On Tuesday, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, Rich Clark, openly discussed the possibility of expanding the playoff from 12 to 14 teams.
The proposal would start in 2026, if it makes sense to add two more teams to the field. After back-to-back seasons with teams being left out of the College Football Playoff, the idea has gained some traction.
“The commissioners will look at, ‘is 14, a better number, after they see the results of this playoff. How can we make it better? 14 (teams) is one of the options, staying at 12 is one of the options.”
The current model features 12 teams across five leagues, and Notre Dame is an independent member. The other teams include representatives from the SEC (Georgia, Tennessee, Texas), the Big Ten (Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana), the ACC (Clemson and SMU), the Big 12 (Arizona State), and the Mountain West (Boise State).
The two teams that just missed the playoff this season were Alabama and Miami, who both have fanbases that commented loudly on the subjective nature of the College Football Playoff Committee.
Regardless of who was left out of the playoff, the format expanding from 12 to 14 teams likely comes from pressure from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, who advocated for (9-3) Alabama to make the playoff over (11-2) SMU.
Some have advocated for the playoff field to remain put at 12 teams but to rely on the BCS format instead of the current model. Other ideas have stemmed from ideas like “Project Rudy,” which strives to create two college football super conferences and completely restructure the playoff.
While the idea of playoff expansion appears to be more likely than not at this point, the committee was proved right once again by waiting to see the results of the current format before making any changes.
