The new College Football Playoff setup is already forcing realignment headaches into the 2027 schedule grid.
This week, the CFP and ESPN announced a five-year agreement that will expand the playoff to 24 teams in 2027. Buried in the fine print is a major scheduling requirement: all Power conference teams - the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC - will need to play at least 10 Power Four opponents starting next season to be eligible for the field.
A lot of programs are already in good shape. But seven schools are not, and their athletic directors now have some cleanup work to do. That means somebody is likely going to lose a future nonconference game, maybe eat a buyout, and replace it with another P4 opponent.
In the SEC, Missouri is the lone team still short. Illinois already canceled its series with the Tigers for 2027 and 2028 so it could add Notre Dame.
The Big Ten has a few more moving parts. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti has made it clear before that he doesn’t want to load up on tough nonconference games, but the playoff requirement leaves him no wiggle room now. The Hoosiers’ 2027 slate includes Jacksonville State on 08/28, Kennesaw State on 09/04 and Indiana State on 09/11.
Nebraska was supposed to play Tennessee in 2027, but that series was scrapped and the Cornhuskers paid a $1 million buyout. Their nonconference schedule currently includes a 08/27 game against Miami-OH in the Kansas City Chiefs’ Stadium, plus Northern Illinois on 09/04 and Northern Iowa on 09/18.
Oregon also had a Power opponent lined up before the arrangement fell apart. The Ducks were scheduled to visit Baylor in Waco in 2027, but both sides agreed to cancel.
Oregon had complained about the travel demands since moving into the Big Ten, though it may still end up headed to Texas anyway. The Ducks’ current nonconference games are Eastern Washington on 09/04, Coastal Carolina on 09/11 and Western Kentucky on 09/18.
Southern Cal is in the same boat after pausing its series with Notre Dame before the 2026 season because of late-season cross-country travel concerns. That decision is starting to look like a mistake.
The Big 12 has two schools in the same position. TCU lost Stanford, with the Cardinal now tied up with Vanderbilt and Notre Dame. The Horned Frogs’ current nonconference schedule includes Alcorn State on 09/04, North Texas on 09/11 and Sam Houston on 09/18.
Texas Tech also had a Power opponent fall through when NC State backed out. The Red Raiders currently have Arkansas-Pine Bluff on 09/04, New Mexico on 09/18 and one TBA game still unresolved.
The ACC, meanwhile, is clean. No league school is missing a 10th Power Four opponent for 2027.
There is also the Washington State and Oregon State exemption to keep in mind. A waiver previously carved out for the two former Pac-12 schools still applies for 2027, so the Beavers and Cougars continue to count as P4 opponents after being left behind by the old Pac-12.
That matters because a few Power programs already have Washington State on the schedule. Arizona, Kansas and Washington are all set to play the Cougars next season, which makes those slots tough to shake loose.
Ole Miss also has Oregon State lined up, and the Beavers already have away games at Ole Miss and BYU, plus home dates with Portland State and New Mexico for 2027. That’s not the kind of slate they’re likely to rearrange without a serious incentive.
With seven Power programs still needing that 10th P4 opponent, somebody is going to be left hanging. Nebraska and Missouri look like the cleanest match.
They were rivals in the old Big 8 and Big 12, played 104 times between 1892 and 2010, and even have a bell for the winner. The campuses are about 300 miles apart, too.
If not that one, TCU may be the most appealing option. The Horned Frogs aren’t a strong team, they’re near a major airport, and they sit in a more central spot geographically.
In Other News...
Alabama Is Using Last Year's Vanderbilt Humbling For A Reason
Last years trip to Nashville still lingers around Alabamas building, even if the Crimson Tide are not dwelling on it the same way outside observers might. The 2024 loss to Vanderbilt was a jolt, ending a long run of dominance in the series and becoming part of the backdrop to Alabama missing the College Football Playoff that season. As the Tide prepare to face the Commodores again, Kalen DeBoer and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack have pointed back to that game as a reminder of how quickly a season can shift when urgency slips.
The message from the staff is less about revenge than about standards. Some players have treated the loss as a distant memory rather than a central talking point, but Alabamas coaches have leaned on it to reinforce the need for relentlessness from snap to snap. For a program that expects to control games, the Vanderbilt result remains a useful lesson in what happens when that edge disappears, and why the Tide are making sure it does not happen again. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Recruiting Debate May Be Bigger Than This Year's Class
Andrew Ivins early look at Alabamas 2027 recruiting class left him uneasy, but the 247Sports director of scouting has since come around on the bigger picture. The class is sitting at No. 32, which is Alabamas lowest ranking in the 247Sports era, but Ivins now sees a path that could make sense in todays college football landscape if the Tide continue to lean into a larger high school haul and use the transfer market to fill in the gaps.
Greg Byrne has already signaled that Alabama wants to put more emphasis on high school recruiting in 2028, which only adds another layer to the debate. For a program that has long been measured by elite class rankings, the question is no longer just how this class stacks up on paper, but whether Alabamas broader roster-building approach can keep pace with the sports shifting rules and expectations. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas Quarterback Situation Suddenly Feels Bigger Than Vanderbilt
Keelon Russells lower-body injury against LSU did not keep him from finishing the game, but it did leave Alabama with a little more uncertainty at the most important position on the field. Kalen DeBoer said Russell is day-to-day, and the Tide are now waiting on the initial injury report Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. CT to get a clearer read on where things stand heading into Vanderbilt.
Austin Mack is the next man up if Alabama needs him, and DeBoer has made it clear the staff feels good about that option. Still, even with Russell able to return against LSU, the quarterback situation has become a storyline worth watching closely, because what looked like a routine week can change quickly when the starter is dealing with an injury and the backup may be asked to step in. [Read more 🡒]