Starting in 2027, the College Football Playoff will expand to 24 teams, while the SEC Championship Game will be eliminated. ESPN and the playoff committee finalized a five-year deal valued at nearly $1.7 billion, triggering this huge change. ESPN is set to pay an additional $345 million per year for this new larger format.
On Nov. 9, the College Football Playoff Management Committee unanimously approved expansion to 24 teams beginning with the 2027–28 season. The CFP also announced a new media-rights agreement with ESPN, which will carry the expanded playoff through the 2031–32 season.
Fans do not appear excited about the changes, as CFP executive director Rich Clark noted earlier this week, “We’re aware of the fan sentiment and that many fans aren’t in favor of expansion. It was considered, but ultimately, we just need to make a spectacular playoff.”
Regular Season Games Still Count
Some people worry that a bigger bracket means the regular season loses its sting. Earlier this season, Will Stein, the head coach at Kentucky, even spoke about the idea that regular season games might no longer matter. “I think that’s a really lame take, to be honest,” he said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “As far as I know, every game in college football is still going to matter. … So (the playoff) definitely needed to expand.”
Stein made it clear that fans should not dismiss the importance of every Saturday. The new format gives programs like Kentucky a better shot at reaching the national stage and hosting a major game in Lexington. While some fans in Big Blue Nation are unhappy about losing the conference title game, the expanded field offers more teams a path to a national championship.
Projected Rankings Shift After Week 10
As the future changes, the current rankings are also likely to be shaken up after Week 10. Georgia is set to take over as the No. 1 team in the second College Football Playoff rankings. Utah will probably move to No. 2 after a big rivalry win against Brigham Young. A pair of two-loss SEC teams could also climb into the top four spots soon.
Since Notre Dame defeated Miami, the selection committee is expected to respect that result by ranking the Hurricanes below the Fighting Irish. For the Irish, that would require a big leap from last week’s No. 11 ranking. Following their win over LSU, Alabama has grounds to move up two spots to No. 3, while Texas might pass Indiana after winning at Missouri. Do not expect Ohio State near the top this week; the Buckeyes will stay in the Top 25 but likely land near No. 20 after a poor showing in a home loss to Oregon.
Under the new plan, first- and second-round games will still occur at campus sites. For the quarterfinals and subsequent rounds, teams will play at bowl sites. This change ensures that more teams get a chance to play for the title while keeping the regular season as the key to getting there.
