The College Football Playoff has officially doubled in size, introducing a 24-team field that will start in time for the 2027 season. It's a momentous change for the entire sport, which will start earlier, change the date of Selection Day, eliminate Power 4 conference championship games, move the Army-Navy game, and have a trickle-down effect on Bowl Season.
It will also open the door to teams that never stood a chance.
"I would say that it provides the right balance of postseason opportunities for the number of schools in the sport competing at this level," said Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin. "When there's 68 Power 4 teams and Notre Dame and there's 11 spots for them right now, you couldn't find a sport in our country that has that few opportunities for postseason play. The CFP spot is what matters. I think it right-sizes that."
How a 24-team field will impact the regular season -- including some of the biggest rivalries on Thanksgiving weekend -- remains to be seen, but there's no turning back now.
ESPN will remain the sole rights holder of the event, but can sublicense six of the 12 new games. (ESPN has been the sole rights holder of the event since its inception, and already owned two of the 12 new games under the latest contract, so the network only bid on 10 of them).
As college football prepares for the biggest change to its postseason since the introduction of the playoff in 2014, fans should, too. To help, here's a look at some of the biggest questions looming heading into the era of a 24-team playoff:
Jump to a topic:
How it works
Why now? | Regular season effect
Players sitting? | Noncon schedule
Committee | Playoff window
Bowls | Army-Navy
Portal timing | Heisman timing
Are we done expanding?
How it works
The new 24-team format will consist of the four Power 4 conference champions - ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC -- plus the highest-ranked Group of 6 team and 19 at-large selections based on the selection committee's final ranking.
Why is the CFP expanding now?
Money and access are the driving factors, but it became a real model on paper last February when the Big Ten circulated a document revealing its plan for the 24-team field. When news of the concept first broke, many leaders in college athletics scoffed at it -- including some at the highest level who now support it -- and fans booed it louder than at their rivals.
The Big Ten's position, though, was significant because it controlled the bulk of the future format along with the SEC. In order for the playoff to change, those two conferences had to agree on what it would look like. That didn't mean they ignored everyone else in the room, but their position of power loomed large in it, and the Big Ten refused to budge from 24.
By this past spring, the Big Ten coaches publicly expressed unanimous support for it, citing the need for more access as paramount.
"Once the playoff show starts, if you're not in that discussion, then everything else is meaningless," said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, whose team has not made the 4-team or 12-team playoff, but is on the bubble right now. "We've really encouraged the fans and the media to concentrate only on the teams that are in it, and I just think there's more to college football than the top six, eight, teams, whatever it may. I think the commissioner, one of his great points was it heightens interest in all games in November now across the country. How's that a bad thing?"
By the summer, Big Ten leaders had garnered support from the Big 12, ACC and Notre Dame. The SEC was the lone holdout preferring a 16-team model until it was able to see that the conference could financially withstand the loss of its championship game, which sources said was valued around $80 million -- and convince the other Power 4 leagues to agree to a scheduling model that includes 10 Power 4 opponents.
Money is always an answer to playoff expansion (ESPN ponied up $7.8 billion in March of 2024 to secure a six-year deal that ensured the network would remain the sole rights holder through the 2031-32 season). This time, though, nobody in the room was expecting a giant windfall and they didn't get it. But they didn't lose money, either, and that was one of the biggest concerns from the Power 4 commissioners heading into the negotiations. Sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel that the average additional payment from ESPN for the expanded playoff is $345 million annually for the next five years. That is in addition to the average of $1.3 billion annually that ESPN is already paying over that time.
Of that new $345 million, ESPN will essentially be paying only $205 million, as the network is getting back $140 million annually from the cancellation of the SEC, Big 12 and ACC championship games that the network owns the television rights to broadcast. Sources told Thamel that Fox is expected to get back about $50 million annually for the cancellation of the Big Ten title game, which Fox owns the rights to televise.
Some still question the motivation behind it.
"The push toward a 24-team playoff is all about generating more revenue and more slots for one or two conferences, period," said one source with knowledge of the discussions. "Expansion should be about what is best for college football as a whole, not about creating additional opportunities and financial value for one or two conferences."
What will an expanded playoff do to the regular season?
First, it changes it logistically. The regular-season window will run from what was Week 0 -- previously a partial week of games in late August -- to Thanksgiving weekend. The first Saturday of the season will be Aug. 28, 2027, and the last will be on Nov. 27, 2027. Selection Day will be announced at a later date.
As for how it will change it philosophically? Strategically? From a scheduling standpoint?
Petitti has pushed back on the narrative that a 24-team field will devalue the regular season, citing "tiered incentives" teams will be playing for through November.
Teams seeded No. 1-8 earn a first-round bye followed by a home game. Seeds 9-16 will each host a CFP First Round game on their respective campuses against seeds 17-24. The No. 1 seed would face the winner of No. 16 vs. No. 17, and the No. 2 seed would face the winner of No. 15 vs. No. 18. Teams hovering around No. 17 and No. 18 are trying to move up so they can host a first-round home game, while teams at the bottom are constantly trying to stay in the field or protect their spot.
