The College Football Playoff (CFP) is currently set to feature a 12-team bracket for the 2025-26 season, but discussions about expansion have been talked about before the season but have now resurfaced. Proposals range from a 16-team format with more at-large bids to a 24-team model pushed by the Big Ten. Each model carries significant implications for the SEC and its teams, both in terms of playoff access and the broader recruiting and coaching landscape.
Current 12-Team Format and Its Limitations
The current 12-team format awards first-round byes to the top four-ranked teams, includes automatic bids for conference champions, and fills out the rest of the bracket with at-large selections. The structure features games both on campus and in the New Year’s Six bowl games. While many predicted that CFP expansion was inevitable, the debate now centers on how many teams would be added and which conferences would benefit most.
Proposed Expansion Models
The proposed 16-team model would expand the bracket modestly, adding four additional at-large spots. The Big Ten, however, is advocating for a 24-team playoff, which would include automatic bids for every Power Four conference along with two automatic Group of Five berths. The SEC has expressed reservations about the 24-team model, concerned that granting automatic bids to each conference could limit its at-large options, a notable point given the SEC’s dominance this season. In 2025 alone, five SEC teams are already in the field, with two more potentially on the outside looking in. Nearly half of the current 12-team bracket belongs to the conference.
Opportunity for Arkansas
For the SEC, a playoff expansion without restricting at-large spots could mean unprecedented opportunity. If the CFP committee emphasizes strength of schedule and record, the SEC would be poised to claim even more of the expanded field. For programs like Arkansas, this could be a game-changing development. The Razorbacks have struggled for years, particularly since Bobby Petrino’s 2014 Cotton Bowl-winning team.
With CFP expansion, the SEC’s strength, national exposure, and heightened stakes create an ideal environment to attract top-tier coaching candidates and jumpstart a program rebuild knowing how highly regarded the confernece is perceived. This could help out the coach possibilities but also the roster personnel. Top level recruits and transfer portal targets could be more inclined to come to a place they can compete at the highest level and play.
Why Now is the Time to Act
Simply put, the conversation around CFP expansion strengthens the case for ambition. For Arkansas, striking aggressively for a premier coach could align perfectly with a new playoff landscape, where SEC teams are positioned to dominate. The sky’s the limit and now is the time to act for the Razorbacks .