ESPN college football analyst sounds off on potential College Football Playoff expansion

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The 2026 college football season starts this weekend, and it has many fans excited.

They’re ready to see how the season plays out, especially once we get to the College Football Playoff in December and January.

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This season’s CFP format will still be 12 teams, but there’s no telling whether the format will stay the same in future seasons. There’s been a lot of talk regarding expanding the format to 16 teams or even 24 teams, which has led to mixed reactions from fans and media members.

ESPN’s Jesse Palmer discussed potential expansion on Saturday, and he’s not a fan.

“I am all for seeing more games in college football as a fan, but as it pertains to competing for national championships, I only want to see teams that actually have a chance of winning a national championship. I do not think we should expand,” Palmer said. “Even last year, in our current 12-team format, no disrespect to JMU or Tulane, but you might as well have given Oregon and Ole Miss bye weeks.”

“If we go to 14, to 16, to 24 {teams}, you’re watering down the significance and the importance of the regular season.”

Palmer makes some solid points, especially about the regular season. If the format expands, teams are afforded more leeway in terms of losing games. It also allows some lesser teams to make the CFP that didn’t have as much of a chance in the 12-team format.

Despite all of that, it still feels like it’s only a matter of time until the CFP expands to include more teams.

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