"That's the way we explain it to our coaches, and the way they think about it," Petitti said. "And we really like adding 12 more home games for the sport."
If a team qualifies for the CFP and doesn't earn a first-round bye AND makes it all the way to the national championship game, they will play a maximum of 17 games, which is the same amount as the current system for any team that plays in its conference championship game, does not earn a first-round bye and reaches the national title game.
To review:
Current system: 12 regular-season games, one conference championship game, a first-round game, quarterfinal, semifinal and national championship
New system: 12 regular-season games, no conference championship game, first-round game, second-round game, quarterfinal, semifinal, national championship
Will players sit out the final week of the season?
If Ohio State has locked up a bye or a first-round home game heading into the regular-season finale against rival Michigan, will the Buckeyes consider resting their starters for what has traditionally been one of the sport's most storied games? Both Ohio State coach Ryan Day and Oregon coach Dan Lanning said in July they didn't think a larger playoff would lead to coaches resting their starters for late-season games, like in the NFL.
"Because of how the seeding would work, it's so valuable," Lanning said. "One loss can be a huge difference in being [seeded] 1 or 5 or 8."
Petitti downplayed that possibility when asked this spring.
"I don't understand the resting idea because you're not ever safely in one spot," he said. "This isn't the Philadelphia Eagles, who know the last week of the season whether they win or not, they can't improve their seed or make it worse.
"We have something unique," he said. "Because we have a committee, you're forced to always improve your résumé. You can't really rest."
Will a larger playoff change nonconference scheduling?
Yes.
As part of the agreement to expand to 24 teams, the CFP's management committee committed to the following scheduling standards:
Each Power 4 school will be expected to play at least 10 qualifying regular-season games -- conference opponents and nonconference opponents -- against Power 4 teams and Notre Dame.
Group of 6 teams have to play at least 10 qualifying regular-season games -- conference opponents and nonconference opponents -- against other Group of 6 or Power 4 opponents, Notre Dame or another independent school.
This new scheduling agreement is expected to help boost Notre Dame's strength of schedule, too, as more teams will be looking to schedule the Irish. Unlike this year, though, there isn't any guarantee for Notre Dame to earn a CFP bid if it isn't one of the 19 at-large teams.
The CFP selection committee won't give any weight to a win over more than one FCS opponent per season. According to the CFP release, the management committee can grant a waiver from these requirements "in extraordinary circumstances."
"So hopefully you'll see more games like Ohio State and Texas," one Power 4 athletic director said, "because you're going to be less concerned about that type of loss keeping you out of a 12-team playoff. If you win a game like that, it's an unbelievably valuable win, and if you lose a game like that, it's quite a good loss that shouldn't penalize you."
Petitti said his conference is committed to it.
"We need to play more good games," Petitti said at the Big Ten men's basketball media day. "We've been really clear about that. The season is going to start way better than it does. You know we're committed to that. We get the 24-team playoff, you're going to see many more competitive games scheduled. We don't need to say we'll do it. We'll actually commit to doing it and working."
How will expansion impact the CFP selection committee's job?
While the role of the selection committee isn't expected to change, its attention to the bottom half of its weekly ranking will now be scrutinized more than ever.
Petitti had publicly questioned how the selection committee could fairly decipher between Big Ten teams with multiple losses and other leagues with fewer losses that didn't play as strong of a schedule.
"I think they do the best job they can," Petitti said at Big Ten spring meetings, "but I think the job is virtually impossible. ... They're going to have to really grind 16 through 25 because right now, there's no consequences of that. ... I worry about it, but it requires them to do a lot of work all the way though, but I think because it's big enough, we feel confident that it'll be OK."
It's possible the selection committee could expand its weekly ranking beyond 25 teams so the public could know which programs are on the bubble. When the committee reports for its weekly meetings in Grapevine, Texas, they come prepared with a personal ranking of 30 teams to consider. If the public ranking expanded, they would likely be asked to come with 35 teams each week.
What is the window for the playoff?
Next season, the playoff would begin on Dec. 9, 2027 and end with the national championship game on Jan. 24, 2028. Starting in 2027-28, there will always be two open weeks in the regular season. The full timeline for next season is as follows:
Army-Navy and Heisman Trophy: Dec. 4
First round, eight games: Dec. 9-11, 2027
Second round, eight games: Dec. 16-18, 2027
Quarterfinals Dec. 31, 2027-Jan. 1 2028
Semifinals Jan. 13-14, 2028
National championship: Jan. 24, 2028
What will happen to the bowl system?
Last year, there were 82 bowl-eligible teams, and 12 of them participated in the CFP. That left 70 teams eligible for non-CFP bowl games -- 32 from Power 4 conferences. Bowl Season executive director Nick Carparelli pointed to the math when he said that even if the playoff field were to double, the "vast majority" of bowl-eligible teams still wouldn't be in the CFP.
