The College Football Playoff Committee agreed to a 12-team expansion last September. Initially, that expansion was set to begin in 2026 but it has since been moved to start during the 2024-25 season. There’s only one problem with that… it’s still a year too late.
In what will be the final season of the original Pac-12, many teams have seen the AP Top 25 rankings. Two of those teams, Washington and Oregon who will be headed to the BIG 10, have been in the Top 10 for a majority of the season.
The 12-team playoff format will comprise conference champions and the remaining teams in the Top 12. The top four seeds would receive a bye while seeds No. 5 – No. 12 will play in the first round. As we’ve seen during the 2023-24 College Football campaign there are many reasons why the format would make sense.
Potential of One-Loss Teams
Heading into the Conference championship week, there’s a chance that we could see a total of eight or nine teams with an 11-1 record from power five conferences. That doesn’t even include teams like Louisville, Ole Miss, Penn State, LSU, Oregon State and others who received a Top 12 ranking at some point this season. As of now, the top five teams remain undefeated.
Never been this many teams in consideration
As of right now, there are about 15 teams that could make a strong case for the College Football Playoff. In the history of the 4-team playoff format, that has never happened. Of course, some teams may fall in the rankings after rivalry and championship week. For many teams the resumes are comparable. There have many been conversations regarding the rankings of Oregon, Texas and Alabama.
Here’s what a 12-team playoff could look like this season:
(9) Missouri at (8) Alabama
Winner advances to play (1) Georgia*
(12) Tulane* at (5) Florida State
Winner advances to play (4) Washington*
(11) Penn State at (6) Oregon*
Winner advances to play (3) Michigan*
(10) Louisville at (7) Texas
Winner advances to play (2) Ohio State*
Of course, that would be what it could be like if the College Football Playoff expansion started today.
* Projected Conference Champion
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