CFP Exec Says 'Everything's on the Table' for Bracket, 12-Team Format Still an Option

As the College Football Playoff expansion discourse continues, there is still apparently plenty of progress to be made before a format is decided on for 2026 and beyond.

"Pretty much everything's on the table and they're taking a good look at all of it," CFP executive director Rich Clark said Wednesday, per ESPN's Heather Dinich. "So I wouldn't say there's a leading contender right now for them, but they're taking a fresh look at it."

Notably, Clark also said the current 12-team model is still an option at this point even though it once seemed inevitable there would be an expansion to 16.

The upcoming season will feature a 12-team field for the second straight year, although there will be one pertinent change. While the five highest-ranked conference champions still get automatic inclusion in the CFP, the four highest-ranked ones no longer receive first-round byes.

Instead, the four byes will go to the four highest-ranked teams in the final poll. Had that been the rule last season, Boise State and Arizona State would not have received first-round byes.

While that is an important short-term change, expansion has been the biggest topic of discussion for the long-term future of the sport. And all eyes remain on the Big Ten and SEC as the two most powerful conferences that have largely dictated discussions regarding what the rules will be starting with the 2026 season.

Dinich noted both conferences previously expressed a desire for a system that would feature four guaranteed spots for each league. However, she reported SEC coaches recently showed support for a 16-team model that would include the five highest-ranked conference champions and 11 at-large teams.

From the Big Ten's perspective, support for such a system would likely require both the SEC and ACC to switch from eight conference games to nine to provide a more even playing field if at-large spots are going to be so available.

"I don't think there is any way we could do a 16-team Playoff if [the SEC] is not at nine [conference] games," Illinois head coach Brett Bielema told reporters Tuesday. "We voted unanimously as Big Ten coaches to stay at nine and actually maybe have an SEC challenge. I was told that they voted unanimously to stay at eight and not play the Big Ten."

The Big Ten's concern makes sense, as an additional week of conference games means half the league will pick up an extra loss. And the number of losses will surely be a major discussion point when dishing out 11 at-large spots that don't have a specific criteria if that is the format that is ultimately put in place.

For now, the back-and-forth continues with no clear-cut finish line in sight, although Clark said the hope is to have a decision in place by the fall.