College Football Playoff doubles up, expands to 24 teams beginning next season

College Football Playoff doubles up.

Key points

• Culture Eddie Pells, Associated Press, Eric Olson, Associated Press August 26, 2026.
• Of Education reports 24% drop in total absences during first months of 2026-2027 school year.
• Group of Six teams will have to play 10 games against conference opponents and a mix of G6 teams, Notre Dame and other independents.
• The move to 24 teams marks the second expansion of the playoff since it began in 2014 as a modest four-team affair.
• 12 Mississippi meet again in a showcase of two of the SEC's best since 2023.

College Football Playoff doubles up, expands to 24 teams beginning next season. By: Eddie Pells, Associated Press – November 9, 2026.

Mississippi platers and coach celebrate a win against Georgia after the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert).

For context, the new format will have five automatic qualifiers – the champions of the Power Four leagues and the best-ranked team in the smaller Group of Six conferences – with the other 19 teams being chosen by a selection panel.

Notably, the College Football Playoff will double in size to 24 teams beginning next year, bringing an end to a three-decade era of conference title games that applied to be among the marquee events of the season.

After ESPN agreed to rework its contract to add the 11 new games, college leaders confirmed the new format Monday. Though ESPN stated it was a accord for five years and further $1.7 billion, on top of the $7.8 billion contract that runs through the 2031 season, terms were not confirmed.

Meanwhile, the revenue generated from the new games will presumably create up for the estimated $345 million the Power Four conference title games were worth. ESPN would then not be on the hook for $140 million of the extra funds due to cancellation of the title games, the network noted.

Meanwhile, the top eight seeds will receive first-round byes in the new format and the playoff will start on the second weekend in December, with the first two rounds of games on campus. The traditional Army-Navy game will be played on the first weekend in December. It applied to be reserved for conference title games.

Both the Southeastern and Major Ten conferences, whose approval was needed to adopt this change, and their Power Four brethren – the Sizeable 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference – are banking that most of the extra spots will go to their members so some of the second-tier teams have new motivation to keep spending sizeable in an era of NIL and $50 million football rosters.

"Opening the playoff to more programs, more student-athletes and more fan bases across the country is great for college football, " remarked Mississippi State president Mark Keenum. This person is chair of the CFP board. "We look forward to seeing this expanded format come to life next season."

Notably, the first final for the 24-team playoff remains set for Jan. 24, 2028, in New Orleans. Traditional bowl games will still host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.

As part of the expansion, the CFP is requiring Power Four teams to play at least 10 "qualifying" regular-season games against conference foes, other Power Four opponents and Notre Dame. Group of Six teams will have to play 10 games against conference opponents and a mix of G6 teams, Notre Dame and other independents.

Notably, the agreement guarantees two off weeks during a regular season that will commence the week before Labor Day. An NFL-sized playoff changes the nature of the college regular season.

Meanwhile, the move to 24 teams marks the second expansion of the playoff since it began in 2014 as a modest four-team affair. Right after it moved to 12 in 2024, most thought it would eventually max out at 16. It was the SEC's preference.

While the SEC balked at that, concerned concerning the league title game – a property it invented in 1992 and created billions from over the decades – along with the marketability of games featuring third- and fourth-place finishers in power conferences, but the Major Ten wanted to go bigger.

ESPN took care of the funds challenge. Now, the question is whether fans will embrace an NFL-style free-for-all that could include regarding one-third of the Power Four's 68 teams, depending on what happens with the Group of Six schools, whose role in these big-money power grabs seems to diminish with every move.

It's the latest seismic change for a sport that, for decades, built its distinct character and generated controversy by leaning on media and coaching polls to hand out national titles.

In practice, the new system won't be a completely clean break. Critics see a risk in giving more power to a selection committee that hasn't really mastered the four- or 12-team brackets. The exclusion of Florida State in 2023 and Notre Dame last season stand out as the best examples – and the first rankings release of this season left individuals scratching their heads again.

Skeptics additionally view the expanded playoff as another watering-down of what's largely seen as one of the most notable regular seasons in sports, replacing potential matchups between, say, Alabama and Georgia in an SEC title game with a 13 seed vs. 20 seed game that would pit, say, Kentucky and South Carolina.

As Major Ten commissioner Tony Petitti argued from the beginning, a postseason that gives bubble teams hope and keeps others vying for home-field advantage or byes will bring more eyes – not fewer – to the end of a regular season that sometimes boils down to only three or four traditional rivalry games with meaning, but. (One of those traditional games, Ohio State-Michigan, is shaping up to have zero impact on this year's playoffs this year.).

More at-large berths additionally assist the conferences cash in on the decision to expand their league schedules (the SEC didn't really want to) and demand more non-league games be played among Power Four teams – all in a bid to beef up strength-of-schedule ratings that will carry weight with a selection committee. Regarding the Author(s). Eddie Pells, Associated Press. Culture Jim Vertuno, Associated Press October 30, 2026.

Manning and No. 11 Texas want to keep momentum going against a Mississippi State team missing Taylor.

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For now, college Football Playoff doubles up, expands to 24 teams beginning next season remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.