All articles tagged with #college football playoff
After Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU amid a College Football Playoff push, the Rebels reportedly had the FBI sweep the building for bugs, tightened communications, and split staff as Kiffin and his coaches prepared to depart; defensive coordinator Pete Golding was promoted to permanent head coach, and Ole Miss managed to retain most of its roster as it pressed toward the playoff.
CBS Sports analyzes 13 top CFP contenders for the 2026 season and predicts where their unbeaten journeys could end first, mapping likely losses such as Ohio State at Texas, Texas at Tennessee, Oregon at Ohio State, and Georgia at South Carolina, showing how a single defeat can instantly reshape the playoff picture.
ESPN has floated a 20-team College Football Playoff format that would use four play-in games to decide the bottom four seeds (13–16) and effectively create a 16-team field. The plan aims to bridge differences between the SEC’s desire for a larger field and the Big Ten’s push toward as many as 24 teams, but it hinges on Big Ten support. Implementing it would likely require calendar changes, such as eliminating conference championship games. If adopted, it would expand TV rights opportunities and reshape which teams would have a path to a national title, but without Big Ten backing the current 12-team CFP would remain in place for now.
On3 analyst J.D. PicKell lays out a 12-team CFP bracket for 2026, with Texas Tech over UTSA, Oklahoma over LSU, Notre Dame over Indiana, and Texas over USC in the first round; Georgia over Texas, Oregon over Notre Dame, Oklahoma over Ohio State, and Miami over Texas Tech in the quarterfinals; Georgia vs. Miami and Oregon vs. Oklahoma in the semifinals; and No. 2 Oregon defeating No. 1 Georgia to win the national championship.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart says he supports the SEC potentially breaking away from the NCAA and pursuing its own postseason, reflecting ongoing talks at the league’s spring meetings about self-governance. Yahoo! Sports reported discussions on a “Plan B” and the possibility of a SEC–Big Ten partnership, but experts warn antitrust litigation and other hurdles could prevent a quick move, leaving the future of a separate SEC structure unresolved.
The piece looks back at the 1990s when college football often crowned two national champions due to split polls (e.g., 1991 Miami vs. Washington; 1994 Penn State vs. Nebraska), highlighting how fans and players accepted multiple champions. It explains the move to the Bowl Championship Series in 1998 and, later, the College Football Playoff in 2014 in an attempt to crown a single champion, while noting that controversy persists into the modern era. The author suggests that the era’s dual championships had its own logic and appeal, rather than simply being “bad.”
The College Football Playoff (CFP) has released the broadcast and site schedule for the 2026-27 postseason, detailing quarterfinals in Las Vegas, semifinals hosted by the traditional bowls (Fiesta, Cotton, Peach, Rose, Sugar, Orange), and the National Championship in New Orleans, along with associated fan events and hotel accommodations.
The 2026-27 College Football Playoff schedule again clashes with Saturday NFL games: three CFP semifinal contests are set for Saturday, December 19 (noon, 3:30 and 7:30 ET) after the event opens Friday, December 18. The NFL’s Week 15 features Seahawks–Eagles (4 p.m. ET) and Bears–Bills (7:20 p.m. ET), meaning two CFP games will air opposite NFL games. CFP on TNT and NFL on Fox/CBS, continuing a head-to-head pattern since the 12-team expansion began, with NFL ratings typically higher.
The article outlines the ongoing fight among power conferences over expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams by 2027, with the Big Ten pushing for broader access and the SEC at best leaning toward 16. Proponents argue a larger field would boost participation, viewership, and revenue for more programs, while critics warn it could inflate costs, erode the value of conference championships, and complicate the regular season. Key issues include calendar changes to accommodate more rounds, potential elimination of conference title games, media-rights dynamics (ESPN vs. Fox), and whether the promised financial upside justifies the upheaval. Decision-making hinges on the two dominant conferences, as commissioners weigh access, incentives, and the true impact on football’s scheduling and budgets.
With a push for a 24-team College Football Playoff gaining traction, Matt Hayes says the SEC will not agree to 24 teams, arguing Greg Sankey and the league are entrenched in preserving the current structure (or a limited expansion) to avoid diluting the regular season. The 2024 memorandum of understanding requires both the Big Ten and SEC to approve any playoff-format changes, making sweeping expansion unlikely and keeping the 12-team format in place, with a chance of a smaller increase if the conferences stay firm.
Two data points highlight the money-driven drift in college sports: only 9% of Big Ten football fans support commissioner Tony Petitti’s 24-team CFP, while the NCAA Tournament is headed toward 76 teams despite fan disapproval. The author argues both expansions are driven by revenue, risk diluting competitive meaning and tradition, and may not deliver the promised benefits, with football’s expansion posing a bigger threat to the regular season and more modest, gradual changes preferred over sweeping reform.
The Big Ten distributed a record $1.37 billion to its 18 member schools in FY2024-25, about $76.1 million per school on average, with Washington and Oregon receiving smaller shares after joining in 2024. The payout reflects the full implementation of the conference’s seven-year media-rights deal with Fox, CBS and NBC and the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff, as Ohio State won the national title and Indiana, Penn State and Oregon advanced to the CFP field. The SEC had previously announced about $1.03 billion in shares for its universities that year.
President Trump signed an executive order aimed at preserving an exclusive December viewing window for the Army-Navy football game to shield it from potential College Football Playoff expansion, though enforceability is uncertain and likely to face lawsuits.
Army coach Jeff Monken says moving the Army–Navy game to Thanksgiving weekend could free the CFP to start earlier and help both teams pursue a playoff berth, potentially reshaping the postseason while preserving the rivalry.
The College Football Playoff released dates and bowl sites for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 Playoffs: for 2026-27, quarterfinals at the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 30, 2026 and at Cotton, Peach and Rose Bowls on Jan. 1, 2027; semifinals at the Orange Bowl (Jan. 14, 2027) and Sugar Bowl (Jan. 15, 2027); and the National Championship on Jan. 25, 2027 in Las Vegas. For 2027-28, quarterfinals conclude with the Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31, 2027 and the Fiesta, Peach and Rose Bowls on Jan. 1, 2028; semifinals on Jan. 13 (Orange Bowl) and Jan. 14, 2028 (Cotton Bowl); with the Championship on Jan. 24, 2028 in New Orleans, with times/TV to be announced later.