Jedd Fisch Voices Support For Expanded College Football Playoff

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Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch voiced his support for a 24-team College Football Playoff by advocating for a Power Four only non-conference schedule to foster a better, early-season understanding of the quality of each league before conference play.

In an appearance on College Sports on SiriusXM, the Huskies' coach laid out a hypothetical schedule that would pit Big Ten schools, including UW, against the Big 12 Conference to open the season. The next two weeks would see the Huskies face programs from the SEC and ACC, before all four leagues open their respective conference schedules in late September.

"I'll tell you this right now: I believe, not only should it be a 24-team playoff," Fisch said. "But I believe Week 1 should be Big Ten vs Big 12; ACC vs SEC. Week 2 should be Big Ten vs SEC; ACC vs Big 12. And then Week 3 should be Big Ten vs ACC; SEC vs Big 12. I think you should play the three Power Four conferences, then you should play nine Big Ten games, and if you want to schedule somebody else, schedule them in the preseason.

"Because we need to know how good the other conferences are, so we can determine if a 9-3 Washington team should be ahead of a 10-2 team from a different conference. We should be able to determine what the markers should look like. I see no problem at all with teams that have three losses—I actually think if you win 75 percent of your games in the new world order (of college football) that we're living in, you should have a chance to play for a national championship."

Recent rumblings have indicated certain conferences prefer a 16-team College Football Playoff model over a 24-team field, but a firm decision has yet to be revealed as to whether or not the number of teams able to vie for a national title will increase in 2027.

From multiple angles, Fisch's suggestion of a P4-only non-conference slate would, without question, bother those in the sport who want to make sure Group of 6 schools and others aren't cast aside as the rich get richer and the lower-funded leagues continue to wither.

However, when it comes to evaluating and weighing the preseason rankings for a number of schools and how their end-of-season record and subsequent rank, there does need to be a better way than what is currently set up, which allows each school to find its own non-conference opponent.

The other issue that arises with UW, specifically in Fisch's model: what happens to the Apple Cup rivalry against Washington State?

For the first time ever, the two Evergreen State institutions will open the season on the football field against each other, effectively switching the formerly end-of-season game to Week 1. The problem with that is the Cougars are not in the ACC, Big 12, or SEC—primarily the first two—yet, and probably won't be until the next round of potential realignment reunites the regional schools more than the current map.

The other two opponents in 2026 outside the Big Ten for the Huskies are Utah State—a newly-minted Pac-12 Conference school that used to play in the Mountain West—and FCS Eastern Washington University, both a long way from the caliber of the four Power Four conferences that UW and others would play in, should Fisch's idea get implemented down the road.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Jedd Fisch advocates for expanded College Football Playoff

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