Thursday’s reports around a possible 24-team College Football Playoff pointed to a setup that would reshape the postseason again, even though nothing has been finalized, approved or voted on yet. Still, when the sport’s biggest national voices are all pushing the same direction, it usually means a change is closing in.
The bigger issue, as framed by the reporting, is what this expansion would actually be for. It is not being sold as a broadening of access for everyone. Instead, the thinking is that this is about money - with ESPN specifically in the middle of it - and about stacking the bracket with as many Big Ten and SEC teams as possible.
That matters because the structure being discussed does not sound like a clean, everyone-gets-a-shot setup. There has been no indication that automatic bids would work like they do in the NCAA Tournament, where every conference champion gets in. The expectation is that there would still be only one guaranteed Group of Six spot.
And if anyone is expecting the committee to start handing out extra openings to a second Group of Six team ahead of a middling Power Four squad, the message from the source reporting is clear: that is not the direction this is headed.
This is not about putting 12-1 James Madison, 12-1 Boise State or 12-1 Memphis into the field.
It is about getting 8-4 Iowa and 8-4 Auburn in.
The ripple effect is bigger than just the numbers. A 24-team bracket would also drain more meaning from simply making the playoff.
First it was a special accomplishment when only four teams got in. Even a 12-team field still carried the feel of an elite club.
At 24, a team could drop four games and still be alive.
That point becomes even clearer in the example raised in the reporting: if 4-2 LSU loses to Mississippi State this weekend, that ought to end LSU’s playoff hopes. Under a 24-team format, LSU could take that loss, drop another game, and still have a path.
There is also the matter of how the schedule itself could change. The proposal being reported includes a requirement that each Power Four team play 10 games against Power Four opponents.
Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! reported that there is debate over what Washington State and Oregon State would be considered in that framework.
For the Pac-12, the damage is not immediate on the surface. At least not until a strong Pac-12 team is passed over in favor of a weaker Power Four school.
But this still feels like another step toward Big Ten and SEC control of the sport. The direction of travel is obvious: keep squeezing everyone else out, then move toward a Power Four or Power Two playoff where the Group of Six is pushed aside entirely. In that picture, ESPN is right there helping drive the machine, and the bottom line keeps getting bigger.
In Other News...
BYU Fans Had Provo Buzzing Before This Huge Cougars Showdown
ESPNs College GameDay turned Provo into the center of the college football world Saturday morning, with a top-10 showdown between BYU and Notre Dame setting the stage for a loud, colorful buildup. The broadcast drew out creative signs from both fanbases, with BYU supporters leaning into the moment and Notre Dame fans answering back as the crowd filled in around one of the biggest games in town in years.
The scene had the easy energy of a big-stage college atmosphere, part celebration and part taunt, with references to past games and plenty of playful back-and-forth across enemy lines. For Washington State fans watching from a distance, it was another reminder of how quickly the Cougars old conference footprint can still generate national buzz when the right matchup and the right crowd collide. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon State Faces A Trap Game Fans Can't Afford To Ignore
Oregon State is bracing for a game it cannot treat lightly, and the focus has quickly turned to Washington States young quarterback situation. Coach Shephard has stressed the need for intensity, a fair warning for a Cougars team that has shown enough in spots to make trouble despite the record next to its name. At the center of it all is Owen Eshelman, a redshirt freshman whose high school rsum suggested real upside, even if the early scouting report also comes with the kind of turnover concern that can swing a game in a hurry.
For Washington State, the challenge is as much about proving it can carry over the better parts of its play as it is about changing the conversation around a difficult season. The Cougars are trying to turn those flashes into something sturdier, and the matchup offers another chance to show they can make an opponent uncomfortable for four quarters. Oregon State knows the danger, and Washington State still has enough pieces to make this one feel a lot less predictable than the records suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Just Got Exposed By A Problem Fans Feared
Oregon State found a familiar sore spot for Washington State and kept leaning on it until the Beavers were in control. Sophomore transfer quarterback Braden Atkinson, who came over from Oregon State? completed 23 of 38 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover, continuing a season that has quietly surged to 2,604 yards and 24 scores against just two interceptions. The Beavers got efficiency through the air, and they got it at the right time, when Washington State needed a stop and could not find one.
The bigger dagger came from senior running back transfer AJ Newberry, who turned in the best game of his career with 225 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. His 88-yard run was the kind of burst that changes the feel of a game in a snap, and it only sharpened the concern for a Washington State defense that has too often looked vulnerable when opponents find space. For a fan base already worried about that flaw, this was the sort of performance that makes the fear feel a lot more real. [Read more 🡒]