The 24 team playoff might be good for Notre Dame, but it’s bad for college football

“Notre Dame was a CFP worthy team this year. They just were.”

Notes Notre Dame’s exclusion from the CFP last year is part of the reason why the ACC supports the expansion to a 24-team field.

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson\_) May 13, 2026 While Phillips isn’t entirely wrong, it’s a bit ironic given the events that played out on social media and the mainstream media involving Notre Dame and Miami — and more importantly the lack of noise against Alabama. Jim was perfectly happy with Notre Dame’s snub in December, but now he wants an expansion to correct it. Which is obvious BS. The ACC couldn’t even get their champion into the playoff which was embarrassing enough, but only getting one team in the postseason tournament was even more embarrassing for a conference trying to compete with the SEC and Big 10. And now, things have gotten bad enough that Notre Dame athletic director, Pete Bevacqua is on board with a 24 team format as the best solution. Notre Dame wants a 24-team College Football Playoff. At ACC spring meetings, I asked athletic director Pete Bevacqua to explain why.

“I think 24 is not the only solution, but I think it's the best solution.”

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson\_) May 13, 2026 Bevacqua brings up a number of points that suggest a 24 team format would benefit Notre Dame such as:

• It would help bring back the Notre Dame vs USC rivalry longterm.
• Power 4 teams would be more likely to schedule Notre Dame with there now being more relaxed requirements for the playoff field (talking about overall records).
• That the importance of the regular season would remain intact.
• It strengthens Notre Dame’s position as an independent. So… he’s not wrong — not exactly. No, just about every point he makes does sound like a win or an advantage or at least helpful to Notre Dame. Sure, it all sounds good for Notre Dame, but is he running with blinders on? As we have continually seen over the years — the record is all that really matters. The CFP committee can talk all they want about the different variables, but it really has just boiled down to the record. So, even in an expanded world, who’s to say programs won’t just keep doing what they have been leaning towards lately — scheduling the weakest out of conference slate imaginable. There’s no inherent incentive to play those “more better games” that we have continually heard about since the move away from the 4 team format. And from a competitive advantage standpoint, the 24 team format lessens the power Notre Dame has in recruiting and the transfer portal. Currently they can show they are one of a handful of programs that can annually be in position for the current format — and that’s real leverage. Move it to 24 teams and now you have 36 programs that can be more inspired on those fronts (if only with their own statements). While Bevacqua’s claim can be sold, they don’t guarantee anything. As far as the whole of CFB is concerned, however, I feel like it could be a Pandora’s Box for the entire sport. I’m 47 years old, and the college football I grew up on, lived, breathed, and loved with all of my heart was majorly influenced by the controversy and the stakes. The more we lessen those things, the more we lose what has made college football unique and great. That fear was very nicely described in a recent column by Ari Wasserman.

CFP snubs are essential for the health of college football’s regular season. Removing snubs is the worst reason for expanding to 24.

Column:

— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) May 13, 2026 And that’s really it — I don’t believe for one moment that the 24 team format will do much to improve college football. It may help Notre Dame is some ways, but the overall sport will essentially be diluted into a tea we have never drank before. Even major CFP partner, ESPN, is opposed to anything more than 16 teams which feels like an indicator for what the overall value will eventually be (less than what it’s being made out to be). In all honesty, a 24 team format is more than likely to happen in the future. Only then, will I know if I’m right or wrong. Only then, will I know how great or terrible the regular season will become. It feel like a big gamble, and it’s a gamble the major power players are ready to make.