College Football Playoff Expansion?

[GATTACA!]

If ND can't get a first round bye, then we have to join a conference. It’s over. We aren’t playing for playoff births. This is Notre Dame.

Winning a conference doesn’t even guarantee a bye.

 

[NDpendent]

Bama and Georgia may have to compete in a championship every year but they also schedule a couple FCS schools every year too... Even with a championship Bama does have a better strength of schedule

 

[irishff1014]

College Football Playoff Board of Managers Votes to Expand Playoff to 12 Teams - College Football Playoff

Six Highest-Ranked Conference Champions Along with Six At-Large Teams Format to Begin for the 2026 Regular Season, Unless Earlier Implementation is Possible IRVING,

collegefootballplayoff.com

The board approved the following:

1. The 12 teams will be the six conference champions ranked highest by the selection committee (no minimum ranking requirement), plus the six highest-ranked teams not included among the six highest-ranked conference champions.

2. The ranking of the teams will continue to be done by a selection committee whose size, composition, and method of selection will remain substantially unchanged. The Management Committee will modify the selection protocol as required by the change to the playoff structure.

3. The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and each will receive a first-round bye.

4. The other eight teams will play in the first round with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher-seeded institution (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7 and No. 9 at No. 8.)

So if i under stand this right you could have a 10-3 Wisconsin team win the big ten and they would be ranked higher than a 12-1 OSU team. Is that right?

 

[ACamp1900]

Bama and Georgia may have to compete in a championship every year but they also schedule a couple FCS schools every year too... Even with a championship Bama does have a better strength of schedule

Than who!?! Gtfoh

 

[du Lac]

Does this mean players will sit out of playoff games now?

 

[IrishLion]

So if i under stand this right you could have a 10-3 Wisconsin team win the big ten and they would be ranked higher than a 12-1 OSU team. Is that right?

Not necessarily I think? If there are four conference champions ranked above Wisconsin, Ohio State could be the 5-seed above Wisconsin at that point.

It only specifies that the four highest ranked conference champs will get byes, not that the 6 conference champs need to be seeded 1-6

 

[du Lac]

I admittedly have not looked into this too much as I’m lazy. When does this this new playoff start?

 

[irishff1014]

Not necessarily I think? If there are four conference champions ranked above Wisconsin, Ohio State could be the 5-seed above Wisconsin at that point.

It only specifies that the four highest ranked conference champs will get byes, not that the 6 conference champs need to be seeded 1-6

Thanks. Should be interesting.

 

[irishff1014]

I admittedly have not looked into this too much as I’m lazy. When does this this new playoff start?

2026 for right now.

 

[Dale]

If ND can't get a first round bye, then we have to join a conference. It’s over. We aren’t playing for playoff births. This is Notre Dame.

You’d rather play OSU/Clemson in the conference championship then be a 5 seed and play a home game versus a 12 seed?

 

[Dale]

Bama and Georgia may have to compete in a championship every year but they also schedule a couple FCS schools every year too... Even with a championship Bama does have a better strength of schedule

We play Tennessee St next year.


The times they are a changin

 

[House16]

You’d rather play OSU/Clemson in the conference championship then be a 5 seed and play a home game versus a 12 seed?

I’d rather play Northwestern or Pitt, and still get a mulligan if I lose that game, than play an 11-2 Utah team and be out if I lose. Definitely.

 

[GATTACA!]

I’d rather play Northwestern or Pitt, and still get a mulligan if I lose that game, than play an 11-2 Utah team and be out if I lose. Definitely.

You could beat Northwestern or Pitt in the ACC championship game and still have to play Utah in the first round.

 

[House16]

If we lose in the first round against a likely 2-3 loss team at home? That’s our problem more than the system’s structure.

Sure they are not exact equals, I’ll take our situation though. And it’s the one we probably deserve tbh. That rebuttal involves us losing to a worse team. The scenario where you lose in the conference championship and then still make the playoff you’re inherently losing to a team seeded way higher than what we would play.

I don’t think this is true at all. Could absolutely see #3 Oregon losing to #16 ASU then making it as a 10 seed. And I saw how Swarbrick said the two situations are similar but disagree with him strongly.

And the #12 team is absolutely not going to be a pushover/ tuneup game. It will be like a March madness 1 seed vs a 3 seed. Yeah they’d be favored, but it’s not 1 vs 16 by any remote stretch.

Ultimately, the only logical way I can see this making sense is if jack already knows we’re big ten bound. Otherwise this screws us for no reason at all.

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

If you can't beat an elite, top 3-4 team you aren't winning a championship. That much hasn't changed. The goal is still the same, get the program into a position to compete with the elite. The 6-12 seeds pander to the ROY (rest of y'all) crowd.

 

[Dale]

I don’t think this is true at all. Could absolutely see #3 Oregon losing to #16 ASU then making it as a 10 seed. And I saw how Swarbrick said the two situations are similar but disagree with him strongly.

And the #12 team is absolutely not going to be a pushover/ tuneup game. It will be like a March madness 1 seed vs a 3 seed. Yeah they’d be favored, but it’s not 1 vs 16 by any remote stretch.

Ultimately, the only logical way I can see this making sense is if jack already knows we’re big ten bound. Otherwise this screws us for no reason at all.

