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Most FBS teams have a 12-game regular season schedule.
Under the current 4-round College Football Playoff, teams that reach the championship game will have played up to 17 games: 12 regular season games + 1 conference championship game + 4 playoff games. For example, in 2024-2025, Penn State would have played a total of 17 games if they'd advanced to the championship game.
Under this proposal, a 7-round playoff could be completed in a 17-game schedule, just like in the current system.
Expanding the playoff from 4 rounds to 7 rounds would make room for 128 teams:
Round 1: 128 teams
Round 2: 64 teams remaining
Round 3: 32 teams remaining
Round 4: 16 teams remaining
Round 5: 8 teams remaining
Round 6: 4 teams remaining
Round 7, championship game: Final 2 teams
In 2024, there were 134 FBS teams.
6 FBS teams would be excluded from the playoff. The manner for deciding which teams to exclude is TBD. A few possible methods:
Some teams may choose to opt-out for various reasons, financial or otherwise. At least one team opted out of its 2024 bowl game.
Exclude teams with zero wins against FBS opponents. If that doesn't eliminate enough teams to reduce the playoff field to 128 or fewer, then exclude teams with 1 or fewer wins vs. FBS opponents, then 2 or fewer wins, and so on, until the number of teams in the playoff field is reduced to 128 or fewer.
Play-in games.
Other creative solutions.
It is possible that, under the exclusion methodology, fewer than 128 teams would participate in the 7-round playoff. In that case, certain teams may be awarded a first-round playoff bye. The methodology for determining which teams get a bye is TBD.
The regular season would be capped at 10 games.
All 128 playoff teams would play an 11th game: the first-round playoff game.
Half of the teams (64) participating in the 7-game playoff would play only 11 games: 10 regular season games, plus one playoff game in which they are eliminated.
The remaining 64 teams participating in the 7-game playoff would play at least the 12 games that teams are currently accustomed to playing: 10 regular season games + round 1 of the playoffs + round 2 of the playoffs (and beyond).
If it is important for all teams to be able to play at least 12 games, consider one of the following options for teams that lose in the first round:
A single Redemption Round; or
A second-chance bracket, akin to the NIT in college basketball; or
Other creative solutions.
Benefits of a 7-round playoff include:
Eliminate discontent regarding playoff selection process.
More schools, players, staff, and fans will have an opportunity to experience the excitement and anticipation of having a stake in playoff football.
Greater national interest in more games, as fans pay attention to potential playoff opponents.
More schools will be able to take pride in achieving a playoff victory.
More venues would have an opportunity to host a playoff game.
More media revenue generated through increased number of playoff games.
Cinderella stories.
More players will have a chance to shine in the national spotlight.
Methodology for playoff seeding is TBD. There are many possibilities.
Conference championships and playoffs could be folded into the 7-round playoff bracketing.
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