Kirk Herbstreit Sounds Off on New 24-Team College Football Playoff Model

The College Football Playoff could move from a 12-team format to a 24-team format, which has quickly become a heavily debated topic regarding how it might help or hurt college football.

ESPN's Pete Thamel and Heather Dinich reported on Thursday that a deal is expected to "come together in the near future" for the expansion, with the change potentially beginning in 2027. College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who regularly appears on ESPN broadcasts, including "College GameDay," was among those who expressed concern about the upcoming change.

"My fear through all this debate about 12 or 16 or 24 or whatever, is will we lose that? Will we lose the importance of big games?" Herbstreit asked on ESPN's "Get Up."

He said he hoped there is a stipulation "that mandates big-time scheduling in the first four weeks before you get into conference play," later adding, "We gotta have better non-conference games.

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"Now that you know you can get to 24, your [expletive] better be playing real games against real teams to give fans and players games to get excited about. The idea of going the Indiana way or some of these teams that play nobody in the non-conference has got to be over," he said.

"If you're gonna go to 24, we've all gotta accept it, whether [expletive] or complain. It is what it is," Herbstreit said, "but the scheduling has got to match this decision, and the scheduling has to go way up for a lot of teams, and I'd love to see a national office to do all the scheduling to keep it balanced and keep it fair."

The ESPN star called for coaches and athletic directors to step things up when scheduling games for September to make the expansion work out in favor of everyone, including fans who want to see entertaining games.

In 2024, the College Football Playoff expanded from four teams to 12, and last season offered examples of issues that could become more glaring upon expanding to 24 teams. The 2025-26 CFP featured controversy surrounding two Group of Five teams that made the bracket: No. 11 seed Tulane and No. 12 seed James Madison.

Some fans argued that higher-ranked powerhouse teams would've been better in those spots, including Notre Dame, which some felt was a major snub. Tulane and James Madison both lost by double digits, ending their CFP runs.

For Herbstreit, the biggest issue is his concern that expanding the field could further reduce the incentive for teams to schedule challenging opponents before they open conference play.

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