College Football Playoff is expanding to 24 teams in 2027

The College Football Playoff is expanding once again.

The CFP will switch to a 24-team format for the 2027 season, the organization announced Monday. The new playoffs will double the number of postseason teams from the current format, the 12-team playoff, which began in 2024.

Under the 24-team field, each Power 4 conference champion will receive an automatic bid. There will be 19 at-large bids, and an auto-bid for the highest-ranked Group of 6 school. (The Group of 6 consists of the the American Athletic, Sun Belt, Mid-America, Mountain West, and Pac-12 conferences, as well Conference USA.)

The top 25 teams will still be ranked by the CFP selection committee.

The Power 4 — which includes the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 — will no longer host conference championships under the new rules. Instead, their champions will be determined by regular season standings and conference-determined tiebreakers.

In the new format, the top eight teams will receive first-round byes. Teams ranked nine through 16 will host those ranked 17 through 24 at their own stadiums to begin the playoffs, with the second round also taking place on campus, bringing the total number of games played at home stadiums to…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/sports