When Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes wrapped up their 2024 regular season with a 9-3 record, it was clear they wouldn't be making the cut for the 12-team College Football Playoffs (CFP). However, by 2027, Deion Sanders and his squad would have a much better shot at competing in an expanded 24-team playoff format, even with three losses on their resume.
A CFP expansion agreement could be close. Reports say the field may grow to 24 teams as soon as 2027, with conference championship games potentially eliminated. The CFP releases a statement saying, "Constructive discussions with ESPN continued this week. We have enjoyed a strong partnership with ESPN since our inception and are appreciative of the productive dialogue we have had throughout the negotiating period and continuing over the last several days. We will provide additional updates on the matters of future format and media rights when appropriate."
That would be a striking turn for the SEC. Just months ago, commissioner Greg Sankey said his conference was committed to its championship game. He also wanted the SEC’s lost title-game revenue replaced before agreeing to a larger playoff. Other conference leaders have raised the financial value of those games, too.
So why does a 24-team playoff now appear to come at the cost of championship weekend? Could the conferences have expanded the field and kept their title games by giving the top eight seeds to the eight Power Four championship participants?
Give the title-game teams the top eight seeds
In a 24-team playoff, the eight teams playing in the four Power Four championship games could receive the top eight seeds. The other 16 spots would go to the highest-ranked remaining teams, with the selection committee determining how to order the eight title-game participants.
It’s a simple fix, and I haven’t seen another proposal connect those two ideas this way.
A 24-team field would add 12 games to the CFP’s television inventory. Under this format, the conferences could keep the revenue from their championship games while the playoff adds its own new games. The eight participants would play on championship weekend, then get the first-round bye as seeds 1 through 8.
A schedule built for more playoff windows
The Power Four conference championships could be played the Friday and Saturday after the regular season. The eight teams in those games would then have the following playoff week off.
The 16 teams seeded ninth through 24th would play eight first-round games from Thursday through Saturday. Spreading the games across four days would give broadcasters more windows and fans more chances to watch live, while limiting simultaneous kickoffs. Those teams would have at least 10 days after their regular-season finales.
The eight conference title game participants would host the round of 16 the next week: two games Thursday, two Friday and four Saturday. They would have more than 11 days between their conference championship games and their first playoff games. The winners would advance to the quarterfinals, semifinals and national championship.
A team that reaches its conference championship and then wins four playoff games would play a maximum of 17 games: 12 regular-season games, the conference championship and four playoff games. A team that misses its conference championship but makes the playoff could also play up to 17 games, with five playoff games after the regular season.
Last season shows the tradeoff
The 2025 ACC championship matchup illustrates the biggest concern with the proposal. Duke and Virginia would have received top-eight seeds simply by reaching the title game, regardless of whether the committee considered them among the country’s eight best teams.
Miami, meanwhile, was selected as a No. 10 at-large team in the 12-team playoff and advanced to the national championship game. In a 24-team field, the Hurricanes would have made the playoff comfortably, but they would not have received one of the top-eight seeds reserved for conference championship participants.
That is the tradeoff: both teams in each Power Four title game get a bye, even if the committee would not otherwise rank them among the nation’s top eight. The format rewards reaching a conference championship and keeps those games on the calendar, but it gives title-game participants a significant advantage over higher-ranked teams that did not make their conference final.
The playoff could finish earlier
This format could also help move the postseason forward. On this season’s calendar, the Power Four championships would conclude Dec. 5, the first round would finish Dec. 12, and the round of 16 would leave eight teams by Dec. 19.
Coaches have called for an earlier playoff finish, and the American Football Coaches Association has proposed ending by the second Monday in January. Holidays, bowl commitments, travel and recovery time would still need consideration. But with eight teams remaining by Dec. 19, a championship on the second Monday in January seems worth exploring. If that proves too tight, the CFP could at least target the third Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, instead of the fourth Monday.
A 24-team playoff may be coming, but eliminating conference championship games is not the only way to make room.
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