The College Football Playoff is expanding to 24 teams next season, and while the move is deeply unpopular with fans, the powers in the sport are forging forward with it anyway.
As the race for the final edition of the 12-team CFP heats up with another batch of rankings dropping this week, it’s interesting to look at what this field would look like a year from now. Who would have byes, who would be headed where in the first round and so on.
On3 published a graphic of what it would look like if the playoff started this week with 24 teams, and admittedly, it is pretty intriguing.
NEW: Hypothetical 24-team College Football Playoff bracket based on the 2027 expansion👀https://t.co/BNkzErS7GB https://t.co/ugKK2eqLPM pic.twitter.com/oJvaDQhnYU
— On3 (@On3) November 11, 2026
Alabama, who is currently seeded No. 3, would have a first round bye before hosting the winner between No. 19 Ole Miss and No. 14 Houston at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Meanwhile, No. 21 LSU would have to travel to No. 12 Texas Tech for the right to earn a road game against No. 5 Notre Dame.
No. 8 Tennessee and Neyland Stadium would await the winner of No. 9 Indiana and No. 24 Boise State, while the bottom of the bracket sees No. 6 Texas guaranteed to face an SEC team in Austin the second round between No. 21 Missouri and No. 11 Kentucky.
Unquestionably, there will be some lopsided results, not to mention lower stakes in the regular season, but it would be tough not to be excited about an event like this. Change is inevitable in this sport, and it remains to be seen what that change actually looks like in practice.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
