24-Team College Football Playoff

SeekNDestroy · Wednesday at 10:02 PM

I can’t wait until the fifth round. I expect the game to be called by Rachael Leigh Cook and Danica McKellar.

burmafrd1944 · Wednesday at 10:33 PM

SeekNDestroy said:
I can’t wait until the fifth round. I expect the game to be called by Rachael Leigh Cook and Danica McKellar.

Danica is a real hottie and serious brain so I got no objections

KMac151993 · Thursday at 8:48 AM

SeekNDestroy said:
I can’t wait until the fifth round. I expect the game to be called by Rachael Leigh Cook and Danica McKellar.

Danica is still grade A smoke...I would watch her call anything.

Jiggafini19Deux · Thursday at 11:02 AM

Isn't this all just Fox against ESPN?

I seriously doubt anyone really gives a shit about Army-Navy. The whole rivalry thing, geography and what fans want all kind of died a while ago anyway.

IRISHDODGER · Thursday at 11:22 AM

Dale said:
Shocking stance

Let’s cater to making sure the Bret Bielema’s of the world keep getting extensions

What these HC don’t seem to realize is that squeaking into the CFP isn’t going to ensure job stability the way they think it will. You’re still gonna see schools fire HC at the drop of a hat. It may even escalate w/ more teams getting bids.

NorthDakota · Thursday at 11:23 AM

With 24 teams, every conference should probably be sending a team.

That leaves 14 At-Large spots. Every decent/good P4 team would still get in. Even if all the large conferences imploded and a regional conference model returned, you'd still have like 10 At Large teams in.

I dont like the idea of expansion at all, but if you are going to do expansion then do it right. I think a lot of P4 schools are a bit nervous about having a good (not great) team and hosting a pretty good G6 team on national TV.

NorthDakota · Thursday at 11:25 AM

Jiggafini19Deux said:
Isn't this all just Fox against ESPN?

I seriously doubt anyone really gives a shit about Army-Navy. The whole rivalry thing, geography and what fans want all kind of died a while ago anyway.

I think some people genuinely care about Army Navy...I just dont happen to know any of them.

I might go this year. I should be wrapping up some training that weekend and a short trip to NYC could be a fun way to celebrate.

MeanGreenBeans · Thursday at 11:28 AM

NorthDakota said:
I think some people genuinely care about Army Navy...I just dont happen to know any of them.

I might go this year. I should be wrapping up some training that weekend and a short trip to NYC could be a fun way to celebrate.

I thought they played the game at each team's home stadium. Guess I haven't been paying attention.

Dale · Thursday at 1:08 PM

I think a lot of people care about Army - Navy. I don’t think - outside of anyone who attended/served there - anyone cares enough to think they need an entire day to themselves. A set CBS tv slot seems more than enough. Heck give them the entire 12:00. No other games. But anything over that is just doing it just to do it IMO.

MeanGreenBeans · Thursday at 1:14 PM

Dale said:
I think a lot of people care about Army - Navy. I don’t think - outside of anyone who attended/served there - anyone cares enough to think they need an entire day to themselves. A set CBS tv slot seems more than enough. Heck give them the entire 12:00. No other games. But anything over that is just doing it just to do it IMO.

Surprised to learn that last season's Army/Navy game was CBS's most watched game of the season at 7.84 million viewers. So apparently someone is watching it. I wonder how much of that was due to it being a stand alone game on 12/13.

Jiggafini19Deux · Thursday at 1:27 PM

MeanGreenBeans said:
Surprised to learn that last season's Army/Navy game was CBS's most watched game of the season at 7.84 million viewers. So apparently someone is watching it. I wonder how much of that was due to it being a stand alone game on 12/13.

A great deal of it probably has to do with this.

I have taken a much bigger interest in this game as I did when I was a kid. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, it didn't have much significance to me. My Grandpa liked Army, my dad was in the Navy, so naturally I cheered for Air Force. After 9/11, though, I go out of my way to watch Army Navy every year. It's more than football, and I'm not a subscriber to the Military Industrial Complex either. Service, tradition, honor and brotherhood aren't valued like they used to be. The "March On" before the game starts, "Singing Second". So much of what college football used to be about and no longer is. Notre Dame obviously has a tradition with both schools that goes back a century.

