The College Football Playoff is headed for another big jump, and if the latest reporting holds, Ohio State would be right in the thick of it again.
ESPN reported that the CFP is nearing a deal to expand to 24 teams in time for the 2027 season. The network is also finalizing an agreement to buy the additional games, which would give ESPN broadcasting rights to the playoff through the 2031 season.
Under the 24-team setup, the bracket would be built around 19 at-large bids and five automatic bids. Those automatic spots would go to the Power Four champions and a Group of Six champion, according to a report from On3. Conference championship games would be eliminated in that format.
For the Buckeyes, the structure would create a path that starts with a bye and a home game. The top eight seeds would skip the first round, while No. 9 through No. 16 would host on campus.
If last year’s second-to-last CFP rankings had been used, Ohio State would have been the No. 1 seed and would have opened the bracket with a second-round home game against the winner of Virginia and USC. The other teams with byes would have been Indiana, Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.
The playoff has already gone through two major eras. College football moved from the Bowl Championship Series to a four-team playoff before the 2014 season, and Ohio State became the first team to win a CFP title.
The format then expanded to 12 teams ahead of the 2024 season, with the Buckeyes again the first team to win under that setup. Indiana won the CFP title last year.
In the 24-team model, the eight teams with byes would host second-round games on campus. From there, the New Year’s Six bowls would continue to handle the quarterfinals and semifinals, with the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl all part of that stage of the bracket.
In Other News...
Ohio State Gets Pulled Into A High-Stakes Fight Over Eligibility
The eligibility fight surrounding fifth-year athletes in Ohio has now spilled into federal court, with the NCAA suing Gov. Mike DeWine over the executive order that lets state universities challenge the associations ruling. For Ohio State and the rest of the states Division I programs, the issue is more than paperwork. It goes straight to how coaches build rosters, manage scholarship spots and weigh whether a veteran player can give them one more season.
The NCAA argues the order violates the Commerce Clause and the First Amendment by giving Ohio schools an unfair edge and allowing them to sidestep NCAA rules. Ohios Division I programs reportedly support the directive, and coaches have said they will make decisions based on what helps the team most. For a Buckeyes program always balancing immediate ambitions against long-term roster planning, the legal standoff adds another layer of uncertainty to an already delicate eligibility question. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Faces Two Pressing Questions In Huge Indiana Test
Jeremiah Smith has become one of the most important pieces in Ohio States offense, and his involvement figures to be a major storyline in Bloomington. The Buckeyes have been looking for ways to keep their passing game balanced and dangerous, and getting Smith the ball is part of that equation as they head into a matchup that carries real weight after last seasons Big Ten title game loss to Indiana.
Julian Sayins protection will matter just as much, because Indiana can make life uncomfortable if Ohio State lets pressure reach the quarterback too often. On the other side of the ball, the Buckeyes also need to close quickly on Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover and create enough disruption to tilt the game their way, with this trip offering both a chance at revenge and a test of whether Ohio State can handle the kind of pressure that usually decides big conference games. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Has A Chance To Shake Up The Big Ten Race
The Big Ten race is tightening at exactly the moment Ohio State would prefer some breathing room, and Indiana suddenly has a chance to make the leagues path a lot more complicated. The weekend slate comes with plenty of moving parts, from quarterback uncertainty elsewhere in the national picture to Ohio States own offensive line questions, but the Hoosiers are now positioned as one of the teams that could force the conversation to shift in a hurry.
For Buckeyes fans, that makes this a scoreboard-watching weekend as much as anything else. Alongside the predictions for the games themselves, the broadcasts are also expected to stir up talk about a possible 24-team College Football Playoff expansion, adding another layer to a week already loaded with speculation. If Indiana does its part, Ohio State may find the margin for error in the conference race getting thinner than it already is. [Read more 🡒]