Nov 12, 2026 · 1h 0m
Expanded playoff exposes college football’s biggest fault lines
KU Hoops Have Elite Look, Football Feast: Stan Honored for 40 years in Booth, Josh Downs Impact, AFC West Race, 24 Team CFB Playoff Debate
The episode tests whether a 24-team College Football Playoff can broaden meaningful competition without deepening conference inequality, blowouts, and opt-outs.
- 1Stan Weber sees campus playoff games, byes, and broader access making December football more meaningful.
- 2Kevin Kietzman expects conference power, road mismatches, and blowouts to undermine the 24-team format.
- 3The Chiefs add Josh Downs for slot and third-down value, but midseason adjustment limits his immediate impact.
Don't miss
Kevin Kietzman and Stan Weber clash over whether a 24-team playoff creates meaningful campus football or mostly predictable mismatches.
The brief
Kansas basketball’s win over Kentucky opens a sports-heavy episode, but the larger debate concerns whether expanding the College Football Playoff improves the sport or magnifies its existing power imbalance.
Stan Weber marks 40 years broadcasting Kansas State athletics and discusses the Greg Sharp Memorial Scholarship Fund, connecting a milestone celebration to a lasting local legacy.
Weber views campus playoff games, byes, and wider access as a meaningful December upgrade; Kevin Kietzman predicts conference favoritism, rematches, and first-round blowouts.
Their disagreement extends to player participation: Kietzman expects lower seeds to opt out of difficult road games, while Weber sees NIL incentives preserving interest.
The football conversation also covers Josh Downs’ Chiefs fit and Denver’s one-score success, with immediate production and the Broncos’ staying power both treated cautiously.
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