I don’t think anyones implying it will be a pushover. Would your rather play OSU on neutral territory (possibly for the second time of the season) or the 12 seed at home? That’s the by far most likely hypothetical for our current situation. By far.

Everyone wants to be independent and not play a conference championship and get a bye. It ain’t happening.

 

[notredomer23]

The biggest take away for me is we are going to have southern teams traveling to snowy Indiana in December.

 

[irishff1014]

I don’t think anyones implying it will be a pushover. Would your rather play OSU on neutral territory or the 12 seed at home? That’s the by far most likely hypothetical for our current situation. By far.

Everyone wants to be independent and not play a conference championship and get a bye. It ain’t happening.

IMO a 3 or 4 loss team doesn't deserve a spot an it will probably happen.

 

[House16]

I don’t think anyones implying it will be a pushover. Would your rather play OSU on neutral territory (possibly for the second time of the season) or the 12 seed at home? That’s the by far most likely hypothetical for our current situation. By far.

Everyone wants to be independent and not play a conference championship and get a bye. It ain’t happening.

Okay same situation but ND is ranked #16. Heck yes I want a shot at OSU. My overriding point here is that not playing a CCG helps sometimes and hurts sometimes, just like if we played a CCG. It’s just absolutely not an advantage to skip the CCG overall. Some years it helps, some years it hurts. It doesn’t make sense for us to be penalized for it.

 

[Dale]

It doesn’t make sense for us to be penalized for it.

So you think it makes more sense for the third best team in a conference to be eligible to get a bye aka be considered a Top 4 team?

 

[Dale]

We’re talking about a world where ND being the only team in the entire country off for two weeks is the “most fair”

 

[House16]

So you think it makes more sense for the third best team in a conference to be eligible to get a bye aka be considered a Top 4 team?

Absolutely! Conferences are made up TV arrangements. If two teams are 11-1, why should I care if Team A is in a TV contract with a 12-0 team while Team B isn’t? If TCU has a worse resume than Georgia but Georgia has a worse resume than Alabama, that doesn’t make TCU more deserving than Georgia.

 

[House16]

We’re talking about a world where ND being the only team in the entire country off for two weeks is the “most fair”

Because being off isn’t always an advantage! Sometimes it helps and sometimes it hurts. If ND scheduled 12 bye weeks no one would say “genius - guaranteed playoff berth.” Playing a game has just as much chance of helping you as hurting you.

Ask 2014 OSU if they wish they had a bye during the CCG.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

If you can't beat an elite, top 3-4 team you aren't winning a championship. That much hasn't changed. The goal is still the same, get the program into a position to compete with the elite. The 6-12 seeds pander to the ROY (rest of y'all) crowd.

Hard to disagree with this aspect of it all.

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

I couldn't be more opposed for so many reasons:

1) Adding average 9-3 teams to the "playoff" doesn't improve the product.

2) All schedules and conferences aren't equal. App State could win the PAC 12 these days.

3) Diminishes the best part of college ball... the regular season.

4) Extending the season isn't healthy for the players. Too many games.

5) I'm a full blown capitalist but money is ruining college football and it's hard to watch.

6) There are only 2 upsides here: more money for TV/ conferences and average teams like Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan State bragging about making the "playoff." It's a joke.

 

[TNUtoNotreDame]

I couldn't be more opposed for so many reasons:

1) Adding average 9-3 teams to the "playoff" doesn't improve the product.

2) All schedules and conferences aren't equal. App State could win the PAC 12 these days.

3) Diminishes the best part of college ball... the regular season.

4) Extending the season isn't healthy for the players. Too many games.

5) I'm a full blown capitalist but money is ruining college football and it's hard to watch.

6) There are only 2 upsides here: more money for TV/ conferences and average teams like Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan State bragging about making the "playoff." It's a joke.

Well, as full blown capitalist you have let the market work than.

 

[NDohio]

The biggest take away for me is we are going to have southern teams traveling to snowy Indiana in December.

Yep, most years ND is going to have a playoff game on campus. That's an incredible advantage and the ability to sell the University/Football Program through those games is awesome.

How bad is the NCAA marketing group that they drop this news on a Friday afternoon of a long weekend? Drop this info today and we are talking about it all week.

 

[GowerND11]

Can't we just go back to like 25 bowl games, and no playoffs?

College football is becoming too sterile and professional.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Watching UGA absolutely piss pound Oregon by 46 right after this expansion announcement came was the stuff of dreams. I found it to be completely hilarious. I like that these games are going to be played on campuses, though. Apart from that, I think we're going to see a lot of lopsided results.

When the 13th and 14th teams, both of whom have three losses, get left out the cycle will repeat.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Watching UGA absolutely piss pound Oregon by 46 right after this expansion announcement came was the stuff of dreams. I found it to be completely hilarious. I like that these games are going to be played on campuses, though. Apart from that, I think we're going to see a lot of lopsided results.

When the 13th and 14th teams, both of whom have three losses, get left out the cycle will repeat.

Agreed. Not to mention we will get a ton of rematches if they insist on keeping the conference championship games or if there was a regular season matchup (Bama vs LSU, UM vs OSU, etc) that pits 2 contenders head-to-head.