If Ole Miss hopes to recreate its historic 2025 season and earn another spot in the College Football Playoff, things will look very similar.
The CFP management committee announced Friday the playoff field will remain at 12 teams for the 2026 season. This comes after the Big Ten and SEC commissioners failed to reach a solution for an expanded format. The Big Ten wanted 24 teams, the SEC just 16. That impasse couldn’t be bridged.
“After ongoing discussion about the 12-team playoff format, the decision was made to continue with the current structure,” said CFP executive director Rich Clark in a statement Friday. “This will give the Management Committee additional time to review the 12-team format, so they can better assess the need for potential change. While they all agree the current format has brought more excitement to college football and has given more schools a real shot in the postseason, another year of evaluation will be helpful.”
Per an ESPN report, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti would only agree to a 16-team playoff field if Sankey committed to expanding the field to 24 teams three years later. Clearly, Sankey said no.
While the format will remain at 12 teams, how the playoff spots are determined will change slightly. All four Power 4 conference champions (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12) will have automatic bids into the playoff field, as will the highest-ranked team from the Group of 6 (welcome back, Pac-12!).
Most controversially, Notre Dame will automatically be in the playoff if its ranked in the CFP selection committee’s top 12.
Under those rules, Duke and Notre Dame would have been in the playoff instead of Miami and James Madison. That would’ve drastically altered how the CFP played out.
Don’t think this debate is over. Expansion will happen. Like Thanos in Avengers Infinity War, it’s inevitable.
During the television contract negotiations in March 2024, the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame signed a memorandum of understanding giving the Big Ten and SEC the power to shape the future playoff format.
The deadline to inform ESPN of a new format for the following season will be December 1. But considering that was the deadline this time and an extension was given, that’s a soft deadline.
Commercial Jersey Patches are Coming
The NCAA approved a proposal on Friday that will allow Division I programs to place “additional commercial logos or patches on uniforms, equipment and apparel for any non-NCAA championship competition, including the regular season.”
The NCAA finally approves commercial jersey patches. Effective Aug. 1. pic.twitter.com/uMY3uQSjJC
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) January 23, 2026
This will go into effect on August 1, just in time for the start of the college football season.
It won’t look like NASCAR with sponsorship logos all over the car. Teams can have two additional commercial logos on jersey and one on equipment and apparel.