It's a guilty pleasure of tradition and nostalgia more than anything.

That being said, I always hope by the time this game is played that the Falcons have the Commander in Chief Trophy in the bag.

NorthDakota · Thursday at 2:44 PM

MeanGreenBeans said:
Surprised to learn that last season's Army/Navy game was CBS's most watched game of the season at 7.84 million viewers. So apparently someone is watching it. I wonder how much of that was due to it being a stand alone game on 12/13.

I think basically all of it is due to standalone and people who suggest otherwise are being a bit silly.

NorthDakota · Thursday at 2:45 PM

Jiggafini19Deux said:
A great deal of it probably has to do with this.

I have taken a much bigger interest in this game as I did when I was a kid. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, it didn't have much significance to me. My Grandpa liked Army, my dad was in the Navy, so naturally I cheered for Air Force. After 9/11, though, I go out of my way to watch Army Navy every year. It's more than football, and I'm not a subscriber to the Military Industrial Complex either. Service, tradition, honor and brotherhood aren't valued like they used to be. The "March On" before the game starts, "Singing Second". So much of what college football used to be about and no longer is. Notre Dame obviously has a tradition with both schools that goes back a century.

It's a guilty pleasure of tradition and nostalgia more than anything.

That being said, I always hope by the time this game is played that the Falcons have the Commander in Chief Trophy in the bag.

I too support the Air Force Academy.

greyhammer90 · Thursday at 2:57 PM

The game itself is awesome and I watch it every year but the standalone weekend is just the product of recruitment/advertising for the military. That's all it ever was. I don't have a problem with that on its face, but it seems very silly to have to structure the very commercial/private cfb postseason around what is essentially a recruitment tactic by the federal government.

Punky · Thursday at 4:05 PM

I do love the Army-Navy game, but I guess the affection depends on when you started following college football. As a kid in the 60s, there was still collective memory of how great some of those academy teams were. And of course Dawkins won the Heisman for Army in 58, Bellino and Staubach for Navy in 60 and 63, so there was still some talent on those teams even in the 60s. The luster kind of faded for the academies in the 70s through the early oughts (except for Air Force - damn you Dee Dowis!), but you have to admit, Army and Navy are pretty decent again. But I agree with the previous suggestion, may be give them their own time slot, but not necessarily their own day.

Jiggafini19Deux · Thursday at 4:12 PM

I could have sworn that college football, as we knew it, was doomed. Going from 4 to 12 was a travesty. NIL, The Portal, was going to ruin everything for good. People swore they'd never watch college football again.

Last year: The 2025-26 College Football Playoff averaged 16.3 million viewers in 11 games, a 4% increase from the previous year. The tournament concluded with Indiana and Miami, which drew an 11-year high of 30.1 million viewers on ESPN.

So all these people that supposedly took their ball and went home never to watch again (I assume these people also hate the NBA and soccer) aren't missed. They want to expand the field and have more teams. Can't imagine why. Oversaturating the market with crazy TV money probably won't work. Ask the NFL.

GATTACA! · Thursday at 4:38 PM

Jiggafini19Deux said:
I could have sworn that college football, as we knew it, was doomed. Going from 4 to 12 was a travesty. NIL, The Portal, was going to ruin everything for good. People swore they'd never watch college football again.

Last year: The 2025-26 College Football Playoff averaged 16.3 million viewers in 11 games, a 4% increase from the previous year. The tournament concluded with Indiana and Miami, which drew an 11-year high of 30.1 million viewers on ESPN.

So all these people that supposedly took their ball and went home never to watch again (I assume these people also hate the NBA and soccer) aren't missed. They want to expand the field and have more teams. Can't imagine why. Oversaturating the market with crazy TV money probably won't work. Ask the NFL.

Marvel movies have a lot more viewers and make a lot more money than Wes Anderson films. That doesn't mean they're better.

