ESPN article on CFP update
Sankey's support of a 16-team field is extremely significant because of the weight he carries in the room, but it won't happen if Petitti isn't on board. Sources say the Big Ten wants to use this as leverage to eventually lock in a field with at least 24 teams, with or without automatic qualifiers. In exchange for support of a 16-team tournament now, sources said the Big Ten is looking for a commitment to move to 24 teams after two or three seasons. Though some in the room might be willing to consider a 24-team field halfway through the new six-year deal, there is a strong reluctance to commit to it now -- and that could keep the stalemate ongoing. A 24-team playoff without automatic qualifiers, though, might be appealing enough for Sankey to consider.
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So two options are:
(1) CCG + 16 team playoff
vs
(2) No CCG + 24 team playoff
Then the question is what will be played in the CG week under the option (2).
I presume the B10 wants to schedule some type of “play-in” games that week but how can they do that unless they know how many playoff spots are assigned to them?
My suspicion is that the 24+ team playoff will be just a repackaged 4-4-2-2-1-X.
Link:
ESPN
52 Replies
H
HouClone
6mo
If ACC and Big 12 agree to this, then soon it will be 4-4-2-2-1-x, then 5-5-1-1-1-x, then 6-6-0-0-0-x. Keeping holding firm and say No. Big 10, and SEC the past two years, trying to use their leverage now before more data of the portal and NIL shows the talent evening out. SEC has more to lose being in smaller population states, less alumni. They are lucky they have oil money of A&M and Texas schools in their conference.
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
6mo
In the example below I used 28 teams but the overall concept works with any number. It just requires tweaks so that the round 1 has 16 teams, then 8-4-2-1.
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
6mo
the rest of the bowl system is going to provide great college football programming in between each round of the playoff to keep college football fans excited."
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
S
Stech
6mo
Plus Heather is incredibly smart, even if some of you knuckle draggers aren't smart enough to realize it. :-)
Go Heather another great article!!!
PS Get us week 0 and if we go to 24, them bowl people will be flooded with people to their bowls, just like you wrote years ago.
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
6mo
Been having her pushed on us by ESPN for some reason for seemingly two decades. Can't think of a single smart observation or an original thought that she's had.
(In response to this post by Stech)
6mo
(In response to this post by Maroon Baboon)
6mo
(In response to this post by Maroon Baboon)
E
EDGEMAN
6mo
...Miami, and spout whatever she read on their message boards.
An incredibly lazy sports writer.
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
6mo
** Edited by Calamitous at 1/12/2026, 10:51:20 PM
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
S
Stech
6mo
and very much skating where the puck is going. However, that just might be me. I am used to standing alone like she is on things. So LOL, I think she is very smart. :-)
** Edited by Stech at 1/12/2026, 10:55:43 PM
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
6mo
** Edited by Calamitous at 1/12/2026, 10:49:34 PM
(In response to this post by Stech)
S
Stech
6mo
(In response to this post by Calamitous)
S
Stech
6mo
(In response to this post by Maroon Baboon)
6mo
I realized they would get rid of the championship games. Then it is just really an extension of the regular season with wild card like playoffs. Put in that context it makes sense to me and eliminates teams that shouldn't be in.
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
6mo
Personally I prefer the current 12 team playoff but that’s just me.
(In response to this post by Sunsetunderground)
6mo
And still be matched up with UGA, tOSU, etc. in 1st round.
(In response to this post by Sunsetunderground)
6mo
In that kind of playoff setup. A 1 seed losing to a 12 seed in college football seems way more likely of an occurrence than a 1 seed losing to a 16 seed in basketball. Of course any 12 seed would have to win that first round before getting to that 1 seed. What about ranking a FCS school like NDSU in the FBS rankings? I often feel some FCS schools like NDSU and Montana are better than some of the lower ranked FBS schools. Plus some FCS schools would be breathing a sigh of relief because they wouldn’t have to plat NDSU in a title game.
(In response to this post by Lakeridgehokie)
6mo
Perceptually North Dakota State and Montana may be better than some FBS programs. However, how much of that has to do with the fact that those FCS programs aren't burdened with the additional cost that FBS programs have to deal with. For example, DI-FCS football teams are allowed to offer up to 63 equivalent scholarships vs. 105 equivalent/full (I forget which it is now) scholarships in FBS. Once that issue has been addressed, then the school has to make sure it is Title IX compliant. Basically by taking on less overall expense, schools like North Dakota State, Montana, Northern Iowa, Villanova, South Dakota State, etc. can make a larger investment in their football programs. If UConn and UMass still competed in DI-FCS, then there is the possibility they could be regularly competing for NCAA DI football national championships.
(In response to this post by Calamitous)
6mo
will be good for those G5 schools that make the playoffs, as that 2nd and 3rd string guy at UGA, TOSU, etc. will be looking for playing time.
The top G5's will be able to field a team that can win from time to time. You can sight blowouts, but there were a few blue bloods that got blown out this year as well.
(In response to this post by Lakeridgehokie)
S
Stech
6mo
(In response to this post by Big12 guy)
6mo
No matter how universally reviled it is.
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
2
2hhoop3
6mo
of what will likely be more TV plants to do the networks' bidding with little to no consideration as to what is actually best for college sports. College athletics is well on its way to ceding complete control of their product to the whims of neer do well TV execs and scumbag commissioners like Sankey.
