Thursday, October 22, 2026

College Football Playoff Uncertainties Take Center Stage As Season Begins

  • College Football Playoff leaders are meeting on Wednesday to discuss future format changes.
  • The playoff will expand to 12 teams in 2024 but realignment has thrown everyone for a loop.
Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch

Want more from Front Office Sports
in your search results?

Add Front Office Sports on Google

On the eve of nearly a dozen college football kickoff games, the sport’s leaders are gathering to lay out — and maybe drastically alter — how a lucrative and expanded postseason will work in 2024 and beyond.

Conference commissioners and other key power brokers of the College Football Playoff are meeting in Dallas on Wednesday amid unprecedented realignment — a phenomena that has made top executives rethink what the 12-team playoff should look like come next season.

Originally, the expanded CFP was set to include the six highest-ranked conference champions — to ensure each of the Power Five conferences and one Group of Five school were represented — and the remaining six highest-ranked teams. This season, conferences will earn $6 million for each team they have in the playoff, a figure that could be even higher next year.

With the Pac-12 dissolving, a simple playoff change could be a move to the five highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large entries. But it may not be that simple — at least one report claims no official vote will be taken Wednesday.

Leaders could be waiting to see where Stanford, California, Oregon State, and Washington State end up before making any final decisions.

Get Your Popcorn

This season’s CFP contests will be among 75 college football games that ESPN will broadcast from movie theaters. 

This weekend, the Virginia-Tennessee, North Carolina-South Carolina, LSU-Florida State, and Clemson-Duke matchups will be available to watch on the big screen. Financial details of ESPN’s new deal with Theater Sports Network are unknown, while ticket pricing to watch the games varies by location.

Download the FOS App

The business of sports, in your pocket.

QR code to download the app

Scan the QR code to get the app now.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby looks on during the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium.

Cincinnati’s $1M Sorsby Lawsuit Hangs Over Texas Tech Showdown

One of the biggest offseason storylines returns to the spotlight on Saturday.
Troy Aikman

Examining Troy Aikman’s Options After J.J. Watt-CBS Deal 

Aikman has yet to receive a formal offer to return to ESPN.
Oct 10, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) looks on before the game between the Sooners and the Longhorns at Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Arch Manning’s Slump Clouds His Draft Stock, Texas’s Investment

Draft analysts now question whether Manning should declare—or transfer.

NFL Could Soon Let TV Viewers Watch, Hear Instant Replay Reviews

The NFL could follow the ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten’s lead.
podcast thumbnail mobile
Front Office Sports Today

10/22/26 – Rays-Brewers Can’t Stop Lockout, $771 to Watch NBA, Jaguars Fans’ Afterlife

0:00

Featured Today

Football - NFL - Houston Texans v Jacksonville Jaguars - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - October 18, 2026 The necklace of a Jacksonville Jaguars fan outside the stadium before the match

Die-Hard Sports Fandom Has Reached the Afterlife

Will fans pay $6,000 to memorialize their team loyalty?
October 20, 2026

Why Europe Is Pumping Out NBA Superstars

The NBA and NCAA have an increasingly European flavor.
October 15, 2026

College Flag Football Is Outgrowing Its DIY Era

Women have been building the college game themselves at the club level.
Oct 5, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas arrives at the arena before the Penguins host the Winnipeg Jets at PPG Paints Arena
October 12, 2026

NHL’s New Wave of GMs Is Built Different

“I am in the prediction business,” Devils GM Sunny Mehta tells FOS.
Action Images/Peter Cziborra
October 9, 2026

Is Leicester City’s $264 Million Price Tag Too Rich for Hungry Investors?

After falling from grace, how much is a former top club worth?
Kentucky's Jason Patterson (26) gets by Oklahoma's Owen Heinecke (38) in the second half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Kentucky Wildcats at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Oct., 17, 2026.
First at FOS

Inside the First College Sports Super PAC

The PAC launched last month and hasn’t yet reported any donations.
October 21, 2026

LSU Won’t Roster Ex-NBA Player As SEC Legal Battle Continues

Louisiana AG Liz Murrill called again for the SEC’s lawsuit to be dismissed.
Oct 11, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mike Locksley walks the sidelines during the first half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
October 21, 2026

Maryland Breaks Ice With $10M Mike Locksley Firing

$4.9 million is due to Locksley within 60 days.
Sponsored

Blake Griffin’s Plan for Media Domination

The former NBA star is building a second act across media & entertainment.
October 20, 2026

Army-Navy Could Shift Dates to Accommodate 24-Team CFP

The game could take place the Saturday left open without conference championships.
October 18, 2026

Big-Money Upsets Shake Up College Football

Half of the AP Poll top 10 lost in a single day.
October 17, 2026

Michigan Benches Its Multimillion-Dollar Quarterback

Underwood’s benching comes after two first-half interceptions.
October 17, 2026

CFP Expansion Could Raise Stakes for Coaches, Buyout Costs

Nick Saban warns more playoff spots could mean more firings.