Paul Finebaum Slams CFP Expansion, Warns It Could ‘Destroy' College Football
The idea of expanding the College Football Playoff even further is no longer some fringe offseason debate. It’s rapidly becoming one of the biggest power struggles in college sports, with commissioners from the ACC and Big 12 openly pushing for a 24-team bracket as conferences chase more television revenue, more postseason inventory, and a larger slice of the billion-dollar playoff pie.
Right now, the CFP is in just its third season using the expanded 12-team model after spending a decade as a four-team playoff from 2014 through 2023. The current format already dramatically altered the sport by introducing first-round campus games, automatic bids for conference champions, and a longer postseason calendar stretching deep into January.
But this week, the conversation escalated.
During an appearance on ESPN's "Get Up" on Thursday, longtime college football voice Paul Finebaum unloaded on the idea of doubling the field again, warning that a 24-team playoff could permanently damage what makes college football unique.
“24 is the worst possibility I think in the history of this game,” Finebaum said. “It is going to devalue, dilute, and perhaps destroy the greatest football season of them all, and that’s the regular season in college football.”
“The big games at the end of the season are going to be meaningless. This is not the NFL, where you try to position for a wild card or home field. There just simply aren’t enough good teams,” he added.
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Supporters of expansion argue that more access means more fan engagement, more meaningful late-season games for second-tier programs, and more money for schools and conferences.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark have both backed the 24-team concept, while the American Football Coaches Association has also endorsed expansion alongside proposals to eliminate conference championship games entirely.
Financially, the logic is obvious. More playoff games add more premium television in a sport already generating monster ratings. The 2026 CFP National Championship between Indiana and Miami reportedly drew 30.1 million viewers, making it the second-most-watched CFP title game ever, and the most-watched college football game in 11 years.
But critics believe the sport is approaching a tipping point.
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A 24-team bracket would likely include multiple three-loss teams every season and potentially even four-loss teams from major conferences. That fundamentally changes the stakes of Saturdays in October and November.
For decades, college football's magic came from its razor-thin margin for error. One upset could wreck a title chase, and the historic rivalry games that define the sport carried even more weight.
Finebaum isn’t alone either. Analysts like Josh Pate and even SEC commissioner Greg Sankey both recently questioned whether the sport risks over-expansion. Sankey reportedly warned about a "tipping point," while Pate called it “one of the most unpopular proposals” in recent college football history.
The short-term implications are massive. More playoff spots would likely reduce urgency in marquee regular-season games. A November showdown between two top-10 teams suddenly matters less if both are safely headed to an enormous playoff field anyway. Programs may also schedule softer nonconference opponents, knowing losses carry less punishment.
The long-term concerns are even bigger.
Player wear and tear is becoming impossible to ignore. Under a 24-team system, some teams could potentially play 16 or 17 games, essentially mirroring an NFL workload without NFL roster depth, NFL contracts, or NFL recovery resources.
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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 9:22 AM.