Neither USC nor UCLA has made the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014. Yet the Trojans finished six of those 12 seasons ranked in the Associated Press top 25, while UCLA finished in the top 25 twice and is currently ranked No. 12.
Reports that the CFP is nearing a deal to expand the field from 12 to 24 teams in 2027 should be tremendous news for both schools. UCLA (5-0) is surging after its rousing upset over Oregon, and USC (6-1) is ranked No. 19 after beating Washington and Penn State.
Arduous tests loom during the second half of the season, however, making the chances of getting the nod from the CFP selection committee a coin flip at best.
Next season, however, all it would take is being among the top 24 teams as deemed by the 13-member committee, which considers on-field performance, head-to-head results and strength of schedule the primary criteria.
The Big Ten was the primary driving force behind the expansion, which gained momentum recently when the Southeastern Conference gave its blessing. The CFP management committee, made up of 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director, met Thursday to discuss the negotiations with ESPN, according to the Athletic and ESPN.
“When you get a room of 50 coaches or whatever we have in this conference together, it’s hard to get everybody to be unanimous on something,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said earlier this season. “This is something where our room has been unanimous.”
ESPN reported that the network would acquire the additional games and continue to be the exclusive home of the CFP through the length of its current six-year contract.
“Constructive discussions with ESPN continued this week,” the CFP said in a statement Thursday night. “We have enjoyed a strong partnership with ESPN since our inception and are appreciative of the productive dialogue we have had throughout the negotiating period and continuing over the last several days. We will provide additional updates on the matters of future format and media rights when appropriate.”
Expanding the CFP would not be without concessions. The lengthier postseason would force the regular season to begin one week earlier and likely eliminate Power 4 conference championship games, which while lucrative, can be redundant and potentially problematic in impacting the CFP slate. Lower and mid-tier bowl games might become extinct, although the six prominent bowls on and around New Year’s Day — Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Orange, Cotton and Peach — should continue to host the CFP quarterfinals and semifinals.
The format has not been formally approved, but one scenario would give the top eight seeded teams a first-round bye and a home game in the second round. The other 16 teams would play first-round games hosted by the higher seed. It would take five games for a team seeded from nine to 24 to win the championship and four games for one of the top eight.
That’s a lot of football beyond the regular season. The wildly popular NCAA men’s basketball tournament will expand from 68 to 76 teams next spring, but the physical demands of the two sports are markedly different, making the expansion there less onerous on players. Still, if the expansion is approved, the CFP will have its own version of the NCAA’s trademarked titles Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and Final Four.
March Madness is another trademarked term, although the NCAA would need to come up with something new for the CFP: December Delirium, anyone?
USC and UCLA presumably would be happy with any name as long as they are invited to the festivities.