College Football Playoff: Should Field Stay at 12 or Expand?
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Potential expansion of college football‘s postseason is on the docket today when the College Football Playoff management committee convenes in Denver.
The future of the format has been a point of contention between the sport’s top two conferences: the Big Ten and SEC. The Big Ten is in favor of doubling the size of the field from 12 teams to 24. The ACC and Big 12 have come around on that idea, too. The SEC isn’t sold on a postseason that large, though, instead preferring a middle ground of 16.
The Big Ten and SEC are in charge of the CFP format, control ceded by the other eight conferences to the so-called Power 2. They couldn’t get on the same page on expansion back in January, which led to the playoff staying at 12 teams for 2026.
Will the SEC come around on an expanded postseason? Or will the standoff continue?
Ahead of this meeting of the sport’s power brokers on the future of the playoff format, Athlon Sports writers and editors weighed in on the expansion debate.
Should the College Football Playoff Expand?
Steven Lassan: Stay at 12. I would prefer a smaller playoff than 12, but college football isn’t going backwards on the format anytime soon.
Other than just providing more access or generating more revenue in a sport that has a never-ending arms race, I don’t see the need to rush into more expansion. After all, the 12-team format has been in place for just two years. Let’s give it a little time to accumulate data and see the ramifications of the 12-team setup.
Through two seasons of the expanded field, more teams have access to the playoff and preserved the best regular season in sports. Also, the selections last year showed there are ramifications for the actual games. Even if the selection committee had an awful process surrounding it, Notre Dame’s loss to Miami mattered in the final 12-team picks. In an expanded field, the outcome of that game would matter little as both teams are in the field.
A tweak I would like to see with the 12-team format is shifting more games to campus sites in the quarterfinals. Also, the committee should be more transparent with its data and make it publicly available for fans and media to dissect and understand their thought process better.
I can understand 16 just to increase the at-large spots and provide more access. However, the 24-team setup is a terrible idea that should never be installed as the playoff format.
Kyle Wood: I’m a fan of sticking with 12 teams. The four-team playoff was around for a decade before it expanded. Now, just two years into the 12-team format, there’s already movement to grow it again. Why? Well, we know the real reason “why” is the almighty dollar. But decision-makers need to seriously consider the impact of a 16- or 24-team playoff.
I don’t totally buy into the idea that it would devalue the regular season, but I at least see the case against expansion there. Adding games to the postseason extends an already lengthy season even longer. The 2026 season starts on Aug. 29 and ends on Jan. 25 — almost five months later. And that’s with a 12-team field. Indiana just played 16 games to win the national championship, one shy of an NFL schedule. One of the biggest gripes with the current playoff is the number of blowouts. While it’s worth noting that was a reality under the four-team format, increasing access would likely only foster even more uncompetitive games.
It’s supposed to be hard to get into the College Football Playoff. The process isn’t perfect, but there will always be a 2025 Notre Dame or 2024 Alabama that just misses the field. There are plenty of proud programs around the country that wouldn’t be happy with an 8-4 season in which they finished ranked 21st in the country because they expect more. Is it really such a travesty that these teams don’t get a chance to compete for a championship?
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Craig Ellenport: I’m an old-school fan, and I miss the days when college football’s regular season was a playoff unto itself. Every game mattered. Even with 12 teams, we have a scenario where a classic rivalry like Michigan-Ohio State gets diluted — the loser can just say, “OK, see you in the playoffs.”
With 16 or 24 teams, the regular season is even less dramatic. Last year’s playoffs worked just fine. You had a couple of small-school underdogs like James Madison and Tulane. National powers like Ohio State and Georgia were knocked off in the quarterfinals. You had a compelling national championship game. The only reason for adding teams is money. Don’t do it.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jun 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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