The college football regular season is about to die.
The College Football Playoff is getting closer to expanding the size of the field to 24 teams – a move that doubles the size of the 12-team model.
For college football coaches, athletic directors and television executives, this is a financial move that means more games and more revenue.
For college football fans?
There is no doubt it does not win the popular vote. A Sporting News poll revealed that 80.7% of college football fans are not in favor of the 24-team model. It’s a small sample – but we’re willing to bet most polls show similar results.
Are you in favor of 24-team College Football Playoff?
— Bill Bender (@BillBender92) October 15, 2026
It’s a radical change – and the most talked about side effect is the very reason for its lack of popularity. A 24-team College Football Playoff kills the college football regular season. We’re 80.7% sure that’s true. How do you sell something eight out of 10 people don’t want?
MORE: College Football Playoff forecast ahead of Week 7
Is the CFP better with 24 teams?
A 24-team model guarantees more schools will be involved in the postseason. A total of 80 teams would have participated in the College Football Playoff since 2014 with a 24-team model.
A total of 31 of those schools would have made the playoff four times. Iowa and Oklahoma State – schools that have yet to make the CFP – would have made it six times each.
Would that success be appreciated as much as it is in the 12-team CFP era? The answer is, “Hell, no.” No. 12 UCLA and No. 15 Kentucky were darlings of the first half of the college football season – and it’s the possibility of that first playoff appearance that makes it even better. The Bruins and Wildcats would have already had two appearances each in the 24-team model. Will Stein’s two-point magic and Bob Chesney’s pre-game speeches resonate less.
BENDER: Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker continues his improbable rise
David Leong/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Does 24-team CFP devalue college football regular season?
College football’s regular season, which was the best regular season in sports, is no longer that. Notice we said “was.”
Week 6 best illustrates that point. No. 1 Georgia beat No. 6 Alabama 20-17 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Was the vision test on that game better, worse or the same as San Francisco’s 32-29 victory against Seattle in a NFC West showdown the following day?
At best, the answer is “the same.” Watching college football feels like watching the NFL, which is great for business. Follow the TV model.
The game between the 49ers-Seahawks averaged 26.697 million viewers in the afternoon window for “America’s Game of the Week” on Fox. Georgia-Alabama averaged 12.24 million viewers in prime time on ABC’s “Saturday Night Football.”
With more playoff teams, our bet is the television numbers decrease in college football for games like that. Why?
Stakes. That’s the one thing big college football regular-season games like that used to have on the NFL. As we pointed out last week, there were 14 top-10 showdowns in college football from 2024-25. Both teams made the playoff in six of those games – or 42.9%. That number will increase exponentially in a 24-team playoff. What’s the meaning of those games? And yes, Michigan-Ohio State could move from the final week of the regular season to avoid coaches sitting star players before the first week of the CFP.
One could argue back that the 49ers-Seahawks will run that back in the regular season – and in the NFC playoffs. Or that increased field will incentivize better non-conference matchups – which was a glaring issue this September and create better conference races.
It does not prevent re-runs. Rematches have never been met with the same excitement in college football. Georgia-Ole Miss and Alabama-Oklahoma were rematches of regular-season SEC games last year. The 2012 Alabama-LSU rematch in the BCS championship game telegraphed the end of the BCS era.
Why is that? You’re watching an NFL-style regular season with players who aren’t as good and games that don’t mean as much when three- and four-loss teams get in the playoff. If you want a regular season that is more like men’s college basketball or MLB, then, well, you get what you wanted.
MORE: Picks for Ohio State-Indiana, BYU-ND and more
Will college football fans adjust to a 24-team CFP?
Will we adjust? It’s going to be more difficult this time. That 19.3% who welcome the 24-team College Football Playoff will say so. They’re more open-minded, but they’re also wrong.
The Bowl Championship Series was a system shock in 1998, and No. 1 Tennessee’s 23-16 victory against No. 2 Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl wasn’t an overly compelling game. But it came one year after Michigan and Nebraska split a national championship – the third spilt national title of the decade. There has been one split national championship since.
The four-team playoff generated more excitement in 2014, and opened with a banger of a semifinal when No. 4 Ohio State upset No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Unfortunately, that foreshadowed a decade where the seven schools – Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia and Michigan – combined for 75% of the appearances.
The 12-team playoff wasn’t given enough time to breathe. Ohio State’s national title was expected. Indiana’s unbeaten season? No way. The on-campus games are a hit – and it offers just enough exclusivity that teams like Notre Dame and Texas paid for regular-season losses last year.
Doubling down on the size of the field means that’s over. Get ready to argue about three- and four-loss teams in the SEC and Big Ten. It’s going to be more like Bubble Talk during March Madness – and that just is not nearly as fun.
Other side effects of 24-team CFP
The regular season isn’t the only notable side effect of a 24-team College Football Playoff. Here are some other immediate impacts that are less severe than the regular season:
Conference championships. Those will be gone. In a 24-team playoff that makes sense, but it begs a question. What’s the point of being in a conference outside of revenue? Does this open the door for the Super League?
Role of the Group of 6. A Group of 6 conference school would reportedly be included in the 24-team field. What if they aren’t ranked among the top 24 teams? Will this lead to the G6 having their separate playoff down the road?
Bowl games. The nature of Bowl Season will change. Perhaps some bowl games will be moved to the regular season and played as neutral-site games. This isn’t a deal-breaker – but the 24-team playoff is a huge victory for the “bowls are meaningless” crowd.
Scheduling. The 24-team College Football Playoff will start two weeks after the end of the regular season. How do you fit 23 postseason games in the calendar and maintain interest while going head to head with the NFL in late December and January? Proponents will say, “More football won’t hurt anybody!” Are they right? This year’s championship game is Jan. 25, 2027 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
