It took one week to turn everyone against the 24-team College Football Playoff

The College Football Playoff is expected to expand from 12 teams to 24 teams next season, per ESPN's Pete Thamel. Such changes would dramatically reshape the conversations around the postseason field — and potentially deflate the regular season product, if this week's matchups are any indication.

We know the SEC is strongly in favor of expanding to a 24-team field. The Big Ten and other Power Five conferences would probably welcome an opportunity to sneak more teams into the final fray. That said, when No. 1 Georgia, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas all lose on a single Saturday, it's hard not to fixate on the downside of such a setup.

A 24-team College Football Playoff removes regular season stakes for powerhouse programs

Saturday was unkind to several ranked teams across the country, especially in the SEC; Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Missouri and LSU, all ranked top 25 in the AP poll, were defeated. In other major news, No. 5 Indiana lost to No. 4 Ohio State in heartbreaking fashion, ending the Hoosiers' remarkable 22-game win streak under Curt Cignetti.

All of this all dramatically ripe with a 12-team playoff format.

Georgia is safe for now, but Texas has lost two straight to unranked opponents, putting their postseason hopes in severe jeopardy. The Missouri Tigers, right on the postseason bubble as it were, missed a golden opportunity to dethrone Heisman candidate Trinidad Chambliss and No. 9 Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide also lost for a second straight week; Tennessee will now surely leapfrog the Tide in the AP rankings, while Kalen DeBoer's reputation in Tuscaloosa has transitioned from "we're starting to like this guy" to "every emergency alarm in the county is on full blast" in a matter of days.

There's a real chance Texas and Alabama miss the postseason. There is much football to be played, and the CFP committee already favors the SEC and its "strength of schedule" more than it probably should. But the Longhorns are in free fall and the Tide are more vulnerable than previously imagined, despite such a promising start to the campaign.

Take, then, Indiana. The Hoosiers were understandably ranked high to begin the year after their championship run, but 2026 Indiana does not have the talent (nor the quarterback) of 2025 Indiana. After a near-miss against No. 25 Northwestern in Week 4, the Hoosiers failed their first real test of the season on Saturday with a 19-15 loss to Ohio State. Better yet, Indiana had a chance to win the game in the final minutes, but star wideout Nick Marsh stepped out of bounds on a wide-open catch in the end zone.

Indiana now has a comically poor résumé for a so-called contender, with only one ranked opponent (No. 19 USC) left on their regular season schedule. The Hoosiers basically need to bat 1.000 the rest of the way to guarantee a spot in the 12-team playoff. In a 24-team playoff, the Hoosiers could practically write this off as a missed opportunity to cruise to the finish line, with a chance to avenge their loss to Ohio State as, like, the No. 15 seed, even if the USC matchup also gets away from them.

College football fans are crashing out (understandably) over 24-team playoff

One can't help but appreciate the drama of this week in college football. Gunnar Stockton fumbled in the final seconds and handed UGA its worse loss in decades. The Hoosiers were a toe tap away from a potential No. 1 ranking, and now must fight for their postseason lives the rest of the way. Alabama is not a program used to back-to-back losses, much less fretting over a playoff spot (although that feeling of anxiety has become a bit too common in the DeBoer era). This Texas meltdown could be the nail in Steve Sarkisian's coffin and a stain on Arch Manning's legacy.

Now, imagine this week happening in a world with a 24-team playoff format. Texas fans would be down in the dumps, no doubt, but the Longhorns would still be comfortably in the playoffs with ample opportunity to salvage a wayward campaign. Same for the Tide. Indiana wouldn't be the least bit panicked right now. A four-point loss to a very good Ohio State team is much easier to stomach when strength of record doesn't really matter — not for a Big Ten powerhouse with their bona fides.

All the air escapes the proverbial football; none of these upsets mean anything if 24 teams are guaranteed a spot in the big dance. Ultimately, that format is designed with the SEC and Big Ten in mind, allowing uber-talented and uber-expensive rosters room to stumble and fall against challenging conference schedules. It will not reward upstart mid-majors or lesser Power Five schools outperforming expectations. It will reward the underperforming blue bloods, allowing them to write off back-breaking losses as a mere step on the journey.

College football is making this change for monetary reasons, not product reasons. The fans will lose out on high-stakes football so the suits can stuff their pockets. That is a shame, and this week is a perfect example of why it's such a shame.

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