Who wants a 14- or 16-team CFP when you could have a 24- or 28-team CFP?
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Big Ten has considered a massive College Football Playoff expansion that would increase the postseason tournament from 12 teams to either 24 or 28 teams. While the idea is still “in the very early stages,” Thamel said, the proposal would eliminate conference title games and offer a significant number of automatic bids for Power Four leagues.
Sources: The Big Ten has begun populating an expanded College Football Playoff idea, which could include 24 or 28 teams. Just an idea at this point. pic.twitter.com/0NlTQ1BN8F
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 16, 2025
Sources told Thamel on Saturday that the Big Ten’s 28-team model features seven automatic bids for the Big Ten and SEC, while the ACC and Big 12 would each receive five. There would also be two automatic bids for Group of Five teams and two for at-large teams.
In the 12-team CFP model, there are four playoff games on college campuses. That number would increase to 20 in the 28-team model. The CFP committee would seed the field and select at-large bids, determining which teams have the honor of hosting a CFP first-round game — and potentially a CFP second-round game — in their home stadium.
According to Thamel, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti shared the 24- and 28-team models with the conference on Wednesday. League officials then began floating the idea around to others outside the league.
While the Big Ten is now steering the conversation toward a 24- or 28-team CFP, other conferences have backed different approaches for a 16-team playoff. The SEC supports a 4-4-2-2-1-3 model, while the Big 12 and ACC favor a 5-11 model. Those competing visions underline how far the sport still has to go before a new playoff format is agreed upon.
