bleacherreport
Get ready, college football fans: the playoff is about to get a whole lot bigger. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the current 12-team College Football Playoff is on the verge of doubling in size, with a 24-team format expected to be finalized soon and implemented for the 2027 season. This seismic shift will have far-reaching consequences, touching everything from regular-season matchups to conference championships and the entire structure of the sport's postseason.
Details are still emerging, but according to Pete Nakos of On3.com, the top eight teams would earn first-round byes, while 19 teams would receive at-large bids. The top four Power Four teams would get automatic bids, along with the highest-ranked Group of Six conference champion. Two rounds of playoff games would be played on campus sites before the remaining rounds shift to neutral venues.
The mere prospect of this expansion has ignited passionate debate. Here's a look at some of the biggest winners and losers if the playoff grows to 24 teams.
Winner: Iowa and Similar Programs
There's no shortage of teams that consistently hover around the Top 25, occasionally cracking the top 15 but ultimately falling short of a playoff berth. Iowa is a prime example. Under Kirk Ferentz, the Hawkeyes have been a model of consistency, even if their offense has been the butt of jokes. They've flirted with playoff contention and are doing so again in 2026, but they lack the resources to regularly compete with the sport's elite. The 12-team playoff has been their ceiling—so far. A 24-team field would offer hope and access to programs like Iowa, changing expectations for fans and potentially altering offseason approaches. For many, a new path to a national title, real or not, would suddenly appear.
Loser: Meaningful Regular-Season Games
Make no mistake: those early-season clashes that once defined a team's season and could make or break a playoff resume will carry far less weight. When Ohio State and Texas meet in September, the outcome won't matter as much. That doesn't mean we won't watch, and it might even encourage more marquee non-conference matchups. But the stakes will never feel as high as they do now. In the current 12-team system, a third loss is often fatal. With 24 teams, teams could lose a high-profile game and still comfortably make the postseason. The pageantry will remain, but the consequences will shrink—and so will our collective investment.
Winner: Group of Six Teams
For teams outside the Power Four, playoff access has been nearly impossible. The selection committee has often penalized them at every turn, even though James Madison and Tulane crashed the 12-team bracket in 2025. A lot had to break right for those breakthroughs; now, far less will need to. The SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC will still dominate the 24-team field, but with 12 additional spots, the odds of Group of Six teams sneaking in become significantly better. One Group of Six champion is guaranteed a top-25 spot, but in most years, that would be the only one. With the field doubled, that's no longer the case. While these teams will remain a minority, the possibilities for many schools just became real. Hope—there's that word again—is suddenly in abundance.
Loser: Conference Championship Game Enthusiasts
Barring a surprise, the 24-team playoff will likely spell the end for most conference championship games as we know them. With an expanded playoff dominating December and January, something has to give, and these title games appear to be the first casualty. Even in the 12-team era, conference championships have been overshadowed by bracket speculation. Their future was already in doubt; now, we may have our answer. Traditionalists will still cherish what these games have meant, and watching two elite teams battle for conference supremacy has always mattered. But now, those games may vanish, raising questions about how automatic bids will be awarded. Given the size and scheduling disparities across conferences, the process could become far more complicated. At least a conference title game provided a definitive answer; now, things just got messier.
Winner: College Campuses in December
The current 12-team playoff did one thing exceptionally well: it brought more games to college campuses. The first round was played at the higher seed's home stadium, and it was a resounding success. Early reports suggest the 24-team model could feature two rounds on campus. The 16 teams outside the top eight would play in the first round, with the top eight seeds hosting. In the second round, the top eight seeds would host the winners from the previous round. After that, neutral sites take over. In the current format, the top four teams with byes never get to host. The 24-team playoff would change that, emphasizing the sport's greatest asset: the gameday environment. While expansion is polarizing, this aspect is not—more games in college stadiums will be a spectacle.
Loser: Bowl Season
Bowl season was already on life support. NFL Draft opt-outs, the transfer portal, and general offseason chaos have left the annual tradition in limbo. Some teams, like Notre Dame a season ago, skipped bowls entirely. Others have opted out for various reasons. The de-emphasis was already in motion, and expansion will only accelerate it. With 12 additional teams potentially playing playoff games instead of bowls, what will the bowl landscape look like? While many still appreciate the bowls in their imperfect form, this feels like a defining moment. Whether it means fewer games or none at all, something has to give. Moving bowl season to the start of the year might sound drastic, but it may be necessary. The bowl season as we knew it is fading; now, it likely needs a complete reimagining to survive.
Originally reported by bleacherreport.