24-Team College Football Playoff is good thing & Week 7 showed us why

According to all of college football‘s biggest “insiders,” it is all but a done deal that the College Football Playoff will expand from 12 to 24 teams next season. Most national pundits and talking heads responded overwhelmingly negatively. It shouldn’t be. A 12-team playoff has inherent issues that a 24-team playoff won’t. Plus, is more college football ever a bad thing?

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The case for a 24-team playoff

The direct thesis for the 24-team playoff is this: Every team that is capable of winning a National Championship will be able to qualify for this CFP.

In the era of the 12-team playoff, teams with National Championship potential have been left out. This is partially due to their play on the field, but also partially because of bad bylaws in the 12-team setup. In 2024, Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina were 9-3 SEC teams that didn’t qualify, while the rules required that Clemson get a spot for winning the ACC.

Last year, Notre Dame and Texas could have gone on a run, but didn’t, because, for some reason, two G5 teams needed to get in. The response from some will instantly be “well, they should just play better.” That’s easier said than done when football games can be decided in weird ways. Texas had an 81% post-game win expectancy over Ohio State last season. They lost that game.

Notre Dame lost to Texas A&M after missing an extra point and giving up a blatant holding call. Meanwhile, teams like 2024 Clemson and 2025 Oklahoma stole unlikely victories to secure playoff spots.

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Auburn, Florida and Notre Dame could benefit

Which brings us to this past weekend. It was a great weekend of college football. But it might be made even better in a 24-team playoff. In the current 12-team format, Auburn and Florida’s CFP chances are on life support. They likely need to win out (which is not likely) to make the CFP. In a 24-team playoff, their massive victories over Georgia and Texas significantly move the needle and put them in prime position to qualify.
And let’s talk about Notre Dame. Let’s be honest:

Notre Dame lost to BYU because of a flubbed spike attempt at the end of the first half and a no-call on obvious defensive pass interference on the last play. Does that game make you think that Notre Dame doesn’t deserve to play for a National Championship? Of course not! But now, Notre Dame finds themselves in a position where they must win out to make the CFP. And there’s a non-zero chance that those fluky outcomes happen again! In a 24-team playoff, they’re still going to get in with another loss. And they’ll have the chance to earn a National Championship with their play in the bracket.

On a macro level, the expansion to 24 teams should encourage teams to schedule more marquee non-conference matchups — because now you can afford to lose more games and still make the Playoff!

College Football playoff expansion has worked before

Historically speaking, every expansion of College Football’s Playoff system has had a direct impetus. The BCS emerged because of the fatigue of shared championships. The 4-team CFP emerged after the ridiculous LSU/Alabama rematch in the 2011 BCS National Championship. The 12-team CFP came directly after undefeated Florida State and 12-1 Georgia got left out in 2023. Now, the 24-team playoff emerges directly from Texas and Notre Dame being left out in 2025.

And every time the Playoff expands, they’re proven correct. In 2014, 4-seed Ohio State won the first-ever CFP. In 2024, the National Championship game was played between the 7-seeded Notre Dame and 8-seeded Ohio State (with 5 Texas and 6 Penn State making the semis). The same is going to happen with 24 teams. There are teams that are legitimately good enough to compete for a National
Championship who would get left out in a 12-team format that are going to get to prove they belong with 24.

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