College football playoff makes decision on whether to expand in 2026

[Matt Dillon]

In college football’s postseason, the status quo reigns for now.

The College Football Playoff will not expand in 2026 and will again consist of 12 teams for at least one more season, Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Fischer reported Monday morning. Per Fischer, the only changes are two slight tweaks that guarantee all Power Four champions access and Notre Dame a berth if it ranks in the top 12.

College football playoff makes decision on whether to expand in 2026

[largebluej]

SEC and Big Ten at loggerheads. Suits me, I'm not in favor of further expansion.

[SBCatMan]

I, too, am not in favor of further expansion. The only thing I see that definitely needs tweaking is notre dame. With their joke of a schedule, they are virtually guaranteed a spot in the playoffs every year, and certainly this coming year.

[PuntOnThird]

I don’t mind not expanding, but the league champion and Notre Dame caveats are stupid.

[Jaxcat]

Including the best of the G5 denigrates the CFP system, imo. It's very rare that a G5 team can hang, much less beat, a top P4 team in much the same way that 15 and 16 seeds very rarely win in the NCAA BB tournament. Yes, once a decade we might see a G5 spring a big upset or play down to the wire. But, the other 9 years I would expect more of what we saw this year and last - complete beatdowns. As much as I hate ND and was glad they got passed over, they would've for sure put up more of a fight than did JMU and Tulane.

[Pobilly]

In college football’s postseason, the status quo reigns for now.

The College Football Playoff will not expand in 2026 and will again consist of 12 teams for at least one more season, Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Fischer reported Monday morning. Per Fischer, the only changes are two slight tweaks that guarantee all Power Four champions access and Notre Dame a berth if it ranks in the top 12.

College football playoff makes decision on whether to expand in 2026

No issue with Notre Dame as long as they play a top 12 schedule.

[SBCatMan]

No issue with Notre Dame as long as they play a top 12 schedule.

They do not next year, have not for several years, and likely will not in the foreseeable future.

[Pobilly]

They do not next year, have not for several years, and likely will not in the foreseeable future.

That is why I say: only if they play a top 12 schedule. If their schedule is 50 then no way. But that also makes it harder on them as teams will just no schedule them.

[Catsrock]

That is why I say: only if they play a top 12 schedule. If their schedule is 50 then no way. But that also makes it harder on them as teams will just no schedule them.

Sounds like a great plan then. They could choose to play the same sport as everyone else, or shut their mouth.

[Matt Dillon]

They need to join one of the P4 conferences.

[bthaunert]

They do not next year, have not for several years, and likely will not in the foreseeable future.

I can't believe I'm sticking up for ND here, but the weak schedule is not always the case. Last year, they had the 4th hardest SOS and deserved to be in. This year, they had a very weak schedule, coming in at 47th and didn't deserve to get in. 2026 is going to be weak (@BYU and vs Miami are their 2 tough ones) and 2027 is questionable, although their entire schedule is not set yet. 2028 and beyond is looking pretty good for them. They have home and homes with Bama, Texas, Indiana, Florida and Michigan scattered amongst the years after that. A lot of years, I don't see any difference between their SOS and the top teams from the ACC or Big12 (Texas Tech was 46th this year and Arizona State was 39th last year as an example). I think if people try and compare it to the BIG or SEC, it's almost always going to fall short.

[Sjslhill]

From what I understand is the Big 10 is the roadblock here. All the other conferences want 16

[largebluej]

From what I understand is the Big 10 is the roadblock here. All the other conferences want 16

The Big 10 wanted a guarantee that the playoff would expand to 24 after a year or two at 16. The SEC wouldn't agree to the guarantee. The other conferences ceded decision making about the playoff and most of the money to those two leagues a couple years ago. So it stays at 12 for now.