NCAA expands College Football Playoffs to 24 teams starting in 2027

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Entering the 2026 season, the UCLA Bruins have never been to the College Football Playoffs but that seems to end sometime soon. Not only could the 5-0 Bruins make a run to the CFP this season, the playoffs will be expanded for the 2027 season.

CFP was originally a four-team playoff but now we’re operating with a 12-team playoffs but starting next season we’ll grow to a 24-team playoff. Will having 24 playoff teams diminish the significance of reaching the CFP? Probably but when you have a shot at a national title, it’s hard not to get excited.

Both UCLA and USC are still waiting for their first CFP berths but with Thursday’s announcement of CFP expansion, those droughts will likely be coming to an end soon enough. 

USA TODAY writers Austin Curtwright and John Brice explained the CFP expansion in greater detail. 

“What the new format will look like is still uncertain given the addition of 12 teams and an extra round that will have to be squeezed into a crowded December schedule. The 12-team playoff is in its third season after expanding from the four-team CFP in 2024. The playoff system was first adopted in 2014,” the report reads. “The move comes after public debates between the Big Ten and SEC about playoff expansion and size of the new-look field. The Big Ten was pushing for 24 teams in the past year, while the SEC had resisted. A failure to agree on terms led to the 2026 season being played in the 12-team format.”

Even if UCLA falls short of the CFP this season after losing their starting quarterback, the Bruins’ time in the playoffs are coming.

This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: NCAA expands College Football Playoffs to 24 teams starting in 2027

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