Big Ten internally circulates 24-team College Football Playoff model
By Ethan Stone
Published:
The Big Ten recently distributed an internal document outlining a potential 24-team College Football Playoff model. With the field set for 12 teams once again in 2026, talks are sure to continue regarding the future of the college football postseason layout.
This document, as reported by Pete Thamel on Friday, features a 23 + 1 model featuring the 23 best teams, regardless of conference, and 1 guaranteed spot for the G6 ranks. In this model, there would be no automatic qualifiers, with the top 8 teams all receiving byes.
Furthermore, there would be two weeks of on-campus games, meaning all top seeds would receive a home playoff game. This is important because it allows the best teams to play in front of their fans on campus, which national champion Indiana was not able to do this season.
Perhaps most important of all, this model would do away with conference championship games, which have taken a step down in importance since the CFP field expanded to 12 teams.
Here’s a look at the proposed bracket based on last season’s CFP rankings:
The Big Ten has expressed a desire to move to a 16-team playoff in the past, with the hope of eventually expanding to 24 teams as shown in the model laid out above by 2029.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
