The College Football Playoff is on the verge of its biggest reset yet, with expansion from 12 teams to 24 expected to begin in 2027, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
If the deal gets finalized, the format would give the top eight teams first-round byes and home games, while seeds 9 through 16 would host opening-round matchups. The later rounds would still run through the New Year’s Six bowls, and the national championship would remain in January.
For Miami, that setup could change everything about how the Hurricanes are viewed in December.
Last season, Miami squeezed into the 12-team bracket as the final at-large team, getting the edge over Notre Dame in the rankings partly because of a head-to-head win. The Hurricanes then went on a run all the way to the national championship game before losing to Indiana.
In a 24-team playoff, that kind of survival act should become a lot less stressful. Miami would be expected to land in the field more often, and ACC teams hovering around the bubble would also have a much clearer path in. The yearly arguments over who “deserves” a spot would lose some of the heat that surrounded Miami’s route through the current format.
That doesn’t mean everyone in Coral Gables is sold on the idea. Mario Cristobal has already made his position plain, telling ESPN, “I’m not for the 24-team thing” and questioning whether the regular season would still matter if that many teams are allowed in.
He has also said he would rather see the regular season finish earlier, with fewer automatic bids and more weight placed on what happens on the field.
Cristobal said, “I’m not for the 24-team playoff thing. I think that’s just a lot.
Why play the regular season? And I’m certainly not for automatic bids.”
There are also real benefits for Miami if it lands in the 9-16 range, where home playoff games would be on the table. That would mean more postseason games in Miami, along with the kind of recruiting and NIL boost that matters in a state where everyone wants to get players from.
The ACC has supported a bigger playoff because it opens the door for more programs. But that comes with a tradeoff: the ACC Championship Game would lose some of its December spotlight and revenue, even as total CFP payouts are expected to rise under the new ESPN deal.
Not everyone is eager to see the change. Many fans have already pushed back, arguing that expansion waters down the regular season, lets in too many average teams, and turns the whole thing into a money grab.
For Miami, though, the path is pretty clear. A 24-team field would make the playoff picture wider, less chaotic, and a lot more familiar. And if the Hurricanes keep trending the way they are, they should be in that field every year with a chance to chase national titles.
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