Carparelli said he doesn't believe conferences will enter into bowl agreements that they don't believe they can fulfill, which should prevent teams from opting out of bowls.
"Many of those teams would continue to embrace a postseason opportunity moving forward," he said.
Some bowl executives, though, question the quality of teams that will be left to choose from if the best teams from the Power 4 conferences are all in the playoff -- especially from the SEC and Big Ten. Last year, teams like Notre Dame, Texas, BYU, Vandy, Utah, USC, Arizona, Michigan, Virginia and Iowa all would have been in a 24-team playoff.
"It's going to be diluted for sure," one Power 4 source said.
Iowa's Ferentz said "it's a sign of the times."
"They're great experiences, but that's changed a little bit, too, because of the world we're living in," he said. "We're not going to stop that. Our team's a good example. Last year we had an unbelievable experience playing in the Reliaquest Bowl. What a great experience it was for our fans and our teams. I guess I'm still kind of a football purist, but [a 24-team CFP] is kind of the equivalent of it. Although there won't be a bowl trip, you're just going to go play it, or host a game, which is cool, too. It's like everything else we're dealing with. Whatever ends up coming down, you accept it and make it a positive."
It's hard to determine if teams will opt out of bowls like Notre Dame did last year following its CFP snub. The committee's No. 25 team could feel like it has a decision to make following similar disappointment.
"I think that's a great question," Stricklin said. "I think it depends on where you are in your program at that time. I would say that bowls even moreso are going to be like the NIT is now, which there's still teams that like playing, and they're excited for the opportunity, and some not as much, depending on where they are in their program."
How is the Army-Navy game affected?
Leaders at both Army and Navy have said they're supportive of moving the game to Dec. 4, which would give it a standalone window where the Power 4 conference championships used to be.
The Army-Navy game has officially been moved from Dec. 11, 2027 to Dec. 4, 2027 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The move returns the Army-Navy Game to the first Saturday in December, a date on which the historic rivalry has been played 45 times. Since 2009, the game has been played on the second Saturday in December.
If either Army or Navy are selected into the playoff field on Selection Day, the result of their rivalry game the following week won't impact their position, which is also the current rule.
"We appreciate the flexibility of the people of Philadelphia to accommodate this date
change and we applaud the collaboration between the city of Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial
Field and the academies," said Michael Kelly, Director of Athletics of the Naval Academy
and President of the Naval Academy Athletic Association. "We are also extremely grateful
to the CFP leadership for their collaboration. Finding a way to preserve the exclusive
broadcast window for America's Game while ensuring our program has a rightful path to
compete in the College Football Playoff is a tremendous outcome for our student-athletes
and fans across the country."
Does an expanded playoff affect the coaching carousel and transfer portal timing?
Craig Bohl, executive director of the AFCA, said the two-week transfer portal window beginning in early January is unlikely to change because the organization chose that window based on its studies -- not the CFP.
"We've done an extensive amount of research, looking at data, looking at calendars and we settled on those dates because it was the best of this situation that we could have," Bohl told ESPN. " ... the portal window is set because of the information that we have in front of us, regardless of where the CFP falls. It was looking at all the data and choosing to make the best decision we could. We were in hopes the CFP would end earlier."
One source involved in the Football Oversight Committee said there will still be playoff coaches on the move, especially in the lower half of the bracket, where Group of 6 schools like Memphis, James Madison and Boise State "have coaches like Jon Sumrall" who could be moving up a level.
With the CFP semifinal now in early-to-mid January, and the national championship game still in late January, there's always going to be "constant consternation" with the portal, one source said.
"As long as you have that, you'll have the portal right in the middle of the final four, which, you're talking about four teams -- OK, not the end of the world -- but if you're one of those four teams, no crying from the yacht, right?"
What does this mean for the timing of the Heisman Trophy?
Heisman Weekend will be held December 3-5 in 2027, and is expected to maintain its traditional slot after the Army-Navy game, which will now be on Dec. 4 instead of the conference championship games.
Tim Henning, senior vice president of operations and strategy at the Heisman Trophy, told ESPN the revised college football calendar allows for the Heisman, Army-Navy game and the CFP "to complement -- not compete -- with one another."
"We feel very strongly the Heisman needs to maintain its position as a regular-season award," Henning said. "We don't look at the CFP or the bowl games or any of the playoff games or Army-Navy as competitors. In this day and age of dare I say chaos in college football, having things like Army-Navy and the Heisman can withstand the chaos and be above the fray is good for the sport. When you look at traditions like Army-Navy and the Heisman, we transcend teams. We transcend conferences."
Is this the end of playoff expansion, or will it go beyond 24 teams?
According to the CFP's release on Monday, the playoff will remain at 24 teams for the duration of the current agreement, which runs through the 2031-32 season.