Apparently several SEC ADs only voted for the 9 game league schedule bc Sankey stated the playoff would expand.

Now Sankey being the only one not wanting to expand to 24 and with SEC ADs against him, it will go to 24.

So be it, quick thoughts are I don't like it but not going to waste much thought on it when appears it's going to happen sooner than later.

I just hope they move up the schedules so most of the payoffs are completed prior to New Years. Would be nice if by New years they were already at the final 4.

Get rid of conference champ games. Have that weekend just be the first weekend of the playoffs. Fan bases would rather save their money for playoff games and coaches would rather not have that extra game which could get an important player hurt prior to the playoffs.

new years eve/day would be the quarter finals. no more CCG in 24 team playoff

I did not say what it would be. I said what I would like it to be.

And yes they could adjust the schedule for it to work. Just bc they don't do it, does not mean it could easily be accomplished.

Dorm 15 said:

---

Thanks for your response. If the Power 4 formed their own "League" I have a different suggestion for a Playoff format. First, no Conference Championship Games. Using that week the top 8 teams in each Conference would begin "The Playoffs". Year 1, the SEC would be matched with the Big 12. No. 1vs 8 and so on with the game being played at the higher seeds field. Same thing B1G vs ACC. The results leaves you with 16 teams. The 4 Conference Commissioners along with an overall Commissioner meet to seed the field. The remaining contests could be played anywhere. Year 2 , the SEC vs ACC.

---

Why not just do this and leave the other 8 to BCS computer formula with polls?

They make way too much money on conference championship games so those aren't going away. They also make money on playoff games so those will expand. It's not that hard. When the value of a playoff game is higher than the Poulan Weed-Eater Independence Bowl one thing will disappear.

BMX Bandit said:

---

new years eve/day would be the quarter finals. no more CCG in 24 team playoff

---

I actually think the conferences will host a game that improves the chances of someone to make it in the playoff or improve their positioning. Those conferences are going to still want to make money from a big game.

there is no proposal out there that has a 24 team playoff and keeps conference championship games. its an either or proposition.

SEC does not want 24 team playoff because the SECCG is worth at a minimum $80mm. need assurances that will be made up somewhere.

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/with-push-for-24-team-cfp-field-ramping-up-greg-sankey-and-sec-holding-fast-against-it-003500937.html

Ohio State coach was just on college game day. He basically said the same thing I did that the playoffs need to start first week of December. He also high lighted besides this being best for fans it helps with most teams being over with their season to properly address the portal.

MosesRAB-93 said:

---

Dorm 15 said:

---

Thanks for your response. If the Power 4 formed their own "League" I have a different suggestion for a Playoff format. First, no Conference Championship Games. Using that week the top 8 teams in each Conference would begin "The Playoffs". Year 1, the SEC would be matched with the Big 12. No. 1vs 8 and so on with the game being played at the higher seeds field. Same thing B1G vs ACC. The results leaves you with 16 teams. The 4 Conference Commissioners along with an overall Commissioner meet to seed the field. The remaining contests could be played anywhere. Year 2 , the SEC vs ACC.

---

Why not just do this and leave the other 8 to BCS computer formula with polls?

---

That would be fine.

Greg Sankey mentions that the CFP No. 1 and No. 2 seed will now get the chance to pick their location for the quarterfinal and potential semifinal.

Pretty interesting nugget that came out of meetings. 🎥 @finebaum pic.twitter.com/5WndBFrys8

— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace) April 29, 2026

So they are going to do what I said they needed to do if they go to 24. The final will be no later than the second week of January.

Where are you seeing this?

assume he's talking about the afca committee vote on what they would like.

It's as influential as a zoo straw poll

Logos Stick said:

---

12 is enough, get rid of G5.

---

100%.

Anything beyond 16 is crazy. And I prefer 12. We already have 3 loss teams with no stupid G5 rule.

Wouldn't that be wonderful?

dcg4403 said:

---

Logos Stick said:

---

12 is enough, get rid of G5.

---

100%.

Anything beyond 16 is crazy. And I prefer 12. We already have 3 loss teams with no stupid G5 rule.

---

With dropping the CCG I'm good with 24. Would it have been so terrible for Miami having to have hosted Iowa before coming into Kyle? Also eliminates the concern of us having to go to Atlanta for a potential rematch (we will have played 9/15 other teams under 2026 format, so a rematch is more statistically likely than not). New format has allowances for no rematches in first round (hopefully they can avoid that if the favorite wins in round 1 for round 2 as well).

