Expansion of the College Football Playoff has been a significant topic of discussion for years now, even after the format changed from four teams to 12.
With some outside-the-box College Football Playoff format proposals coming to light, analysts like Josh Pate are going off on those who once supported expansion but are now against it.
Josh Pate Questions College Football Playoff Supporters After Latest Big Ten-SEC Proposal
Pate recently read a social media post from fellow insider Stewart Mandel on his show, which read:
“The Big Ten and SEC are plowing ahead with a bizarre future CFB format (four AQs each, double byes and more) that would cause serious damage to college football. Will anyone put a stop to this madness before it’s too late?”
This led Pate to point fingers at those who once supported an expanded College Football Playoff but now dislike it.
Here is what he had to say:
“I don’t think I should have to say anything…They supported the wrong thing…There was no world, as some of us tried to tell you, where collateral damage was avoidable. There was no world then, just as there isn’t now, where you get all the positives of playoff expansion.”
To those who supported CFP expansion & are now outraged by the path it’s taken…
Serious question: What did you expect? pic.twitter.com/jChrfSch1w
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) May 26, 2025
Pate calling out those who once felt that no harm could be done with an expanded College Football Playoff is undoubtedly interesting.
After all, nothing in sports is ever perfect, especially when it comes to determining a team’s possible path to a national title.
Why the 12-Team College Football Playoff Makes the Most Sense
At this point, the College Football Playoff should not expand beyond its current field of 12 teams.
Mandel broke the news for The Athletic about the Big Ten and SEC’s proposal for a 16-team playoff.
Part of that proposal involves the Big Ten and SEC getting four automatic teams in the tournament field, which doesn’t seem fair to other major conferences.
Along with other major conferences that don’t get four teams, it also isn’t fair to lower-level conferences that could likely only get one team in if that.
KEEP READING: Analyst Josh Pate Warns of ‘Gross Misreading of the Room’ as College Football Pay-Per-View Theory Gains Steam
A 16-team playoff also means that the season could be prolonged, which might be fun for fans but not so fun for the players’ health.
Twelve teams sounds like the best possible situation for the sport right now, and any other wild proposal should not be seriously considered at this point.
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