The 2024 season was the inception of the 12-team College Football Playoff, but the seeding format was not a favorite. Some issues with automatic byes and other things made it clear that even more changes are coming.
Josh Pate on College Football Playoff Expansion
Before the 12-team expansion, CFP had a four-team playoff for a decade. Now, the college gridiron will take on up to 14 teams by 2026. So, talking about this on his “College Football Show,” insider Josh Pate discussed the expansion in length.
“What’s gonna happen, as soon as 2026, in all likelihood, is you’re going to get a revamped playoff,” Pate said. “It’s going to go to 14 teams or 16 teams. … So this is gonna happen — it’s not my opinion — it’s just a matter of opinion of which way it’s gonna go, but we’re going this direction.
“So, a few ideas have been floated out there right — you could go to 14 teams, you could go to 16 teams.”
In a previous episode of his show, he offered a simple idea for the format:
“Instead of having the committee rank the teams one-through-25, and then you got your automatic qualifiers, just forget all about that, just wipe the slate clean. And what will happen is that the SEC will have four guaranteed spots, the Big Ten will have four guaranteed spots and so on and so forth. That’s it.
“ … I was never for playoff expansion. But we got it. So I had to bite the bullet on it. But given that we’re here, I’ll tell you, I’ll end up liking this format more. Because what it does is it redirects the focus back onto the conference championship races.”
The CFP is about to expand again
The SEC & BIg Ten will probably get 4 guaranteed spots apiece & use it to completely reimagine their conference title races pic.twitter.com/hWgyXUJCoO
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) February 17, 2025
He further said that the two playoff tickets should go to the top two teams in the final conference standings at the end of the season.
KEEP READING: Way-Too-Early 2025-2026 College Football Playoff Prediction
According to sources close to the situation, such as ESPN’s Heather Dinich and Pete Thamel, the plan for 2026 is a 14-team playoff. The SEC and Big Ten would have four automatic spots, while the Big 12 and ACC would each have two.
A spot would also be reserved for the smaller conferences, plus Notre Dame, if the program ranks high. This would begin in 2026.
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