Lincoln Riley Joke Goes Viral After College Football Playoff Expands To 24 Teams

Lincoln Riley Joke Goes Viral After College Football Playoff Expands To 24 Teams

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Lincoln Riley Joke Goes Viral After College Football Playoff Expands To 24 Teams

The College Football Playoff is expanding to 24 teams for the 2027 season, according to reports. Although a deal hasn’t been finalized yet, fans are already speculating about what this means for a few high-profile coaches.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel was first to break the news Thursday that a deal is in place to expand the CFP’s field to 24 teams. The field will reportedly include the Power 4 conference champions, the highest-ranked Group of 6 team and 19 at-large bids.

“Constructive discussions with ESPN continued this week,” the CFP said in a statement Thursday. “We have enjoyed a strong partnership with ESPN since our inception and are appreciative of the productive dialogue we have had throughout the negotiating period and continuing over the last several days. We will provide additional updates on the matters of future format and media rights when appropriate.”=

On Thursday night, an Oregon fan referred to the 24-team CFP format as the “Lincoln Riley Act.” This joke generated plenty of buzz on social media.

Nov 7, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

“Lincoln Riley and USC will still find a way to not make the 24-team College Football Playoff,” one fan said.

“If he can make it through this season with his job intact, he may never get fired,” a second fan replied. “Would be really funny if he still misses the CFP next year, though.”

“I’m a USC fan but this is hilarious,” another person commented.

Riley has a golden opportunity to silence his critics.

While the “Lincoln Riley Act” joke was quite funny, the reality is USC could make the CFP even under the 12-team format.

At 6-1, USC is still in contention for a playoff berth. However, Riley will need to take care of business against Wisconsin, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Indiana, Maryland and No. 12 UCLA over the next six weeks.

If USC runs the table, Oregon fans won’t be cracking jokes about Riley.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Oct 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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