College Football Playoff to stay at 12 teams in 2026; auto-bids change
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There had been talk of expanding the College Football Playoff as early as the 2026 season, but that's all it turned out to be, just talk. According to a report from Pete Nakos of On3, the sport's two biggest power brokers, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, couldn't reach an agreement on the next step of the College Football Playoff, so the bracket will remain at 12 for the 2026 season.
The discussion centered on how much to expand the playoff by. Sankey, along with the Big 12 and the ACC were more comfortable moving the playoff to 16 teams and eliminating the first round bye. Petitti wanted to take the playoff to 24 teams, much like is seen in FCS and other divisions of college football.
The biggest change gives power back to the conference championship games. In 2025, the five highest-ranked conference champions earned automatic bids to the playoff. This year, it was Indiana, Georgia, Texas Tech, James Madison, and Tulane. That's because Duke, which beat a top-15-ranked Virginia team in the ACC championship game, was unranked and behind the two Group of Five teams. Now, the four automatic bids will go to the conference champions of the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12. A fifth automatic bid will be given to Notre Dame if they're ranked inside the top 12 of the final College Football Playoff rankings. One bid will remain for the highest-ranked Group of Six champion each season, which now includes the revamped Pac-12.
If we're looking at this year's results, the playoff rankings would have likely ended looking something like this:
- Indiana
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Texas Tech
- Oregon
- Ole Miss
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Alabama
- Notre Dame
- Duke
- Tulane
Notre Dame would have been in the playoff rankings because they came in at No. 11 in the final CFP rankings. was That would have bumped Miami out of its at-large spot. Duke would have been in for winning the ACC, and Tulane would have received the lone playoff spot for the Group of Six.
The College Football Playoff is evolving and eventually will expand to 16 teams. But for now, the new rules keep the conference championships relevant, while still providing the Group of Six an opportunity to be in the field.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: College Football Playoff remaining at 12 teams in 2026
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