What will the College Football Playoff look like in 2026, when the new contract kicks in?
Urban Meyer has been presented with one potential option currently being discussed, and he thinks it’s a winner.
“This is the 4-4-2-2-1-1-1 format: Four teams from the SEC, four from the Big Ten, two from the Big 12, two from the ACC, and one independent team representing the lower conferences,” Meyer explained during this week’s episode of The Triple Option. “There’s no longer a selection committee. It’s an access-oriented system, and I’m all in favor of it.”
So how would this proposal select teams? For the SEC and Big Ten, the two teams that meet in their conference championship game would earn automatic berths into the 14-team playoff field. On the same weekend, during the conference championship games, the third-ranked team in each conference would host the sixth-ranked team, and the fourth-ranked team would host the fifth-ranked team. The winners of those games would also secure a spot in the playoff.
“That means that, as you look at it, 40 to 50 teams will still be in the hunt during championship week, as opposed to the 15 to 18 teams that are typically in it now,” Meyer added.
Not everyone agrees with this format.
“What about the ACC? What about the Big 12?” asked Rob Stone. “They’re still kind of handcuffed, right? They’re limited by those two automatic bids. This doesn’t help their cause if they have a breakout season. I know the ACC is better than what we’ve seen, and the Big 12 is on the rise. There will be years when those conferences deserve three spots, maybe even four.”
One thing is clear: this format will continue to be debated throughout the 2025 season, and it could very well be the final year we see the 12-team playoff in its current format.
In addition to discussing the College Football Playoff, West Alabama head coach and former strength and conditioning coach at Alabama, LSU, and Georgia, Scott Cochran, joined the guys to share his redemption story—battling addiction and making his return to the sidelines.
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