2026 College Football Playoffs Discussion (12 Team Format)

[ScriptOhio]

Sources: College Football Playoff to remain at 12 teams

The College Football Playoff will remain a 12-team field next season, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.

www.espn.com

Sources: College Football Playoff to remain at 12 teams​

The College Football Playoff will remain a 12-team field in 2026, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has publicly supported a 16-team model, but Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti would only agree to it if Sankey committed to a 24-team field after three years, sources told ESPN. Multiple sources have said that's not something Sankey was ready to do at this time. Although there has been significant support for a 16-team field, staying at 12 was an expected result because of the stalemate that has existed for months between the Big Ten and SEC.

There hasn't been any pushback from CFP leaders, though, about remaining at 12 for at least another season, sources told ESPN, as it only will be the third year of the fledgling system. The Big Ten also is interested in seeing how the selection committee will evaluate teams this fall after the ACC and SEC move to nine-game league schedules. There's an expectation that there will be more two- and three-loss teams for the group to consider.

In March 2024, the CFP and ESPN agreed to a six-year, $7.8 billion contract that ensures the network will remain the sole media rights holder of the event through the 2031-32 season. During those contract negotiations, the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua signed a memorandum of understanding that gave the Big Ten and SEC the bulk of control over the playoff's future format.

The contract was built for either a 12- or 14-team field, but momentum for a 16-team playoff had increased in recent months. As the sole rights holder, ESPN imposed a deadline of Dec. 1, 2025, for the CFP to determine its format, but sources said the SEC asked for an extension, which was granted until Jan. 23.

CFP executive director Rich Clark said there will be a Dec. 1 deadline every year to inform ESPN of any format changes.

While the number of teams in the field will remain the same this fall, there will be some adjustments to how some are included. This season, the Power 4 conference champions will be guaranteed spots in the 12-team field, along with the highest-ranked conference champion from the Group of 6, which now includes the new-look Pac-12. Notre Dame will also be a lock for the playoff if it finishes in the selection committee's top 12.

Had those rules existed this season, both ACC champion Duke and Notre Dame would have qualified for the playoff -- and No. 10 seed Miami, which played for the national title, would have been excluded.

 

[Jaxbuck]

With our schedule, this isn't a lock next year.

 

[charlohiottean]

With our schedule, this isn't a lock next year.

 

[OHSportsFan]

Needs to stay at 12 as long as possible. Pettiti is determined to ruin a good thing.

24 would be a joke. As an OSU fan I’d pretty much say, I’ll see you guys in the playoff game thread and not bother with anything before.

Okay, that’s an extreme lie but I need some sense of intrigue and risk with the regular season.

 

[Zurp]

Needs to stay at 12 as long as possible. Pettiti is determined to ruin a good thing.

24 would be a joke. As an OSU fan I’d pretty much say, I’ll see you guys in the playoff game thread and not bother with anything before.

Okay, that’s an extreme lie but I need some sense of intrigue and risk with the regular season.

I don't think you're far off. I think 12 is too many. I know that they're never going to drop down to 10 or 8 or 6 or 4. 12 is the lowest we'll see it ever again.
One thing that I will say for going to 16 is that it might even the playing field for the 4 teams that get a bye. This is the opposite of what I ever expected - that the 4 teams that get a bye are at a disadvantage. But after 2 years of this, the 4 teams that get a bye are now 1-7. As an Ohio State fan, it might sound as though I'm whining. But I'm using Ohio State as an example, and I think it fits. Miami played A&M, I believe? Someone. Ohio State played no one for 100 weeks. If Ohio State had played... I don't know... who would have been #15? If Ohio State had played that week, maybe they would have been up for Miami.
I think Teams 1-4 need to figure out how to get their asses ready for playing a team that just won a week before. No excuses. But I would bet a shiny nickel that teams 1-4 will win more 2nd round games if they play a 1st round game.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Needs to stay at 12 as long as possible. Pettiti is determined to ruin a good thing.

24 would be a joke. As an OSU fan I’d pretty much say, I’ll see you guys in the playoff game thread and not bother with anything before.

Okay, that’s an extreme lie but I need some sense of intrigue and risk with the regular season.

I think 16 is the right number personally IF we keep on the path of them all being top half P4 teams. We haven't seen enough to say for sure but should this NIL/transfer portal parity continue, who's to say the spread between 1-16 doesn't get very NFL-ish compressed?

If we continue with the G5 Cinderella fantasy then 12 is too many.

The inclusion of mid majors is the real problem imo, not the number of P4 teams in it.

 

[TampaBuckeyes]

I think 16 is the right number personally IF we keep on the path of them all being top half P4 teams. We haven't seen enough to say for sure but should this NIL/transfer portal parity continue, who's to say the spread between 1-16 doesn't get very NFL-ish compressed?

If we continue with the G5 Cinderella fantasy then 12 is too many.

The inclusion of mid majors is the real problem imo, not the number of P4 teams in it.

Think of it this way. Right now the top 4 get a useless bye, then we get 2-3 P4 first round games and 1-2 games against G6 teams. If we go to 16 and 1-2 are G6 then instead of a bye the top seeds get a warm up game and we get 6-7 P4 first round games. I’ll take it.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Think of it this way. Right now the top 4 get a useless bye, then we get 2-3 P4 first round games and 1-2 games against G6 teams. If we go to 16 and 1-2 are G6 then instead of a bye the top seeds get a warm up game and we get 6-7 P4 first round games. I’ll take it.

