Morning Edition

November 11, 2026

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With the College Football Playoff officially expanding to 24 teams, four-loss schools from Power 4 conferences will likely get the chance to play for a national title. But it’s unclear how much squads from the Group of 6 with better records will benefit. The American, Conference USA, and Sun Belt have mostly supported expansion, while the Mountain West and others are reserving judgment.

—David Rumsey

First Up

The NFL trade deadline concluded Tuesday after a flurry of activity, including Kirk Cousins returning to the Vikings and the Jaguars adding defensive help.
Three weeks into the NBA season, new anti-tanking rules haven’t had a clear effect on win-loss records compared to last season.
Formula One will keep its last two races of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi despite military conflicts in the Middle East.
Ticket resale companies Vivid Seats and StubHub both reported downbeat earnings this week, with their share prices down 80% and 60% this year, respectively.

CFP Expansion Raises Big Questions for Group of 6 Conferences

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The Group of 6 conferences face several critical questions amid the College Football Playoff’s expansion to 24 teams.

The highest-ranked G6 conference champion will earn an automatic CFP berth each year. And while the decision to double the playoff field does not guarantee multiple spots for non-power leagues, at least two non-power conference teams were ranked inside the top 24 of the final CFP rankings each season from 2021 to 2025.

2025: No. 20 Tulane (American); No. 24 James Madison (Sun Belt)
2024: No. 9 Boise State (Mountain West), No. 22 Army (American), No. 24 UNLV (Mountain West)
2023: No. 23 Liberty (Conference USA), No. 24 SMU (American)
2022: No. 16 Tulane (American), No. 24 Troy (Sun Belt)
2021: No. 4 Cincinnati (American), No. 20 Houston (American), No. 23 Louisiana (Sun Belt), No. 24 San Diego State (Mountain West)

The initial reaction from the G6 conferences has been mixed.

The American, Conference USA, and Sun Belt all released statements Monday mostly supporting the CFP’s expansion, but Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher questioned the necessity of the decision. “I believe we must ask an important question,” Steinbrecher said. “Does continued expansion truly strengthen college football as a whole?” Steinbrecher cited the significance of the regular season, rivalries, conference championships, and argued that a “larger playoff does not necessarily mean greater financial benefits for all conferences and institutions.”

The Pac-12 has not released an official statement on the CFP expanding, and the Mountain West was mostly coy in its statement, saying in part, “We will continue the analysis of this development with our member institutions and stakeholders, including consideration of the impacts on student-athletes, scheduling, the bowl ecosystem and the annual Mountain West football championship game.”

Future of Conference Championship Games

While the Power 4 conferences all announced they would no longer conduct conference championship games in the 24-team CFP era, none of the G6 leagues have decided whether they will follow suit.

The CFP has yet to announce when its Selection Sunday will be held in 2027 or beyond, but if it were to move up to the Sunday following the end of the regular season on the last Saturday of November, it would severely complicate any G6 conference holding a championship game during the first weekend of December, when those games have traditionally been played.

Bowl Games to Be Determined

Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill, in the conference’s statement on CFP expansion, said the league “remains committed to Bowl Season participation beyond the College Football Playoff and anticipates elevating and expanding its bowl lineup during the next open bowl cycle.” The Mountain West’s statement mentioned “the bowl ecosystem,” but no other G6 conference specifically spoke out on the future of college football bowl games.

The G6 conferences annually average around four concrete bowl game affiliations before alternate slots are available based on the number of Power 4 teams that can fill slots. Bowl Season executive director Nick Carparelli told Front Office Sports last year that bowl game operators would support facilitating a theoretical G6 playoff if those leagues wanted to create their own postseason tournament.

Building Big Business

Before you head to the track in Las Vegas on Nov. 20, don’t miss Front Office Sports Today anchor Baker Machado host two high-powered sessions with influential executives including LVCVA chief sports officer Janis Burke, PwC partner and advisory marketing leader Jon Glick, League One Volleyball (LOVB) chief commercial officer Raquel Braun, Formula 1 associate director of partnership management Joel Seymour-Hyde, Unrivaled CEO Alex Bazzell, and more.

This is a room you don’t want to miss. Spots are limited—request to attend now.

ONE BIG FIG

Escape From the U.S.

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$10 million

That’s the reported release clause in U.S. men’s national team soccer coach Mauricio Pochettino’s contract. “Poch” has emerged as a top contender for the job at Manchester United, in which coach Michael Carrick is rumored to be on the chopping block after a 1-4-5 start that has the English Premier League club languishing in the relegation zone.

U.S. Soccer hired Pochettino in 2024, handing him a contract worth $6 million annually to see the team through the World Cup. It just recently renewed his contract through the 2030 World Cup cycle after the Argentine steered the squad to the round of 16. Pochettino previously coached for Southampton, Tottenham, and Chelsea in the Premier League and won the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain in 2022.

DAILY SPORTS TRIVIA

Can you rank the top five MLB pitchers who are not currently in the Hall of Fame by most career strikeouts?

LOUD AND CLEAR

The Check Isn’t in the Mail

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“He hasn’t paid anything yet.”

—Agent Drew Rosenhaus discussing the $13 million his client, 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, “allegedly” owes the team. The NFL reinstated Aiyuk this week from the reserve/left squad list and gave the 49ers a two-week roster exemption. Aiyuk hasn’t played for San Francisco since October 2024, when he sustained a knee injury and subsequently refused to participate in team meetings. As a result, the 49ers voided $27 million in contract guarantees. The league sent Aiyuk, Rosenhaus, and the NFL Players Association a letter last week saying he owes the team $13 million in forfeited bonuses.

Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Rosenhaus said the bonus issue is “something that we’ll work out separate and distinct from the issue of him playing. Hopefully we’ll work something out to the benefit of Brandon’s and something that’s fair. And that’s also part of my job.”

ESPN Edge Innovation Conference

Discover what’s next in sports innovation at the 6th Annual ESPN Edge Innovation Conference. Tune in for a free livestream exploring ESPN’s first Super Bowl, the next era of content creation, immersive fan experiences, and cutting-edge technology.

Shae Cornette, host of ESPN’s First Take, will captain the evening, featuring conversations with industry leaders including Lisa Salters, reporter for ESPN’s Monday Night Football and the NBA, and Peter Schrager, ESPN NFL analyst and host of Big Day with Peter Schrager, alongside ESPN Edge innovation partners Accenture, Microsoft, Meta, and WSC Sports.

Watch live Nov. 12, 5–7 p.m. ET.