluntly.

"12 is perfect, Don’t change that, but I would like for it to be the 12 best teams period. Not 1or2 group off 5 teams gets a automatic bid. Re-seed to lowest seed for the bye teams also," a third suggested.

A few of the issues that people took with the first edition of the 12-team format last year were resolved this year. Rather than give byes to conference champions, byes were given to teams based on their ranking. Not that it did them any good.

Through two years of this format, Indiana is the only team to receive a bye and win their playoff opener. Teams that get a bye in this 12-team format are currently 1-7.

The main gripe that fans seem to have with the format right now is the timing of the games. That's the area that will hopefully be addressed in future meetings about the College Football Playoff.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Jan 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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