The new era of the College Football Playoff is about to begin.
The CFP and ESPN have agreed to a five-year deal worth nearly $1.7 billion that will expand the CFP field to 24 teams starting in 2027, ESPN announced on Monday, Nov. 9. This move would eliminate conference championship games.
Advertisement
The 24-team field will include 19 at-large bids, each of the Power 4 conference champions, determined by each league, and the highest-ranked Group-of-6 team. The top eight seeds would earn a first-round bye followed by a second-round home game. Seeds nine through 16 will host first-round games.
Teams would play up to 12 regular season games, a season that starts the weekend before Labor Day — colloquially known as Week 0 — and ends the weekend after Thanksgiving. Teams are expected to get a week off the first weekend in December before the first round kicks off.
In an interview with The Tuscaloosa News before CFP expansion was finalized, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said expansion is an opportunity for teams, like Alabama, to continue to schedule “big games outside of the conference.”
Advertisement
“That’s certainly the trend right now with a lot of programs is play your three or four non-conference games that are more winnable and then, you know, stay away from the big matchups, which really enhances college football,” DeBoer told The Tuscaloosa News. “More teams get in. You argue that there’s a little but more room for error, and you know, those games (are) more likely to happen. You know, someone’s going to be on the wrong end of it, and it could be two teams that are both playoff worthy, so the hit isn’t quite as much.”
“Everything that goes along with the playoff is so awesome, where it’s win or go home,” DeBoer continued. “Just been a part of that at, you know, now at different levels, and that feeling is fun to be a part of where it’s all on the line and, you know, it’s get it done or you’re done.”
DeBoer added that he wants “to win an SEC championship,” but “a national championship is still what this fan base and other fan bases all truly care about is having that chance to get in the playoffs.”
Based on how Alabama has finished the season in the AP poll, the most recent season the Crimson Tide wouldn’t have made a 24-team playoff was in 2007, the first year of the Nick Saban era, when Alabama lost six games.
Advertisement
With the new rules, in which teams would be seeded regardless of conference championship status, the most recent season Alabama missed the CFP in 2024 would have had the Crimson Tide hosting Army in the first round for a road date against Ohio State in the second round.
The 2025 CFP would have had Alabama hosting a first-round game against James Madison for a second-round date against Oklahoma in Norman.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: How is Alabama football affected by College Football Playoff expansion to 24 teams?
