Washington’s place in the College Football Playoff picture could get a lot friendlier soon.
The Huskies’ on-field resume right now is a rough one. Washington is 3-3 overall, 0-3 in Big Ten play, has slipped out of the AP Top 25 after opening the season at No. 17, and no longer appears to be collecting votes. The slide has been sharp enough that the Huskies still have not topped 24 points against an FBS opponent.
But the playoff format itself may soon give Washington a much wider lane.
ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel reported that the College Football Playoff is close to a deal to expand from 12 teams to 24, with the change potentially taking effect for the 2027 season if it clears final approvals. The proposed setup could go in a couple different directions.
One version would hand out five automatic bids - one each to the Big Ten, ACC, SEC and Big 12, plus one to the highest-graded Group of Six champion. Another would use straight seeding by rankings, with 23 at-large spots and one automatic berth for the best Group of Six team.
The CFP is also working on the money side, trying to finalize agreements for ESPN to buy more games through the end of the current contract in 2031.
For Washington, the biggest takeaway is simple: a 24-team field would make the postseason path far less exclusive. Nearly every team in the AP or CFP Top 25 would be in, and that would put the Huskies in a much better position to matter in the playoff race again.
That would not be new territory for Washington, which has already reached the playoff twice. The Huskies got in during the 2016-17 season under the four-team format and again in the 2023-24 season under the 12-team setup, when they advanced all the way to the national championship game.
And under the proposed 24-team system, more recent Washington teams would have had a shot too, including the 2017-18 and 2022-23 squads.
Since moving into the Big Ten, Washington has struggled to match the league’s upper tier, including Ohio State. At the same time, Indiana, a program that has not traditionally been a power in the conference, won the national championship last season.
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