Bigger is not always better. Why further College Football Playoff expansion would be detrimental

Following the implementation of the College Football Playoff (CFP) in 2014 to determine the national champion, the system has faced frequent scrutiny from players, coaches, fans, athletic directors and the media. Originating as a four-team playoff, the flaws in the system were fatally exposed during the 2023 season, in which the undefeated Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champion Florida State Seminoles were left out for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) champion Alabama Crimson Tide, who had one loss. Immediately following the season, the CFP was expanded to include 12 teams and the top five highest-ranked conference champions.

However, the system once again came under fire during the 2025 edition, when the selection committee left out the one-loss Notre Dame Fighting Irish while three-loss Alabama made the field.

“It should be 16 teams in my opinion,” Pete Bevacqua, the athletic director at Notre Dame, said. “It creates more opportunity, more narratives around schools and yet it preserves the integrity and importance of the regular season.”

Bevacqua is not the only one calling for expansion of the current format. The Big Ten Conference and Fox Sports have come out as staunch supporters of a 24-team playoff. “We feel strongly about it, and we’re working really hard with our colleagues and the other conferences,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said. Petitti’s push has been supported by all members of his conference, in addition to the ACC and Big 12 Conference.

However, Petitti’s push for a 24-team College Football Playoff would be detrimental to the college football regular season, as well as bowl games.

In a 24-team playoff, teams with several losses would be included in the field, rewarding, rather than punishing, teams for losing. Brad Crawford of CBS Sports published an article showing what a potential 24-team playoff would’ve looked like for the 2025 season. His scenario includes Iowa, who finished the regular season with an 8-4 record, equating to losing a third of games played. Rewarding Iowa with a playoff berth would significantly diminish the importance of games during the regular season.

Big games during the regular season would feel less important because their playoff implications would be nonexistent. The rivalry between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines is one of the most iconic and fierce in all of sports. Michigan entered their 2025 matchup with Ohio State needing to win to keep any playoff hopes alive. The increased playoff stakes of the game added extra fuel to the burning rivalry. In a world with a 24-team playoff, Michigan would’ve been safely in the field of the playoffs, and the game’s significance would’ve been greatly abated.

Additionally, a 24-team playoff would ruin bowl games. After missing the playoffs in 2025, Notre Dame opted to skip a bowl game in protest of missing the playoffs. As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name for consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season,” the team announced. “We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we’re hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026.”

Expanding the field to 24 teams would make bowl games feel even more like a participation trophy rather than a reward for a successful season. “I think those bowl games are great experiences. I played in them, I’ve coached in them, I love them, that’s an opportunity,” said Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart. “But the more teams you give an opportunity to decide things on the field, like you do, whether it’s college basketball, high school football, old 1-AA football back when they had the playoff.”

While Smart advocates for the importance of bowl games, he supports playoff expansion in the name of inclusion. However, Smart compares playoff expansion to the NCAA tournament in college basketball, known for upsets. However, basketball has more parity between the top tier and lower end teams. Because basketball teams have smaller rosters and the game is more volatile, it is more likely for upsets to occur. In two seasons of the 12-team College Football Playoff so far, Group of Six conference teams have yet to be competitive in games.

As a die-hard fan of college football, more football is usually better. However, expanding the playoffs would diminish the quality of games and result in a poorer product.

Currently, the 2026 edition of the College Football Playoff will feature 12 teams for the third straight year.