As reported by ESPN, the Big Ten Conference (B1G) has proposed that the 12-team college football (CFB) playoff (PO) field expand to 16 teams in 2027-28 and 2028-29, before expanding to a 24-team PO field in 2029-2030 and thereafter.
The 16-team field would include the ACC, B1G, B12, SEC, and the highest-ranked G6 champions.
The 24-team field would have a 23-1 format. The teams ranked 1-24 by the PO Committee would be in, with the highest-ranked G6 team in the field if a G6 team is not ranked in the top 24. The sole automatic qualifying team would be the highest-ranked G6 team. The 24-team field fascinated Mr. FishDuck enough to take a pause from his study of the Bitcoin market, especially to learn how to access bitcoin via Kraken to share with me his thoughts on both. (Like football, Bitcoin is quite interesting)
The CFB season would begin in what is now referred to as Week 0. All of the Power 4 and G6 teams would have two Bye Weeks. There would be no week set aside for the conference championship games; the 24-team PO would begin and finish at least two weeks earlier than today.
The eight highest-ranked teams would have a first-round bye. First and second-round games would be played on campus, with the higher-ranked team hosting. In the First Round, there would be no repeat of regular-season games.
Fans love college football, especially the Playoffs! (Photo by Craig Strobeck)
After the ESPN B1G reveal, it took the naysayers approximately a nanosecond to warn us that a 24-team PO field would lead to the destruction of CFB. This is the same warning and prediction we heard when it was suggested that a two-team BCS PO double to four teams, and when it was suggested the four-team PO triple to 12-teams.
In the second season of a 12-team PO, 2025-26, CFB game attendance and viewership were at an all-time high. More fans were invested in their team qualifying for the PO, and the championship game, featuring a Miami team looking to capture lost glory and an Indiana team’s Phoenix-like rise from the ashes of CFB, drew millions more viewers than watched Blue Bloods, Ohio State, and Notre Dame play for a title the previous season.
A 24-team field will have more fans invested throughout the season. It will also result in tens of millions more dollars paid for the PO game broadcasts, forestalling more college football contraction by giving the G6 conferences, the ACC, and the B12 more revenue and a better chance of survival.
A 24-team field last season would have included only one 4-loss team, 8-4 Iowa. The Hawkeyes lost to Top 25 Indiana, Oregon, USC, and rival Iowa State, and defeated 2-loss Vanderbilt 34-27 in the ReliaQuest Bowl played in Tampa, Florida. A 4-loss Iowa team in the PO would have been neither an embarrassment nor destroyed CFB.
Notre Dame is a strong candidate to return to the Playoffs. (Photo Courtesy of Notre Dame Football)
Using The Sporting News 2026 Preseason Composite Top 25 ranking, consisting of The Sporting News, Athlon, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Yahoo Sports, and On3’s preseason Top 25, the following is what a 24-team PO field would be in 2026-27.
No. 1 Ohio State vs. 17 SMU at 16 Alabama winner
No. 8 Texas A&M vs. 24 G6 at No. 9 Miami winner (Automatic qualifier G6 knocks out No. 24 Missouri)
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No. 4 Indiana vs. 21 Iowa at 13 USC winner (to avoid a repeat game, 21 Iowa is seeded in 20 Penn State’s place)
No. 5 OREGON vs. 20 Penn State at 12 LSU winner
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No. 2 Texas vs. 18 Utah at 15 Ole Miss winner
No. 7 Texas Tech vs. 23 Houston at 10 Oklahoma winner
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No. 3 Georgia vs. 19 Louisville at 14 Michigan winner
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. 22 Washington at 11 BYU winner
8 B1G teams/ 7 SEC teams/ 4 B12 teams/ 3 ACC teams/ Notre Dame and G6
OBD with a home game vs. Penn State or Lane Kiffin’s LSU. Bring it on!
What say you, Forum friends, considering the calendar adjustments, is a 24-team field too large?
Jon Joseph
Aiken, South Carolina
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Jon Joseph grew up in Boston, Massachusetts but has been blessed to have lived long enough in the west to have exorcised all east coast bias. He played football in college and has passionately followed the game for seven decades. A retired corporate attorney Jon has lectured across the country and published numerous articles on banking and gaming law. Now a resident of Aiken South Carolina, Jon follows college football across the nation with a focus on the Conference of Champions and the Ducks.