BleedGopher
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Per ESPN:
The Big Ten is circulating an internal document that lays out what a 24-team College Football Playoff would look like, including the elimination of conference championship games, a 23+1 selection model and an additional weekend of on-campus CFP home games.
With the College Football Playoff format remaining at 12 for the 2026 season, the drumbeat of potential CFP change will inevitably echo through the coming season. The document, obtained by ESPN, includes other interesting details, such as the committee being tasked with not having any rematches in the first round.
The sides of the potential expansion issue were drawn clear in recent weeks. The SEC was willing to go to a 16-team format, and the Big Ten was willing to grow to 16 only with an agreement to eventually go to 24 teams. Those two leagues essentially control the CFP decision-making, hence the stalemate.
The Big Ten internal document details what the conference has termed a "24 team CFP Format Compromise." Sources told ESPN it has been distributed to the league's athletic directors and a working group of head coaches.
While the document presents nothing formal or official in terms of the future of the College Football Playoff, it does begin to unpack the vision of the 24-team format.
The idea has increased in conversation among coaches and athletic directors in the Power 4 leagues, as the coaches acknowledge a playoff-or-bust pressure and athletic directors want more postseason opportunities to justify rapidly increasing roster expenses.
The internal document begins by offering a potential timeline desired by the Big Ten, which wants the format to grow to a 16-team playoff for 2027 and 2028. The document indicates a move to 24 for "no later than the 2029 season," which would then run through the end of the current CFP contract, which goes through 2031. From there, there would be a new television contract and further flexibility to change.
In the proposed 16-team format, there would be five automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large teams, an idea that has been widely discussed. The top two teams would get byes, and the opening games -- No. 16 vs. No. 13 and No. 14 vs. No. 15 -- would be played on the second weekend in December, likely slotting around the annual Army vs. Navy game.
There would be six second-round games on campus and four quarterfinals at traditional bowl locations on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. That would be followed by semifinal games at bowl sites and the national title game, which would be played around mid-January.
The 24-team format would consist of the 23 best teams and one spot for the Group of 6. There would be no automatic qualifiers, which had been a point of emphasis for the Big Ten in CFP discussions last year. If the field grows to 24, sources have indicated that automatic qualifiers would matter less to the Big Ten.
www.espn.com
Go Gophers!!
The Big Ten is circulating an internal document that lays out what a 24-team College Football Playoff would look like, including the elimination of conference championship games, a 23+1 selection model and an additional weekend of on-campus CFP home games.
With the College Football Playoff format remaining at 12 for the 2026 season, the drumbeat of potential CFP change will inevitably echo through the coming season. The document, obtained by ESPN, includes other interesting details, such as the committee being tasked with not having any rematches in the first round.
The sides of the potential expansion issue were drawn clear in recent weeks. The SEC was willing to go to a 16-team format, and the Big Ten was willing to grow to 16 only with an agreement to eventually go to 24 teams. Those two leagues essentially control the CFP decision-making, hence the stalemate.
The Big Ten internal document details what the conference has termed a "24 team CFP Format Compromise." Sources told ESPN it has been distributed to the league's athletic directors and a working group of head coaches.
While the document presents nothing formal or official in terms of the future of the College Football Playoff, it does begin to unpack the vision of the 24-team format.
The idea has increased in conversation among coaches and athletic directors in the Power 4 leagues, as the coaches acknowledge a playoff-or-bust pressure and athletic directors want more postseason opportunities to justify rapidly increasing roster expenses.
The internal document begins by offering a potential timeline desired by the Big Ten, which wants the format to grow to a 16-team playoff for 2027 and 2028. The document indicates a move to 24 for "no later than the 2029 season," which would then run through the end of the current CFP contract, which goes through 2031. From there, there would be a new television contract and further flexibility to change.
In the proposed 16-team format, there would be five automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large teams, an idea that has been widely discussed. The top two teams would get byes, and the opening games -- No. 16 vs. No. 13 and No. 14 vs. No. 15 -- would be played on the second weekend in December, likely slotting around the annual Army vs. Navy game.
There would be six second-round games on campus and four quarterfinals at traditional bowl locations on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. That would be followed by semifinal games at bowl sites and the national title game, which would be played around mid-January.
The 24-team format would consist of the 23 best teams and one spot for the Group of 6. There would be no automatic qualifiers, which had been a point of emphasis for the Big Ten in CFP discussions last year. If the field grows to 24, sources have indicated that automatic qualifiers would matter less to the Big Ten.
Big Ten details 24-team CFP plan with no league title games
The Big Ten is circulating an internal document that lays out what a 24-team CFP would look like, including the elimination of conference championship games, a 23+1 selection model and an additional weekend of on-campus CFP home games.
Go Gophers!!
