Oct 21, 2026 · 44 min
Klatt tests whether 24 playoff teams can truly contend
Pros and Cons of the 24-Team Playoff + Who are the Tier 1 National Championship contenders?
The expanded College Football Playoff promises broader access, but its value depends on whether the field includes genuine championship threats.
- 1A 24-team playoff could widen access while weakening regular-season stakes and increasing conference influence.
- 2Klatt’s contender ranking separates teams revealed by a chaotic weekend from teams capable of winning the championship.
- 3Ohio State’s matchup with Indiana highlights Josh Hoover’s performance and the risks teams face when relying on backup quarterbacks.
Don't miss
Klatt uses Josh Hoover’s performance against Ohio State to examine what quarterback changes reveal about a contender’s resilience.
The brief
Joel Klatt opens with the central question behind playoff expansion: does a 24-team field create meaningful access, or simply add teams that cannot realistically win the title?
The format’s benefits come with tradeoffs, including potentially lower regular-season stakes and greater influence for conference leaders such as Greg Sankey.
After a chaotic weekend, Klatt ranks the teams that belong in the championship conversation, weighing programs including Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana, BYU, and Miami.
Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover’s performance against Ohio State becomes a useful test of how much a team can reveal when its quarterback situation changes.
The episode’s broader takeaway is that expanding access does not automatically create 24 equal contenders; the title race still depends on a much smaller tier.
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