College football fans hoping for a bigger Playoff field in 2026 will have to wait a little longer. The College Football Playoff is expected to stick with its current 12-team format for that season, after the Big Ten and SEC - the sport’s two most influential conferences - couldn’t find common ground on how to move forward with expansion.
This outcome doesn’t come as a shock. The Big Ten and SEC have been at odds over the structure of a potential expanded Playoff since the spring of 2025, when the SEC walked away from a Big Ten-backed proposal that would’ve guaranteed multiple automatic bids for each Power 4 conference. That disagreement set the tone for what’s become a prolonged stalemate, and despite months of discussion - including one final call between Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey - the two sides couldn’t close the gap.
Friday marked the deadline for the CFP to notify ESPN about the Playoff format for 2026. The CFP had already received a seven-week extension from its original December 1 deadline, but even with the extra time, no deal was reached.
The reality? Expansion just wasn’t in the cards this time around. And while the 12-team structure will remain intact, the format itself is getting another tweak.
From Five to Four: A Shift in Automatic Bids
The first two years of the 12-team Playoff allowed the five highest-ranked conference champions to earn automatic bids, regardless of which league they came from. That setup opened the door for Group of 5 programs like Tulane (American Athletic Conference) and James Madison (Sun Belt) to crash the Playoff party this past season. Meanwhile, Duke - despite winning the ACC with five regular-season losses - also earned a spot.
That system is changing. Starting next season, the four Power 4 conference champions will now receive automatic bids, with only one additional spot reserved for the highest-ranked champion from the remaining leagues. That’s a significant shift, tightening access for Group of 5 teams and putting more emphasis on performance within the Power 4.
Seven at-large bids will still be available, and Notre Dame - as an independent - can now earn an automatic berth if it finishes in the top 12 of the final selection committee rankings. That’s a change from 2025, when the Irish were ranked 11th but were left out due to the guaranteed spots for lower-ranked Group of 5 champions.
Behind the Scenes: Expansion Talks Hit a Wall
Heading into 2025, expansion beyond 12 teams felt like an inevitability. The Big Ten was pushing for a model that would take the selection committee out of the spotlight and lean more heavily on automatic bids determined by conference standings - possibly even play-in games. That approach would’ve given the Big Ten and SEC four auto-bids each, with the ACC and Big 12 receiving two apiece.
Unsurprisingly, the ACC and Big 12 weren’t fans of that setup. They countered with a 16-team format that didn’t include additional auto-bids, which gained traction with SEC coaches who saw a chance to deepen their conference’s Playoff footprint.
But the Big Ten wasn’t sold on giving the selection committee even more power, especially with the SEC and ACC still playing eight-game conference schedules at the time. The Big Ten wanted a more structured approach - and that’s where things really started to diverge.
Petitti eventually proposed a 24-team Playoff that would’ve leveled the playing field: equal auto-bids for all power conferences, plus at-large spots. But implementing that kind of overhaul would’ve required scrapping conference championship games and adding more layers to the postseason - a logistical mountain that couldn’t be climbed by 2026, even if there had been widespread support (which there wasn’t).
The SEC’s Position: Keep It Simple, Keep It Selective
The SEC, for its part, has been consistent. Commissioner Greg Sankey and league presidents have favored a 16-team Playoff selected by the committee, without automatic bids. Mississippi State president Mark Keenum made that clear back in November, saying on The Paul Finebaum Show, “I’m not a big fan of automatic qualifiers.”
That stance has held firm through months of negotiations. Even when Petitti offered to scale back the Big Ten’s push for automatic bids - including a revised 24-team model with just one guaranteed spot for a Group of 5 team - the SEC didn’t budge.
A Final Push - and Another Year of 12 Teams
Petitti tried one last time to find middle ground. As the ESPN deadline loomed, he pitched a phased expansion: three guaranteed years of a 16-team Playoff, with a promise to keep working toward a 24-team format beyond 2028. But that wasn’t enough to sway the SEC, which didn’t want to lock into a long-term plan that it didn’t fully support.
With no deal in place, the default option became the only option: sticking with 12 teams for 2026 and giving the conferences another year to hash out the future.
Interestingly, with the SEC and ACC both moving to nine-game conference schedules next season, there’s a bit more alignment across the Power 4. That could make future negotiations smoother - or at least slightly less contentious.
But for now, the Playoff stays at 12. The format continues to evolve, but the expansion that once felt inevitable is still on hold.
College football’s power brokers will keep talking. Fans, as always, will keep watching.