College football could be going through another major transformation in the near future with rumors of a potential expansion to a 24-team field. The campaign is actively being pushed by ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips and Big 12 Commissioner Brett York along with support from the Big Ten.
Many have spoken out against the idea including College Gameday host Reece Davis who blasted the idea during an appearance on “The Next Round Live. Rather than jumping up from 12 to 24 teams, Davis believe that the sweet spot would be a 16 team playoff.
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He also believes the true fix to the postseason would be to simply add an extra round of games to be hosted on campuses.
“I think 24 is preposterous, and 16 is bordering on it. I wish they would leave it at 12 and do an extra round of games on campus,” Davis said. “Right now, the struggle is largely due to business and control, and it’s not necessarily for the good of the game. And the coaches who are getting behind this … think it’s going to save their jobs. It’s not… Making the Playoff, sooner or later will be like in the NFL. NFL coaches, NBA coaches get fired all the time for (just) making the playoffs and not advancing as fas as the leadership thinks they should. And that’s going to happen too.”
“I think 24 is preposterous and 16 is bordering on it.” – @ReceDavis on College Football Playoff expansion pic.twitter.com/wZKTuEy7Nt
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) May 15, 2026
Expanding the playoff will not only impact the coaching landscape but will also continue to diminish the regular season matchups especially rivalry games like The Iron Bowl.
Another major criticism of the potential ruling would also be the impact on the college football calendar. In its current format, coaches and players are put in a bind as the transfer portal window opens just ahead of postseason preparation with early signing day kicking off in the middle of the season as well.
Perhaps the shining example of the calendar problems occurred this past season when Lane Kiffin opted to leave Ole Miss just before the College Football Playoff to join LSU.
The championship being held in late January also poses an issue of media relevancy, as well as player health.
“Playing on January 25th is entirely too late… we need to get a handle on the calendar and the framework and move from there,” Davis said.
No matter what level of pushback college football receives from the media, money has always shown to prevail in such scenarios which indicates change on the horizon.
Patrick Dowd is a contributor for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
