The college football world just got turned completely upside down, and honestly, I\’m here for all the chaos. The Big Ten is exploring a massive College Football Playoff expansion to 24 or 28 teams that would also eliminate conference championship games, and before you start screaming about tradition or whatever, hear me out on why this could be the best thing to happen to college football since the forward pass became legal.

Look, I get it. Change is scary. But sometimes you gotta blow things up to make them better, and that\’s exactly what the Big Ten is proposing here. This isn\’t just about adding more teams to make more money (although there\’s definitely gonna be more money). This is about finally giving college football the postseason tournament it deserves.

The Numbers Don\’t Lie About College Football Playoff Success

Let\’s talk facts for a second because this isn\’t just some random idea the Big Ten cooked up during a boring Tuesday meeting. The 12-team format we just witnessed proved that more teams equals more eyeballs, more drama, and more money for everyone involved. Despite all the crying about watering down the regular season, the expanded playoff actually made everything more exciting.

Disney\’s TV networks are absolutely crushing it with the current expanded format. When ESPN is making bank, that money flows down to conferences, schools, and creates better experiences for fans. Over 25 million viewers tuned into the college football national championship in 2024, and that\’s with just 12 teams competing.

Now imagine the absolute insanity of first-round matchups between teams that have never played each other in meaningful games. We\’re talking about potential dream scenarios that would make March Madness look boring by comparison.

Here\’s The Twist Nobody Saw Coming

But here\’s where things get really wild. The Big Ten\’s proposal for a 24 or 28-team College Football Playoff completely eliminates conference title games.

Think about that for a hot minute. No more conference championship weekend. No more watching teams get completely screwed over for making it to their conference title game only to lose and drop out of playoff contention entirely. Instead of those high-stakes weekend games that sometimes punish teams for being good enough to get there, we jump straight into a massive tournament where regular season records and strength of schedule actually matter.

This isn\’t just expansion, it\’s basically telling the current system to take a hike. The Big Ten looked at how college football postseason works and said \”you know what, let\’s throw out the whole playbook and start fresh.\” That\’s exactly the kind of bold thinking this sport desperately needs.

The current conference championship format is broken anyway. How many times have we seen a team dominate all season, lose their conference title game, and suddenly they\’re on the outside looking in? Or worse, a two-loss team wins their conference championship and jumps ahead of undefeated teams from other conferences. It\’s madness, and not the good kind.

---

Ready to make some money while this chaos unfolds? Before we dive deeper into why this expansion is going to be incredible, let me tell you about Underdog Fantasy. These guys are offering something absolutely ridiculous right now. Use the code HMM and you\’ll get $50 just for playing $5. That\’s literally free money before you even pick a single player. Plus, they\’re throwing in a free 0.5 pick to get you started. With college football about to get way more unpredictable with playoff expansion talks, now\’s the perfect time to get in on some action. Don\’t sleep on this one.

---

Why 28 Teams Would Actually Be Amazing

Alright, I know what you\’re thinking. \”More teams just means more blowouts and less competitive games.\” But you\’re completely wrong, and here\’s why this expansion would be absolutely phenomenal for college football fans everywhere.

First off, let\’s be real about parity in championship winners. That\’s probably not changing much. Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, and the usual suspects are still going to have massive advantages in recruiting, coaching, and resources. The rich will probably keep getting richer at the very top.

But here\’s what you\’re missing completely: the journey becomes way more entertaining for everyone else.

With 28 teams, we get matchups we\’ve literally never seen before. Think about it seriously for a second. Right now, a team like Boise State might get one shot at a big-name program in a New Year\’s Six bowl if they\’re incredibly lucky. With this format, we could see Boise State taking on Michigan in the first round. App State versus USC. Cincinnati going head to head with Texas.

These aren\’t just games, they\’re appointment television that would absolutely break the internet every single weekend of the playoffs. Can you imagine the social media explosion when some Group of Five school knocks off a traditional powerhouse in the first round?

The Math Makes Perfect Sense for Everyone

The viewership numbers are absolutely insane right now. Over 154 billion minutes of college football watched live this season across Disney, FOX, NBC and other networks shows that fans have an completely insatiable appetite for more meaningful college football games. The current system leaves so many incredible stories on the table.

