Guess who wins with a 24-team College Football Playoff? Spoiler alert: It's not the fans

Scrapping conference title games and letting four-loss teams crash the field only cheapens the regular season to pacify boosters lighting money on fire

Oct 15, 2026 at 4:17 pm ET • 3 min read

Critics have claimed for years that college football would ruin the regular season through endless playoff expansion. It didn't happen with four teams, where the bubble was still quality. The postseason race still mattered with the 12-team field, when quality teams still found themselves on the outside. 

In reportedly moving to a 24-team playoff, college football has officially jumped the shark. According to reports, the 24-team playoff will lead to the end of conference championship games. 

The leaders of college football have done almost everything in their power to try and mortgage the soul of the sport for more money in recent years. The 24-team playoff is a massive strike to the heart. 

For a moment, let's look at what the bubble would have looked like one year ago. The last at-large spot would have gone to 8-4 Iowa. The Hawkeyes went 0-4 against AP Top 25 opponents. The 9-3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets actually beat ranked Clemson, but the Tigers finished 7-6. The rest of the bubble included 9-3 Michigan, 8-5 Duke and 8-4 Illinois. 

There's a perception that making the postseason would lead to additional attention and focus on programs that make the playoff. Instead, fans will soon realize that the quality of slop they're being presented will fall precipitously. They'll just be expected to see a mediocre matchup between No. 14 Tennessee and No. 19 USC and keep it moving. 

Amazingly, there's not even clear evidence that the playoff will even lead to a financial windfall. Conferences will lose tens of millions in rights fees after canceling conference title games, and there's no guarantee they'll make much additional profit. 

So when it comes down to it… why are we doing this? 

Unfortunately, the answer is pretty simple. Donors are investing tens of millions of dollars every year into mediocre rosters, and it's time to manufacture a return on investment. 

According to 247Sports, Auburn, Nebraska and Wisconsin are spending more than $30 million on their rosters. Rutgers, South Carolina and Arkansas are spending more than $20 million. None of these schools have a realistic pathway to the College Football Playoff in a 12-team world. In a 24-team world, they still wouldn't get in, but they could at least convince themselves of a path. 

So really, the playoff is expanding so South Carolina and Maryland can lie to their donors and pretend they're not lighting money on fire. The comprehensive quality of the product on the field is of limited consideration. 

There's only one problem: Everyone will figure out the grift quickly. Coaches will soon be fired despite making the College Football Playoff, or even after winning first-round games. No fans or donors will be placated by a mediocre team that nominally makes the postseason. Instead, there's a far greater chance that coaches will sign undeserved extensions that lock their fans into misery. 

Individual games, like Notre Dame vs. BYU or Ohio State vs. Indiana this week, lose their luster when they're check-ins with limited stakes. The 12-team playoff manages to create short- and long-term stakes; all are gone in a 24-team playoff for many Power Four teams. 

And by making the national championship the only marker of success for college football, it ruins much of the fabric that makes college football so special. Winning a conference championship should matter. Beating rivals should matter. It shouldn't just be a massive race for bleeding fans and donors dry. 

The FCS level at least shows us a model of how a 24-team playoff can make sense. The 11 non-HBCU conferences each receive an auto-bid to the postseason, meaning conference championship races are crucial. It forces a level of breadth across the sport. Of course there's no consideration for the Group of Six at this point. The leaders of the sport only care about hoarding access. 

Making the postseason is supposed to be hard in college football. There are supposed to be consequences for regular season games. But with a 24-team playoff now on the horizon, it's hard not to wonder: What is the point here?