What Expanded College Football Playoff Could Mean for Nebraska

There is some inevitably about the College Football Playoff expanding to 16 teams. There seems to be interest and motivation in going from 12 to 16 teams. The will is there. All that seems to be remaining is the method and haggling of getting there.

Momentum has built for what is being called the 5+11 format. That would put the top five conference champions in the CFP, along with 11 at-large teams, to be chosen by the selection committee.

Remaining discrepancies among the major conferences don’t seem insurmountable. Divvying up a money pie seems like good work, if you can get it. Everyone will eat.

“Maybe there’s some changes, modifications, to make it even better,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark recently said on ESPN. “Obviously, it’s been very public about what the future format might look like. I do like a 16-team format.”

At some point, possibly soon, the 12-team playoff used in 2024 — with four byes — will seem quaint and outmoded. Sixteen teams will be the model moving forward. There will be no byes and all of the teams will be seeded on merit. No more of eventual national champion Ohio State being seeded eighth, as what happened in 2024.

No more awarding Boise State and Arizona State byes.

“And I know fans want it,” Yormark told ESPN. “They want fairness. They want teams to win it on the field and they don’t want anything predetermined. So I’m all in on the 5+11 and I’ll keep doubling down on it.”

What about the Huskers?

Where does this leave Nebraska? Certainly, with four extra playoff teams, there is greater opportunity for the Huskers. Make the CFP and your season will gain instant validation.

High-profile games have huge and exclusive audiences — much like NFL players enjoy with “Monday Night Football.” All of your peers are home, watching.

Can you imagine the hype and pomp surrounding a playoff game in Memorial Stadium in December? Happy holidays, Husker fans!

One of the possible formats under discussion is having four playoff slots each for the Big Ten and the SEC. In the Big Ten, at least in 2025, that means Ohio State and Penn State for sure, and possibly Oregon and Michigan would appear to have an inside track. Heck, trends aside, those four teams most years likely will be contenders.

That leaves a bunch of teams potentially on the brink — and that includes Nebraska. You have Indiana, Michigan State, Iowa, USC, Illinois, UCLA, Wisconsin, Minnesota all capable of a breakout season, if not this year but in the future — as the Hoosiers did in 2024 and they were rewarded with a CFP berth.

Last year, 12 Big Ten teams played in bowl games. Four B1G teams made the CFP.

Playoff teams, especially teams new to the party, will have credibility that goes beyond jerseys with a cool CFP patch. Success breeds success. Huskers coaches would have a better story to tell. Recruits have valid reasons to listen a little longer.

Once a playoff berth is achieved, maybe Nebraska can recruit more aggressively. The Huskers might recruit more skilled athletes who previously wouldn’t consider a program that has had one winning season since 2016.

Making the 16-team field would make Nebraska a “have” after too many years of being a “have not.”

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