The College Football Playoff is already headed for likely expansion and retooling.
But which plan should Tennessee football fans be rooting for? And is that the same as what’s best for college football?
On this podcast episode of “The Volunteer State,” hosts Adam Sparks and Blake Toppmeyer break down the various 12-team, 14-team and 16-team playoff formats with the Vols in mind. One of them will be implemented in the 2026 season.
Sparks and Toppmeyer like the current 12-team format, but they don’t think it will last beyond the 2025 season. And they hate the idea of automatic qualifiers for the top four teams in the SEC and Big Ten.
To hear the full conversation, listen to the podcast. Here are some highlights.
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12-team playoff was awesome. Why change it?
The current 12-team format includes five conference champions and seven at-large teams. Sparks and Toppmeyer thought it worked well last season because it put stakes on so many regular-season games around the country.
Their only disagreement: Toppmeyer likes awarding byes to conference champions, but Sparks wants the highest ranked teams to get the byes.
They each have their reasons. Sparks doesn’t like that teams earning a first-round home game are bumped back into road game because lower-ranked conference champions leapfrogged them. (Notably, that’s what happened to UT last season, and Sparks covers UT.)
This 14-team playoff may not help Vols that much
One version of a proposed 14-team playoff includes five conference champions and nine at-large teams. It’s just an expanded field of what we already have, only with two teams getting byes rather than four teams.
If the playoff is going to change, Sparks is OK with this version. Toppmeyer actually prefers this 14-team format over the 12-team format because it settles the debate over who deserves the byes. In most years, the SEC and Big Ten champions would get the byes in this 14-team bracket.
UT could have a better chance of making the 14-team playoff. But Sparks thinks it doesn’t change much. A 10-2 record would still put the Vols in, but a 9-3 record would require a very strong schedule to make this field.
16-team playoff is good for Vols if making the bracket is the goal
One proposed 16-team playoff includes five conference champions and 11 at-large teams.
Sparks thinks that’s too big for college football overall, but it’s probably the best setup for UT.
Under Heupel, the Vols can consistently go between 8-4 and 10-2. And a 9-3 record likely would be good enough to make this bracket.
However, Sparks warns that UT could get complacent in this format. If it routinely made the field (and that was the goal), the Vols may not be challenged to go deeper into the bracket and contend for a national title.
Multiple automatic bids per conference is a terrible idea
There are 14-team and 16-team formats that call for conferences to get automatic qualifiers.
The top four teams in the SEC and Big Ten would get automatic bids. The top two teams in the ACC and Big 12 would get automatic bids. A Group of Five mid-major conference team would get one automatic bid. And at-large teams would fill out the bracket.
Sparks and Toppmeyer hate the idea of automatic bids beyond the conference champions.
Sparks said: “This seems whiny (from the perspective of the Big Ten and SEC). It’s like, ‘Hey, dude, if you’re good enough, you’re going to get in anyway.'”
Toppmeyer added: “Before the season is kicked off, to say that more than half the bids – 8 in a 14-team playoff – are already preassigned to conferences, that’s a joke. It’s a farce of a sport. The only thing that can ruin college football are the adults in college football.”
UT would do well in this system, especially because a Heupel-coached team can usually contend toward the top-quarter of the conference.
There’s also a plan for conferences to have CFP play-in games on the same day as the conference title games. Sparks and Toppmeyer broke down those scenarios and how they could impact the Vols.
To hear that full discussion, listen to “The Volunteer State” podcast.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Emailadam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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