** Edited by 2hhoop3 at 1/12/2026, 8:01:29 AM
(In response to this post by PadrosWindup)
T
TerryD
6mo
He is a former NBC Sports director, but he is also an ND alumnus and a former football player (a walk-on) under Lou Holtz.
I don't know if anyone else mentioned has a similar background.
(In response to this post by 2hhoop3)
S
Stech
6mo
deep ND ties. Starting with Swofford the ACC thought ND would join for football too, that’s why you got to join for 2020. Looking back, admittedly it seems foolish to have thought they would join, but there were plenty of hints they would join too. I know you don’t believe it, but not everyone at ND was like you for a while. It’s also why they hired Phillips thinking he could convince them. Again, looks foolish now. Phillips has really split up the Conference with lawsuits, going with ND on expansion, and this late acting class to show he has no ND bias.
Bottom line is both ND and the B12 hired media guys and it has paid off for both you and the B12.
(In response to this post by TerryD)
T
TerryD
6mo
Where did the hints come from ?
When?
Who made them?
(In response to this post by Stech)
6mo
Where did the hints come from ? ND
When? All the time since 1994-ish
Who made them? ND
ND has a hundreds of root cellars with carrots they use to dangle in front of Big East and ACC commissioners as well as the NCAA. To this day Mike Tranghese won’t eat carrots.
(In response to this post by TerryD)
T
TerryD
6mo
That ND ever "hinted" that football would join.
There are one million examples of the opposite, though.
(In response to this post by Calamitous)
6mo
(In response to this post by TerryD)
S
Stech
6mo
you can’t even say that happened. So it’s worthless to list more. Again, I don’t want ND in the ACC, at all now. I did give ND a compliment because they hired a media expert, and wished the ACC had done the same, that was my overall point.
Can we just be adult like and agree to disagree, or does it always have to be I agree with you, or you start slinging mud?
(In response to this post by TerryD)
T
TerryD
6mo
Even then, ND said it was only a one year safe harbor due to a global pandemic, not a permanent thing.
Where I have slung mud? I missed that.
(In response to this post by Stech)
S
Stech
6mo
(In response to this post by TerryD)
O
obguthr
6mo
6 weeks if you count a MNC prep week. That's crazy. I'd be ok with eliminating CCGs, if everyone played a round robin conference schedule, but that isn't possible with the current alignment. Since CCGs are somewhat necessary, there really should be no more than 16 teams.
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
6mo
Rose Bowl on New Years Day.
I don't care about the amount of teams in the playoff. Just wrap it up by NYD.
(In response to this post by obguthr)
6mo
played in So-Fi, or some other large pro stadium. Let them bid on it.
(In response to this post by Maroon Baboon)
2
2hhoop3
6mo
has seen much better days both as an event and a venue.
(In response to this post by Maroon Baboon)
6mo
the history, the Rose Bowl was a monopoly for the Big 10 and PAC for many decades, It's time for a change.
BTW, the Big 10 owns a significant portion of the rights to the Rose Bowl. Screw the Big 10.
** Edited by Big12 guy at 1/13/2026, 11:13:49 AM
(In response to this post by Maroon Baboon)
V
Vippie1
6mo
The product would likely worsen as games wore on and ultimately the deeper P2 schools would almost always prevail. So yep Ole Greg is on board.
(In response to this post by obguthr)
6mo
Those same rich programs will now return to their old ways if the extended playoffs demand it. We lose the equalizing effect of NIL.
I'm sure somewhere, somebody will be tracking the change in injury stats as the season drags-on.
(In response to this post by Vippie1)
6mo
eliminates round robin play, and SOS is so diverse and subjective, a 24 team playoff may be the only way to assure that every school that should be in the playoffs are, and the blue bloods would now have to win it on the field, not in the polls.
(In response to this post by obguthr)
6mo
in the playoffs are (in)" though? If there are no automatic bids to the "conference champions," however you want to define that assuming the CCGs go away, then it may still be a case of "win in the polls." Particularly if ESPN and Fox look to try to manipulate the final poll to assure their P2 conference receives the maximum number of bids (i.e. 10-12) every year. Plus, the conferences may even look to try to manipulate it at some level as long as the conference's payout from the playoffs is based purely on the number of bids the conference receives that year.
(In response to this post by Big12 guy)
6mo
a Baylor is ranked around 14-17, they get in. They of course will be ranked that low because of their "weak" schedule, not because of their record. A two loss ACC and or B12 team would be all but guaranteed a spot, just like the SEC and BIG are now.
When you start getting into 3 loss teams, it becomes much less of an issue.
(In response to this post by VTHokie2000)
6mo
issue could end up being an increase in the number of examples where the final poll has a 3 or 4 loss P2 team ranked higher than a 2 loss ACC, Big XII or G6 team. Basically, the office politics associated with the final poll still exists in the expanded field. We just see a shift in which ranking range is at the center of the office politics.
(In response to this post by Big12 guy)
6mo
thinking ANY ACC or B12 team that is not considered a top program or blue blood like a Miami, FSU, Clemson, or ND.
(In response to this post by VTHokie2000)
6mo
the question regardless what non-blue blood from the ACC or Big XII you had used in your example. If the media only wants schools that are either blue bloods or from a P2 conference in CFP with a 24-team at-large field, then they will likely find a way to make it happen. The only question may be how blatantly obvious do they want to be about achieving their self-fulfilling prophecy.
(In response to this post by Big12 guy)
6mo
what this does to the Students i mean players. 16 team would be the perfect spot to land on, hell i think 12 is too much but what do i know.
(In response to this post by obguthr)