I could live with that.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Think of it this way. Right now the top 4 get a useless bye, then we get 2-3 P4 first round games and 1-2 games against G6 teams. If we go to 16 and 1-2 are G6 then instead of a bye the top seeds get a warm up game and we get 6-7 P4 first round games. I’ll take it.

And I always though that a coach liked a bye before playing a very good team since it gave his team the advantage of having 2 weeks to prepare.

 

[ScriptOhio]

It's good to have a veteran QB too.

Veteran Quarterbacks Have Been A Common Trait for National Champions in Transfer Portal Era

A quarterback who has been in college for less than three years hasn't won the national championship since the 2018 season.

www.elevenwarriors.com

Veteran Quarterbacks Have Been A Common Trait for National Champions in Transfer Portal Era​

Age isn't just a number, at least when it comes to the starting quarterback of a national championship team in college football.

Having an upperclassman quarterback seems to be a key to success, at least in terms of winning the national championship in the transfer portal era. Since 2019, every quarterback who’s won the national championship has been in at least their third year of college football; all but one of them, with Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy being the lone exception, has been in at least their fourth year of college football.

Age of Quarterbacks to Win National Championship Since CFP Started

SEASON	QUARTERBACK	AGE	YEAR IN SCHOOL
2025	FERNANDO MENDOZA (INDIANA)	22.29	4th
2024	WILL HOWARD (OHIO STATE)	23.31	5th
2023	J.J. MCCARTHY (MICHIGAN)	20.97	3rd
2022	STETSON BENNETT (GEORGIA)	25.38	6th
2021	STETSON BENNETT (GEORGIA)	24.19	5th
2020	MAC JONES (ALABAMA)	22.36	4th
2019	JOE BURROW (LSU)	23.09	5th
2018	TREVOR LAWRENCE (CLEMSON)	19.25	1st
2017	JALEN HURTS (ALABAMA)	19.43	2nd
2017	TUA TAGOVAILOA (ALABAMA)	19.86	1st
2016	DESHAUN WATSON (CLEMSON)	21.32	3rd
2015	JAKE COKER (ALABAMA)	23.44	5th
2014	J.T. BARRETT (OHIO STATE)	19.97	2nd
2014	CARDALE JONES (OHIO STATE)	22.3	4th
****	AVERAGE	21.94	3.6

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Julian Sayin was great in his first year as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, there's no doubt about that. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist who finished with the third-best completion percentage in a single season in college football history. You can't ask for much more than that from a first-year starter. That said, at times when Ohio State needed him the most, Sayin wasn't always at his best. While a lackluster offensive line performance in Ohio State's last two games – both of which were losses – certainly played a part in that, it was evident that Sayin's experience, or lack thereof, also played a role.
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continued

 

[Woody1968]

And I always though that a coach liked a bye before playing a very good team since it gave his team the advantage of having 2 weeks to prepare.

But currently it doesn't work that way, because during those 2 extra weeks, you don't know for certain who your opponent will be, and you also don't know what they will pull out of their hat during their first round game. The only advantage to the bye is the extra time to get healthy.

 

[Zurp]

The only advantage to the bye is the extra time to get healthy.

There's also the guarantee that you won't lose to bye. Increase to 16, and, theoretically, a 1-4 team could lose to a 13-16 team, and they wouldn't even get to the second round.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Ohio State's 2026 Football Schedule Includes Three of the Five Teams With the Best Odds to Win the National Championship

Of the five teams with the best odds to win the national championship in 2026, one is Ohio State and three are teams the Buckeyes will play in the regular season.

www.elevenwarriors.com

Ohio State's 2026 Football Schedule Includes Three of the Five Teams With the Best Odds to Win the National Championship​

Oddsmakers agree: Ohio State’s 2026 schedule is a gauntlet.

If the sportsbooks know (and they seem to more times than not), Ohio State’s 2026 schedule will be one of the toughest in college football next fall.

According to consensus odds to win the national championship from DraftKings and FanDuel, the teams with the five best odds to win it all next season include Ohio State (+700) and three of OSU's regular-season opponents: Texas (+700), Indiana (+700) and Oregon (+925).

Notre Dame (+675) is the only team with better odds to win the national championship than Ohio State, Texas and Indiana.

The Buckeyes' schedule also includes USC (35/1) and Michigan (40/1), who are among the top 15 in odds to win it all next season.

Per On3’s composite of nine early preseason rankings from national media outlets, Ohio State – which is ranked as the No. 1 team in the country – is set to face the No. 2 (Indiana), No. 3 (Texas), No. 5 (Oregon), No. 14 (Michigan), No. 15 (USC) and No. 21 (Iowa) teams in 2026, with four of those games coming on the road.

2026 Top-10 National Champion Odds (DraftKings/FanDuel Consensus)

TEAM	ODDS
NOTRE DAME	+675
OHIO STATE	+700
TEXAS	+700
INDIANA	+700
OREGON	+925
GEORGIA	+1100
MIAMI (FLORIDA)	+1400
LSU	+1450
TEXAS TECH	+1450
TEXAS A&M	+1700