Dale · Thursday at 4:48 PM

I think Indiana was great for tv viewership, but gambling also props up viewership comparatively to, say the BCS era.

Polish Leppy 22 · Thursday at 5:09 PM

No one wants 24 teams except head coaches (job stability) and athletic directors (money). No one has bothered to ask the players about this either or the fact that it would really mess up the academic calendar and transfer portal. Complete shitshow.

Blazers46 · Thursday at 6:37 PM

Spoke with a 97 year gentlemen today. We talked about college football and he said that he remembers his dad whining about expanding bowl games and sees expanding the playoffs sort of the same. He sees it as some bowl games just meaning more and some teams winning playing an extra game. We got to a point where bowl games mattered until they didn’t and people sat and bowls became practice games and a lot of people asked how we can make it worth playing in… here we go. I think that changed my mind. Give me 24 teams.

stlnd01 · Thursday at 7:27 PM

Blazers46 said:
Spoke with a 97 year gentlemen today. We talked about college football and he said that he remembers his dad whining about expanding bowl games and sees expanding the playoffs sort of the same. He sees it as some bowl games just meaning more and some teams winning playing an extra game. We got to a point where bowl games mattered until they didn’t and people sat and bowls became practice games and a lot of people asked how we can make it worth playing in… here we go. I think that changed my mind. Give me 24 teams.

The "too many bowl game" argument never made sense to me. If you don't want to watch Minnesota play NC State at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 27, OK. If you do, go for it. Players can play, or skip. Whatever. Some random low-stakes quasi-exhibition games give more football to those who want it, and hurt nothing.

A 24-game playoff is a different story. It wildly devalues the best regular season in sports. You'll see the good teams do just enough to ensure they win 9 or 10 games and make it in. It'll be like basketball (college or pro) where the whole regular season serves as a sort of warmup for what actually matters. And even then, half the teams in the playoff will have no realistic chance of winning it, because there aren't 24 teams that are that good. Those few games will be fun but the cost will be high.

burmafrd1944 · Thursday at 9:12 PM

stlnd01 said:
The "too many bowl game" argument never made sense to me. If you don't want to watch Minnesota play NC State at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 27, OK. If you do, go for it. Players can play, or skip. Whatever. Some random low-stakes quasi-exhibition games give more football to those who want it, and hurt nothing.

A 24-game playoff is a different story. It wildly devalues the best regular season in sports. You'll see the good teams do just enough to ensure they win 9 or 10 games and make it in. It'll be like basketball (college or pro) where the whole regular season serves as a sort of warmup for what actually matters. And even then, half the teams in the playoff will have no realistic chance of winning it, because there aren't 24 teams that are that good. Those few games will be fun but the cost will be high.

was it the NHL that for a while had so many teams make the playoffs that less than half the teams sat at home?

jerseyborn1971 · Friday at 9:31 AM

Back-Up QB's and RB's on top teams love the 24 team playoff. They'll get real action in throwaway regular season games the starters are "resting for".

RDU Irish · Friday at 10:52 AM

jerseyborn1971 said:
Back-Up QB's and RB's on top teams love the 24 team playoff. They'll get real action in throwaway regular season games the starters are "resting for".

November is going to look like NFL week 18.

NDhoosier · Friday at 11:40 AM

RDU Irish said:
November is going to look like NFL week 18.

This is exactly what I came to say. The final week of college football, which is usually rivalry week, will by like Week 18 in the NFL. None of the starters are playing except for like 4 teams that are on the bubble.

stlnd01 · Friday at 11:46 AM

NDhoosier said:
This is exactly what I came to say. The final week of college football, which is usually rivalry week, will by like Week 18 in the NFL. None of the starters are playing except for like 4 teams that are on the bubble.

The Big Game between Michigan's backups and Ohio State's backups is gonna be awesome.

Polish Leppy 22 · Saturday at 8:17 AM

College AD's used to be retired coaches. Then they had to be lawyers. Now they're former TV execs. This adds to the problem because their #1 priority is cash and the unintended consequences are gonna suck for a lot of people, not just fans who don't want a 24 team playoff. And yes, I point the finger at Bevacqua too.

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