College football’s playoff expansion could reshape the sport’s middle class, but for UConn, the path to 24-team relevance still looks narrow.
The College Football Playoff and ESPN have reached the framework of an agreement that would expand the postseason from 12 teams to 24 beginning in 2027, according to reports from The Athletic and ESPN. The deal would give ESPN the playoff rights for a $345 million fee per year, on top of the $1.3 billion average it is already contracted to pay for the next six seasons, The Athletic reported. Under the reported agreement, conference championship games would be eliminated, creating room on the calendar for the added playoff games.
The new structure would hand the first five playoff spots to the champions from the Power Four conferences - the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12 and Southeastern Conference - plus the top-ranked Group of Six champion, as determined by the CFP committee. That would leave 19 at-large berths.
For UConn, though, the big-picture change does not suddenly open the playoff door wide.
As an independent in football, UConn is not part of the Group of Six conferences, though it is grouped with them for bowl purposes. A standout Huskies team could still be considered by the College Football Playoff committee, but without a conference title in hand, that would be a long shot. And with Power Four teams playing fewer nonconference games, UConn may have a harder time putting together the kind of schedule that turns heads in an at-large discussion.
That issue is not unique to UConn. It applies to Group of Six programs that do not finish at the top of their conference pecking order, too.
There is also the matter of what expansion could mean beyond the playoff itself. With 12 teams moving out of the bowl picture, some of the smaller postseason games may not survive.
This winter, there are 35 bowl games on the schedule, along with 11 playoff games. If six bowl games disappear, that would mean six fewer chances for UConn and the Group of Six to land a postseason berth.
UConn’s bowl history has been short but memorable since the program moved to the FBS level in 1979. The Huskies are 4-5 all-time in bowl games and, under first-year head coach Jason Candle, will be trying to reach another one this season and pull that record back to .500.
The biggest bowl in school history came after the 2010 season, when UConn reached the Fiesta Bowl before falling to Oklahoma, 48-20.
Here is the Huskies’ bowl track record since the program moved to the FBS level:
2007: Meineke Car Care Bowl, Charlotte, N.C.
Wake Forest 24, UConn 10
Final record: 9-4 (Edsall)
2008: International Bowl, Toronto
UConn 38, Buffalo 20
Final record: 8-5 (Edsall)
2009: PapaJohns.com Bowl, Birmingham, Ala.
UConn 20, South Carolina 7
Final record: 8-5 (Edsall)
2010: Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz.
Oklahoma 48, UConn 20
Final record: 8-5 (Edsall)
2015: St. Petersburg Bowl, St.
Petersburg, Fla.
Marshall 16, UConn 10
Final record: 6-7 (Bob Diaco, head coach)
2022: Myrtle Beach Bowl, Conway, S.C.
Marshall 28, UConn 14
Final record: 6-7 (Jim Mora, head coach)
2024: Fenway Bowl, Boston
UConn 27, North Carolina 14
Final record: 9-4 (Mora)
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