CFP officially expanding to 24-team field
College football
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College football will expand its playoff to 24 teams beginning next year in a move that resets decades of tradition surrounding a once all-important regular season and dumps conference championship showdowns that used to be among the sport's marquee events.
The announcement from the College Football Playoff and ESPN on Monday made official a deal that's been in the works for months. The network reported it would pay an additional $1.7 billion over five years on top of the original $7.8 billion contract that runs through the 2031 season.
The new format will grant the Power Four conference champions automatic spots and give one more to the best team from the Group of Six. But that slot and the other 19 will be decided by a selection committee that will serve as the latest set of decision makers in college football's long history of polls and opinions having lasting impacts on teams' fates.
Beginning next year, around 30% of college football's 68 power-conference schools will have a chance to play for the title, drawing the CFP closer to the NFL, which allows 43% of its teams into the playoffs. It leaves behind the last vestiges of yesteryear, when between four and eight teams entered December with a legitimate shot to win it all.
It's a seismic shift that even ESPN conceded comes with some question marks. The network pays billions to televise regular-season games that might -- or might not -- have more meaning under the new system.
"In all honesty, it's impossible to know for sure," ESPN senior vice president Nick Dawson said in a conference call.
The revenue generated from the playoff expansion will presumably make up for the estimated $345 million the Power Four conferences generated in TV money for their title games. ESPN would then not be on the hook for $140 million of the extra money due to cancellation of the title games, the network reported.
Elsewhere:
n Georgia Tech coach Brent Key fired four assistant coaches after the Yellow Jackets' fourth consecutive loss left the team in last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference and assured of its first losing season since 2022. Key expressed his frustrations following an ugly 44-17 home loss to Louisville on Saturday that left Georgia Tech at 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the ACC. Defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Jason Semore, offensive line coach Allen Mogridge, outside linebackers/defensive ends coach Kyle Pope and wide receivers coach Jafar Williams were fired. Defensive backs coach Vinnie Sunseri will take over defensive play-calling duties.
n The Penn State football game at home against Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 21, will kick off at 3:30 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.
n The Army-Navy football game will be played a week earlier starting next year to avoid conflicts with the expanded College Football Playoff. The change was announced Monday after the playoff said it would double from 12 to 24 teams. The 128th Army-Navy game is set for Dec. 4, 2027, in Philadelphia. The first-ever game was played in 1890.
n Ohio State fired special teams coach Robby Discher Monday, marking the first time in Ryan Day's eight years as head coach that he's fired an assistant during the season. Discher, whose firing was announced Monday, lasted less than a season after being hired from Illinois. Special teams have been an issue in all three of the Buckeyes' losses this season. The breaking point came in Saturday's 41-28 loss to Oregon, when the Ducks ran a successful fake punt to turn the game around. Ohio State would owe Discher more than $500,000 per the terms of his contract.