College Football Playoff reportedly settles on format for 2026-27 season
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Expansion, if it actually does materialize, will come at a later time.
According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the College Football Playoff is expected to remain at 12 teams for the 2026-27 season. Speculation about the field expanding to 16 teams had been running rampant for months, but officials from the power conferences couldn’t seem to agree on the format for an expanded field.
Reporting from On3 stated that the decision to maintain the status quo stemmed from a stalemate between the SEC and the Big Ten. The SEC wants a 16-team model. The Big Ten wants a 24-team model. The other 8 FBS conferences are “ready” to expand to 16 teams for the 2026 season, according to the report.
An initial deadline to settle next year’s format was set for Dec. 1, 2025. ESPN extended that deadline to Friday. With the sport’s two most powerful leagues still in disagreement over the future of the field, nothing changes and the proverbial can gets kicked to 2027.
While the top leagues grapple with expanding the field to include larger percentages of their membership within it, the 12-team format has helped them both tremendously.
The SEC has taken 8 of the 24 spots (a third) in the field over the first 2 seasons. The Big Ten has dominated the field, earning 7 total berths and producing both champions.
Indiana’s win over Miami on Monday night delivered the most-watched non-NFL sporting event since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. The 27-21 Hoosiers win over the Hurricanes averaged 30.1 million viewers — and peaked at 33.2 million — making it the second-most-watched CFP title game and the most-watched college football game since the 2014-15 season.
A final 4 that featured Indiana, Oregon, Ole Miss, and Miami was billed as one that injected new life into a sport that had, until recently, been dominated by the biggest brands from the South. Indiana’s victory made it the first program since Florida in the 1990s to win its first national title. For the better part of 3 decades, the same teams have gobbled up national championships.
For now, the size of the field will remain unchanged.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
