The College Football Playoff is headed for another shake-up, and this one could change the way programs like Michigan State see the road ahead.
Beginning with the 2027-28 season, the playoff will grow to 24 teams after the College Football Playoff Management Committee unanimously approved the expansion on Monday, November 9. It’s the latest turn in a long-running debate over how college football crowns its champion, and it once again opens the door for more teams to stay alive longer.
That has been the pattern every time the format has changed. The sport moved from no playoff at all, to a two-team title game, then to four teams, then to 12.
Each step was supposed to settle the argument. Each step created a new group of teams convinced they had been left out.
Now the field gets bigger again, and that means more than just another number on the bracket. Games that once looked like ordinary midseason matchups could suddenly carry real postseason weight. Teams sitting in the teens, twenties or just outside the rankings will have far more to play for, because those spots can now lead straight into the playoff.
That is where Michigan State comes in.
The Spartans picked up their first conference win last weekend against Michigan, and while they are not in the hunt for a playoff berth this season, the new format gives them a different kind of opening moving forward. A team that might have been on the outside looking in under the old setup now has a much better shot to climb into the conversation.
There’s no question the change will frustrate some fans of the sport’s biggest brands. More teams in the field means more chances for Georgia or Ohio State to get knocked off, and it also changes the value of some of the top-10 games and Power Four conference championship matchups that have been among the season’s marquee events.
But the flip side is hard to ignore. More fan bases will have something meaningful to chase deeper into the year, and more programs will be able to see a path to the national championship that feels real.
For Michigan State, that matters. Under a 24-team playoff, the Spartans’ route gets shorter, and the games that used to blend into the background could suddenly become the ones that decide everything.
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Tom Izzo Sends A Clear Message After Michigan State Stuns Duke
Michigan States win over No. 2 Duke in the Champions Classic gave the Spartans an early-season jolt, and Tom Izzo made sure to frame it as more than just a headline result. With his team off to a 3-0 start, the veteran coach spent his postgame media session praising Dukes quality while also crediting his own group for the way it handled the moment, a reminder that this was the kind of November test he has long wanted for his program.
Izzo also touched on individual performances from across the roster, using the night as a snapshot of where Michigan State is and where it still needs to grow. He even nodded to the football teams recent win over Michigan, tying the moment into a bigger stretch of momentum around campus, while leaving the larger question hanging on how far this basketball team can carry that early confidence. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Faces One Early Test After Its Duke Statement
Michigan State gets right back to work at home after its statement win over Duke, and the early-season buzz around the Spartans has only grown with a 3-0 start and a No. 5 ranking. Northern Iowa arrives with a 2-1 record, giving Tom Izzos team another chance to show that the win over the Blue Devils was not just a one-night surge but part of a real early rhythm.
The matchup also offers a different kind of test, because Michigan State now has to handle the expectations that come with being ranked this high while still sorting out what kind of team it wants to be. Northern Iowa has already shown enough to suggest it can make things uncomfortable, so this is the sort of game that can reveal whether the Spartans are staying sharp or settling in after the Duke high. [Read more 🡒]
Carson Cooper Is Already Fighting For His NBA Role
Carson Coopers pro path has taken another turn, and this one gives him a clearer place to prove he belongs. The former Michigan State center has signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers after previously being with the Memphis Grizzlies, setting him up to split time between the NBA roster and the teams G-League affiliate.
For a player trying to carve out a long-term role, the opportunity is as important as the jersey change. Cooper enters a crowded frontcourt as a backup center behind Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney, and he takes the spot vacated when Lawson Lovering was waived to make room for him. [Read more 🡒]