Nick Saban is making his displeasure with the proposed College Football Playoff expansion abundantly clear. After criticizing the 24-team format Friday on The Pat McAfee Show, the former Alabama coach doubled down on his comments during College GameDay.
The campaign from Saban comes after news this week of the 24-team format being finalized for the 2027 season and beyond. It's been a 12-team playoff since 2024, and it was just four teams for the first 10 years of the CFP.
"There's not 24 teams in the country that deserve to be in the playoffs," Saban said on GameDay. "There were 12 teams last year. There were a couple of teams that got in that probably shouldn't have. I don't think there's 24 teams in the country that can win the championship."
It all comes down to money says Saban, who explained to McAfee on Friday that universities are trying to keep up with the rising costs of paying players while still supporting Olympic sports.
What is Saban's ideal College Football Playoff?
Saban told McAfee he prefers a 16-team playoff while admitting it's an unpopular opinion.
“I would be for 16 -- I think that would be a good compromise,” Saban said. “I would be for keeping conference championship games as maybe a play-in for the 16. Which, now, you have 20 teams that have hope. But I don’t think there’s much support for that. I don’t think anybody really likes that.”
Fan reactions to the 24-team playoff have been overwhelmingly negative, so Saban isn't alone on this one.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Nick Saban denounces 24-team playoff expansion on 'College GameDay'