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-playoff-expansion-24-team-bracket-2025-season/

To the extent that anyone is actually trying to sell the 24-team format to the fans, beyond "it's more money for us, deal with it," the company line seems to be "it will make for a greater quantity of meaningful regular seasons games." Which is technically true if you accept that playoff implications is the only thing that imbues "meaning" to games, but what it also does is shift the sense of stakes from the top of the Big 2 conferences (the best 4-6 teams) down to the teams in the 6-10 range in their conference (or approximately the national top 20-50). So it essentially amounts to "yes, Georgia-Alabama doesn't mean too much this year, but think about how big Missouri-Vanderbilt will be!"

It's a bad trade to devalue games between the best of the best to juice games between 8-win teams, imo.

There are 34 teams between the Big Ten and SEC currently, and I'd expect conservatively 16-18 of them to make the 24 team field in any given year. That's approaching NBA levels of "tune out until the postseason".

The portal combined with more playoff spots combined for a very competitive football playoff and a win by a team that was a perennial "basketball school."

I doubt expanding your 24 games provides more Bama v. LSU snooze fest championship games, but everyone already knew that kind of game is tough for typical fans to engage.

A&M tried to walk our practically guaranteed playoff spots backwards but merely lost to Texas and Miami to avoid advancing further. That we made the playoff in an 11-1 year with that team was truly impressive despite the ending.

I don't think zero-loss teams are inherently superior and I look forward to 9 conference games and would have preferred 10.

Too much emphasis is on this myth about the "best" team winning.

It's. A. Myth.

No matter how you decide the NC. Injuries, bad calls, illnesses, luck, biorhythms, astrological alignments, solar flares and gravitational fluctuations all play a part.


The NC every year is simply whoever won it. Doesn't mean they were the best. Just means they got it done whatever the criteria was.

That being said, 4 conference champion tourney is enough, if you mandate conf championship games. That's essentially 8 teams. You possibly increase the chances of game manipulation by league officials, but, meh they do it anyway.



Don't delude yourself into thinking college football is 100% legit.

TyperWoods said:

---

Too much emphasis is on this myth about the "best" team winning.

It's. A. Myth.

No matter how you decide the NC. Injuries, bad calls, illnesses, luck, biorhythms, astrological alignments, solar flares and gravitational fluctuations all play a part.


The NC every year is simply whoever won it. Doesn't mean they were the best. Just means they got it done whatever the criteria was.

That being said, 4 conference champion tourney is enough, if you mandate conf championship games. That's essentially 8 teams. You possibly increase the chances of game manipulation by league officials, but, meh they do it anyway.



Don't delude yourself into thinking college football is 100% legit.

---

The conference championships are competed with imbalanced schedules especially non-conference. So the value of a conference championship is not magically superior to other teams as proven in last years CFP when the four byes all lost. Time to give up your crusade for an inferior playoff when this years was better than the previous years because the conference championships merely were given home field advantage in round one.

College football died a looooong time ago, this is pro sports .

College football as we know it has been gone for a couple of years!

Truthfully, I would almost prefer, I said almost, going back to the old BCS system with conference tie-ins to bowl games and then do a plus 1 game for the natty. You knew where the SEC champ was going, the ACC, the B1G, the PAC, etc....

Having said that, if you do away with MOST of the bowl games, then I don't mind an expanded playoff. You shouldn't have 24 teams make the playoffs and then still have 30+ bowl games on top of that.

Sgt. Schultz said:

---

Truthfully, I would almost prefer, I said almost, going back to the old BCS system with conference tie-ins to bowl games and then do a plus 1 game for the natty. You knew where the SEC champ was going, the ACC, the B1G, the PAC, etc....

Having said that, if you do away with MOST of the bowl games, then I don't mind an expanded playoff. You shouldn't have 24 teams make the playoffs and then still have 30+ bowl games on top of that.

---

Why do you care if there are bowl games and the playoffs?

Just .do 16 but conferences must play at least 10 conference games. ND needs to join a conference or be guaranteed nothing. No byes no teams outside the p4 unless they go undefeated and are ranked.

If not 12 or 16, just go to 32 with no byes and do 8 regionals like baseball. 4 teams per regional 2 weeks to get tp the final 8. Byes and some degree of schedule strength need to be worked in. Conference standings need to matter. A 9-3 4th place Sec team should not make it over anyone above them in the standings.