Expanded College Football Playoff: RJ Young’s 24-Team Bracket Analysis

The landscape of college football is on the verge of a major shakeup. The proposed 24-team College Football Playoff (CFP) model is suddenly getting a lot of buzz.

This new format would open the door for more teams to chase the national championship. More programs, more chaos, more hope—sounds good, right?

We’re just past Week 10, and you can already feel the ripple effects. Let’s take a closer look at what this could mean for college football’s future.

Understanding the 24-Team College Football Playoff Model

The 24-team CFP model is built to pull in a wider mix of teams from different conferences. It’s a move to make the title race less exclusive, at least in theory.

• Four automatic qualifiers from each of the Power 4 conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC)
• Two automatic qualifiers from the Group of 6 conferences (American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Pac-12)
• Six at-large selections made by the College Football Playoff selection committee

The selection committee would seed teams based on things like head-to-head results, strength of schedule, coaching, and how they did outside their conference. Winning your conference would probably help your seed, but it doesn’t guarantee you a top spot over every non-champion.

The Impact on Regular Season Games

One of the biggest upsides here? Regular-season games start to matter a whole lot more.

Every game is a battle for playoff positioning, not just survival. A team like Tennessee, which might have missed a 12-team playoff, could sneak in with a 3-3 conference record under this setup. That’s got to feel like a lifeline for some programs.

Top teams can’t just coast, either. Take Texas A&M: they’re 8-0 right now, but if they drop their last four, they could slide to fifth in the SEC and end up praying for an at-large bid. No one’s safe.

The Structure of the 24-Team Playoff

This playoff format is all about ramping up the excitement. There are two rounds of home games before things shift to neutral-site semifinals.

• Teams seeded No. 1 to No. 8 get a first-round bye, plus a home playoff game in the second round.
• Teams seeded No. 9 to No. 16 start with a home playoff game.
• Teams seeded No. 17 to No. 24 have to win two road games to reach the neutral-site quarterfinals.

This means 16 campuses get to host playoff games, which is just wild. Imagine the energy—fans packing stadiums, students losing their minds, all for a shot at the title.

Week 10 CFP Bracket Overview

Heading into Week 11, the current 24-team CFP bracket is a real mix. There are heavyweights and upstarts from all over.

• Ohio State (8-0) – The Buckeyes’ defense is as stingy as it gets, and they’re not letting anyone forget it.
• Indiana (9-0) – The Hoosiers are piling up points and have the best point differential in the country.
• Texas A&M (8-0) – The Aggies haven’t started this hot since the early ‘90s, and their defense is a big reason why.
• Alabama (7-1) – The Tide are rolling, especially against ranked SEC teams. No surprises there.

Oregon, Georgia, Ole Miss, and BYU are all in the mix too, each with something interesting to offer. First-round games like Texas Tech vs. BYU and Texas vs. North Texas? Those could get weird—in a good way.

Rivalries and High-Stakes Games

This expanded playoff makes classic rivalries and big matchups even more intense. You can feel the stakes rising.

• The Game: Ohio State vs. Michigan – If Michigan pulls it off, they’re probably in the CFP. If not, well, better luck next year.
• Texas A&M vs. Texas – This one could decide who goes to the SEC Championship and maybe the playoff. No pressure, right?
• Georgia Tech vs. Georgia – If Georgia loses, they might miss the playoff for the first time in three years. That’d be a shocker.

These games, happening on campuses all over, are why people fall in love with college football. The noise, the drama, the traditions—nothing else really compares, does it?

The Future of College Football

The proposed 24-team CFP model could really shake things up. It’s a big step toward a more open, competitive college football world.

With more playoff spots, more teams get a shot at the title. That means less arguing over who deserves to be in and more action on the field—finally.

Looking ahead, this change might totally transform the sport. Imagine the buzz: regular-season games suddenly matter even more, and playoff games on campus? That’s the stuff fans dream about.

Traditional rivalries would get even spicier, too. The whole thing just feels way more alive.

If you want to dive deeper into the 24-team College Football Playoff idea, check out RJ Young’s full breakdown on FOX Sports.