With 28 teams, you\’re looking at multiple weeks of must-watch television every single weekend. First round gives you 14 games of pure, unfiltered chaos. Second round narrows it down to 14 teams competing in 7 games that would all feel like conference championship games. Then you get into more traditional bracket play from there.

That\’s potentially 27 total games instead of the current format\’s limited slate. The television revenue alone would be absolutely astronomical. But more importantly for fans like us, it means more meaningful games between teams that would never otherwise play each other during the regular season.

Think about all the \”what if\” matchups we argue about in bars and on Twitter. This format would actually answer those questions on the field instead of leaving them as hypothetical debates forever.

Regional Rivalries Would Get Absolutely Insane

One thing people aren\’t talking about nearly enough is how this format would create instant regional rivalries and storylines that would dominate sports talk for months. With 28 teams, you\’re guaranteed to have multiple representatives from every major region of the country competing at the same time.

Picture this scenario: First round features three Big Ten teams, four SEC teams, three Big 12 teams, four ACC teams, and a solid mix of Group of Five champions and at-large bids. Now you\’ve got conference pride on the line in ways that go way beyond just one team representing your entire league.

The storylines would absolutely write themselves. Regional supremacy battles that actually matter. Group of Five giant-killers getting multiple real chances to prove themselves against the big boys. Traditional powers facing off way earlier than ever before in games that could eliminate blue blood programs in round one.

It\’s like taking the best parts of March Madness and combining them with all the pageantry and passion that makes college football special. Every weekend would feel like the most important weekend of the season.

The Group of Five Finally Gets Real Respect

Right now, undefeated Group of Five teams get relegated to New Year\’s Six bowls that feel more like consolation prizes than real opportunities to prove anything. Everyone knows those games don\’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. It\’s like getting invited to the party but being told you have to sit at the kids\’ table.

With 28 teams, suddenly that undefeated MAC champion or that one-loss Mountain West school gets a completely legitimate shot to make some serious noise on the biggest stage in college football. They\’re not just getting a participation trophy anymore.

This doesn\’t just create better television programming, it creates hope for entire regions and fanbases that have been systematically excluded from the sport\’s biggest moments for decades. That Houston team that went undefeated a few years back? They would get to prove it against a traditional power in the first round instead of getting stuck playing another Group of Five team in what basically amounts to college football purgatory.

Imagine the ratings when some undefeated Group of Five team is going toe-to-toe with Alabama or Ohio State in a win-or-go-home playoff game. The entire country would be watching and rooting for the underdog story.

Your Move, College Football

So here\’s my question for everyone reading this: Are you team 28-team chaos or are you clinging to the \”traditional\” 12-team format that we\’ve had for exactly one whole season?

Personally, I think the Big Ten is being absolutely visionary here. More meaningful games that actually matter, more compelling storylines that keep people watching, more opportunities for massive upsets that nobody sees coming, and way more television content that people actually care about watching.

The big programs at the top might still dominate the championship conversation when everything shakes out, but the journey to get there becomes infinitely more entertaining for literally everyone else involved. And isn\’t that what sports should be about?

The sport is changing whether we like it or not anyway. NIL deals, transfer portal madness, conference realignment chaos. College football in 2025 looks absolutely nothing like it did five years ago. Why not embrace a postseason format that actually matches the controlled chaos that the regular season has become?

We\’re already living in the wild west of college football. Might as well make the playoffs as exciting as the rest of the season has become.

Join The Conversation and Stay Ahead

What do you think about this potential 28-team expansion? Are you ready for college football to go full March Madness mode, or do you think this is way too much of a good thing?

Want to stay ahead of all the college football chaos and never miss out on deals and promos like the Underdog Fantasy offer? Join my Discord community where we break down all the latest news, betting opportunities, and hot takes before they hit mainstream sports media. Plus, subscribe to get articles like this sent directly to your email so you\’re always in the loop when major stories break and you can take advantage of the best deals.

The college football landscape is changing faster than anyone expected, and this Big Ten proposal might just be the beginning of even bigger changes coming. Make sure you don\’t get left behind when the next big story drops.

Oh, and one more thing that you definitely need to check out. I broke down even more details about this potential expansion and what it could mean for your favorite team in my latest video. Check it out to get the full picture of how this could completely reshape college football as we know it forever.

——————————–> JOIN OUR FREE DISCORD SERVER <———————————-