Texas’ Steve Sarkisian calls CFP’s 24-team expansion a ‘kneejerk reaction’

Steve Sarkisian took aim at some of college football’s most controversial issues in an interview with USA Today – including NIL, unrestricted player movement, failed NCAA enforcement, and the sport’s continued drive to generate more revenue. But even in an ever-changing landscape, the Texas coach’s biggest concern remains the College Football Playoff. With leaders who expand the field of participants to no fewer than 24 teamsSarkisian said the current selection process is already asking too much of committee members.

“The committee doesn’t have the bandwidth to watch that many games,” Sarkisian said. “They see the polls from the media and the coaches and copy them. You have a 12-team playoff, and that means there are at least 30 teams that influence that. Now all of a sudden you want to go to 24? Now the polls become an even bigger factor because now you’re asking (the committee) to look at 40 teams a week, if not 50.”

The CFP expanded from four to 12 teams starting with the 2024 season and will remain in that format through the upcoming 2026 campaign. But a new round of growth appears clearly in play. Yahoo Sports reported this last week that the American Football Coaches Association has voted to recommend a “maximum” expansion, possibly to 24 teams, while supporting the elimination of conference championships and broader changes to the postseason calendar. And on Tuesday, CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello and Richard Johnson reported that ACC coaches and athletic directors are prepared to officially endorse a 24-team model soon.

ACC coaches, athletics directors in support of the 24-team College Football Playoff expansion model

Brandon Marcello

Sarkisian said these discussions ignore a more immediate issue: whether the current process functions well enough to warrant expanding it.

The 13-member panel consists of sports directors, former coaches and former players. It evaluates teams based on criteria such as wins and losses, strength of schedule, conference championships and head-to-head results, while also allowing members access to game broadcasts and film.

Still, Sarkisian says the system is unclear.

“Everyone talks about NIL, but my biggest problem is the selection committee,” Sarkisian said. “There is no transparency about what exactly the committee does. We have to find out.”

The SEC schedule shift increases the pressure on the playoff debate

Sarkisian’s concerns come as structural changes in the sport threaten to further complicate playoff evaluations. The SEC moved to a nine-game conference schedule starting this season, joining other power conferences in increasing the number of high-level matchups. The shift is expected to increase the variability of the schedule and increase the likelihood of additional losses for contenders in an already crowded race for playoff spots.

Texas was one of the first teams left out of the 12-team field last year, posting a 9-3 regular-season record but multiple wins over ranked opponents. Miami, meanwhile, secured the final at-large bid despite a less consistent resume before validating its roster with a postseason run that included wins over Texas A&M and Ole Miss in the CFP. The Hurricanes also defeated Florida (which defeated Texas) in the regular season and finished with one top-10 win, at home against Notre Dame.

Still, Sarkisian argued that the disparity highlights ongoing questions about how the commission weighs different schedules.

“What would their record have been if they had played our schedule?” Sarkisian told USA Today. “What would our record have been if we had played theirs? But there is inequality in planning.’

Power conferences divided over future playoff format

The Big Ten supports a 24-team model with multiple automatic qualifiers. At the same time, the SEC previously favored a 16-team format with five automatic bids for the top-ranked conference champions and 11 at-large berths.

Expansion advocates argue that a larger field deeper into the season would create greater fan interest and add additional value for television partners. Critics counter that this could shorten the regular season and put more pressure on a calendar already busy with transfer portal moves, coaching turnover and January competition with the NFL playoffs.

Sarkisian believes that simply adding teams would not solve these larger problems.

“I would go back to a four-team playoff and have your own conference playoff to get the four teams if you want more inventory for your television partners,” Sarkisian told USA Today Sports. “We have to think outside the box. Just adding teams and going to 24, that’s a very spastic view, thinking this is going to solve the problem. In college athletics, we always don’t think about the unintended consequences of decisions we make. It’s all knee-jerk reactions. Look where it’s gotten us.”

For the time being, the CFP remains at 12 teams. But as momentum builds in front of a larger audience, Sarkisian’s criticism cuts to the heart of the debate: If college football can’t clearly defend how it selects the current field, expansion could only deepen the controversy over who gets the chance to play for the national championship.