Kirk Ferentz didn’t dance around the College Football Playoff expansion debate at Big Ten Media Days. He went straight at it, and his answer was clear: he’s in favor of going bigger, and 24 teams is on the table for him.
That kind of directness stands out because Ferentz is usually the steady, measured voice in the room. This time, though, he made his position plain when asked about where the playoff should go next.
"I'll go back from when they went from two to four. My feeling then was if you go to four, you may as well go bigger number at that stage.
To me just having two teams play for it, there were some subjectivity there obviously. Revenue opportunity, all that stuff that comes with Playoffs," Ferentz said when asked about expansion.
He didn’t stop there. Ferentz doubled down on the idea that a larger field makes sense, and he specifically said he is in favor of 24 teams.
"My attitude is, if we're going to go to two to four, I'd go bigger. 16 or 24, I'm in favor of 24 certainly. The other part of our story is our focus needs to be on some other issues that are bigger to college football right now than the Playoff discussion.
Totally in favor of 24, to answer the question. I think itbenefits everybody, not just a school like ours," Ferentz said, proclaiming his stance in favor of 24 teams.
For Iowa, the appeal is obvious. A 24-team playoff would change the Hawkeyes’ outlook in a major way, turning them from a team that has hovered near the edge into one that would likely be in the field more often than not.
It would also keep more fans locked in through the regular season. A 9-3 record from a Power Conference team would carry real weight. There’s the added revenue, too, along with the possibility of another game at Kinnick Stadium.
But the broader college football picture is where the debate gets messy. A 24-team playoff would almost certainly change the meaning of bowl season. Opt-outs would likely rise, roster movement would make it harder for teams to commit, and some of the pageantry that defines the sport would take a hit.
There isn’t a clean answer here. Iowa happens to be one of the few programs that can make a case on both sides.
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