Lane Kiffin Criticizes Lengthy College Football Playoff Schedule
The college football world is shifting fast these days, and honestly, it’s tough to keep up. For fans, the next few seasons are shaping up to be equal parts thrilling and, well, kind of confusing.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl—a New Year’s tradition for so many—will break from its usual slot for the first time in years. This isn’t just a one-off; it’s part of a bigger shakeup with the College Football Playoff (CFP) schedule. Coaches and fans are all over the place with their reactions. Lane Kiffin, LSU’s head coach, has been especially outspoken about how the postseason keeps dragging out.
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Changes to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Schedule
Normally, the Sugar Bowl lands on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, or maybe January 2nd. But for the 2026 season, it’s moving to Friday, January 15th, 2027.
Why? Next season, the Sugar Bowl is a CFP semifinal. The CFP quarterfinals will still happen around New Year’s, with the Cotton, Peach, Rose, and Fiesta Bowls taking those spots.
Impact on the Traditional New Year’s Celebrations
If you’re someone who builds your New Year’s plans around the Sugar Bowl, you’ll need to improvise. This is the first time since 2011 the game won’t be part of the holiday celebrations.
It’s all happening because of the new 12-team College Football Playoff format. The sport’s trying to fit more teams and more games into the calendar.
Why the Extended Break Between Rounds?
One thing that’s got people grumbling is the two-week gap between the quarterfinals and the semifinals. In the first two years of the 12-team CFP, there was only a week between those rounds.
This longer break is mostly about how the calendar falls. With January 1st on a Friday, there just isn’t enough time to get everything done if they stick to the old pace. Plus, the CFP doesn’t want to go head-to-head with the NFL, which has games on January 9th and 10th.
Lane Kiffin’s Criticism
Lane Kiffin hasn’t held back. He’s all over social media, frustrated with how stretched out the schedule has become.
He pointed out that players could be competing until January 25th, with nearly a month between games. It’s easy to see why coaches would be annoyed by that kind of downtime.
Debate Over the College Football Calendar
The calendar itself is a mess of opinions and arguments. Nobody can really agree on the “right” way to do it.
Conferences like the SEC and Big 10 are on totally different pages. The Big 10 wants a 24-team playoff, while the SEC would rather see 16.
For now, we’re sticking with 12 teams, at least for another season.
Potential Solutions and Challenges
Some folks think the season should wrap up around New Year’s Day. To pull that off, the season would need to start in late August, and the playoffs would have to kick off right after conference championships.
But that would clash with the Army-Navy game, which is a big deal for a lot of people. There’s even talk that it could get its own exclusive broadcast window, if the president steps in.
Financial Implications
Money’s always part of the story. The SEC championship game, for example, brings in a ton of cash for the conference.
Messing with those big games could hit the bottom line hard. It’s a tricky balance: tradition, money, and the reality that college football just keeps changing.
Future of the College Football Playoff
There’s constant chatter about expanding the playoff to 16 or even 24 teams. If that happens, the whole schedule gets thrown into question.
To finish the season by New Year’s, something’s got to give—maybe even the conference championships. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a lot of old-school fans.
Looking Ahead
For fans, the next few seasons are going to be wild. The postseason now stretches deep into January, so there’s more football to watch—if you’re up for it.
But with all these changes, it’s hard not to wonder where the sport is headed. New Orleans is lined up to host the CFP championship in 2028 for the 2027 season, and right now, that game’s set for January 24th.
If the playoff expands again, who knows? The title game might end up close to the Super Bowl, and plenty of folks—Lane Kiffin included—aren’t thrilled about that idea.
The college football schedule keeps shifting, and honestly, it’s a sign of all the changes happening in the sport right now.
Yeah, the longer postseason means more games and a bit more buzz for fans, but there’s this nagging question: how long should the season really be?
People are still hashing it out, and who knows where it’ll land. One thing’s for sure—college football isn’t standing still anytime soon.
For more detailed information, you can read the full article here.
