The prospect of expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams has sparked plenty of debate, with critics warning that a larger postseason could diminish the importance of the regular season.
But those concerns might be overblown. Expansion doesn't have to undermine the regular season. If done right, it could actually make the entire college football season even better.
Of course, that requires the decision-makers to make some difficult choices. And given that college football still has Oregon and Rutgers in one conference and California and North Carolina in another, there's certainly reason to be skeptical.
Still, concerns about expansion don't mean failure is inevitable. The FCS has successfully operated a 24-team playoff for years. Granted, the financial stakes are nowhere near those at the FBS level, which introduces an entirely different set of challenges.
And that's perhaps the biggest concern: when financial interests take priority over what's best for the sport, questionable decisions tend to follow. But if college football's leaders can get the structure right, a 24-team playoff could be a win for players, programs, and fans alike.
Here's how to make it work.
Give Every Conference Champion a Playoff Spot
College football is one of the few sports where winning your conference hasn't always guaranteed a spot in the postseason. Last season, Duke won the ACC title but was left out of the playoff. Meanwhile, Miami, which didn't even play in the ACC championship game (the Blue Devils beat Virginia), made the playoff and advanced all the way to the national championship game.
The playoff has addressed this somewhat by guaranteeing automatic bids to the Power 4 conference champions going forward, but it needs to go further. Every conference champion should have a guaranteed path to the playoff, just as they do at the FCS level.
Some of the so-called purists might hate this idea. They'll likely point to the potential for blowouts in the early rounds, with powerhouse programs facing smaller schools they might otherwise schedule for a buy game. But that's part of what makes March Madness so compelling: smaller schools get their shot at the traditional powers, and every so often, they pull off the unthinkable.
Those opportunities also give smaller programs something meaningful to sell to recruits. Overlooked players can choose a smaller school knowing they'll still have a chance to compete on the biggest stage. And while those upsets may be rare initially, history suggests they're possible. It took 33 years after the NCAA basketball tournament expanded to 64 teams for a No. 16 seed to finally defeat a No. 1, when UMBC stunned Virginia in 2018.
College football could follow a similar path. There would undoubtedly be some lopsided matchups early on, but giving smaller-conference champions a consistent opportunity to compete could eventually create the same kind of memorable upsets that make March Madness special.
The current playoff structure doesn't provide that opportunity to every conference champion. A 24-team field should change that.
Reward Tougher Schedules
Back in the days of the BCS, the formula briefly experimented with a quality-win component, giving teams extra credit for beating highly ranked opponents. If a team defeated the No. 9 team in the nation, for example, additional points would be added to its rating.
The playoff selection committee needs to apply that same kind of common sense to non-conference scheduling. At the same time, it needs to hold teams accountable for consistently avoiding tougher opponents. Programs like Indiana and Notre Dame have faced criticism for relatively soft schedules, with Indiana lacking power-conference opponents on its upcoming non-conference schedules and Notre Dame often facing only a handful of truly challenging matchups.
With an expanded playoff, the committee has an opportunity to send a message. It doesn't necessarily have to leave these teams out, but it could seed a two-loss team that challenged itself against quality opponents ahead of an unbeaten team that played a significantly weaker schedule. Making a team with an unimpressive résumé travel for a playoff game would create a real incentive to schedule tougher opponents in future seasons.
Obviously, there have to be some limits. A team that consistently plays strong opponents but loses to them shouldn't earn a high seed simply for taking difficult losses. But the best way to encourage more compelling matchups in September is to make sure the teams that schedule those games and win them are rewarded in December.
Put Rivalries First
College football conferences haven't always operated with balanced schedules. Even when leagues were small enough for every team to face one another, some conference opponents went years without meeting.
Today, the challenge is different. Conferences like the ACC and Big Ten have grown so large that teams can't possibly play every conference opponent each season. But as college football continues to evolve around an expanded playoff, preserving traditional rivalries needs to remain a priority.
These games matter. Ohio State and Michigan will likely never find themselves in this situation, but even if both teams entered The Game at 0-11, the matchup would still mean everything to their schools and fans. The same holds true for rivalries across the country. These are the games fans circle on their calendars regardless of records or playoff implications.
Each conference needs to take an honest look at which matchups matter most and find ways to schedule them more frequently. Florida and Auburn are a great example. The Gators and Tigers have met just five times in the past 24 years after previously playing 58 consecutive seasons. The SEC should find a way to revive that rivalry and other regional matchups, and other conferences should do the same.
The Opportunity Ahead
College football has changed dramatically, and an expanded playoff will only accelerate that evolution. But the sport doesn't have to sacrifice the traditions that made it special. By protecting rivalries, rewarding strong schedules, and giving every conference a path to the postseason, a 24-team playoff could make the regular season more meaningful, not less.
The opportunity is there. Now it's up to college football's decision-makers to get it right.
