Who would a 24-team CFP benefit most? Numbers behind schools, conferences since 2014

Who would a 24-team CFP benefit most? Numbers behind schools, conferences since 2014 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

College Football Playoff expansion talk – particularly the proposed 24-team format – is sure to dominate the SEC Meetings in Destin, Fla., this week. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti continues to sell the idea of a playoff field that would double the size of its current 12-team setup.

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The Big Ten cited that if the 24-team College Football was in effect the last 12 seasons (since the four-team CFP began in 2024), 80 schools would have made the CFP. Over the first 10 years of the four-team playoff, 17 schools made the playoffs. In the two years of the 12-team field, 10 additional schools made their first appearance.

Sporting News looked at those schools to find out exactly who the expanded playoff field would benefit and how that would change the perception of the CFP.

MORE: Where we stand for 2026 CFP, plus 2027 and beyond 

CFP appearances by school in a 24-team playoff (since 2014)

MORE: SN’s post-spring Top 25 ranking

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24-team CFP by conference since 2014

SN looked at the schools that were ranked 1-24 in the CFP and the conference they represented at the time. Here is a look at which conferences had the most playoff appearances and schools.

If we had a 24-team CFP, the Pac-12 as we used to know it probably still exists as a power conference. The Big 12 number is skewed a bit by 12 of the playoff appearances by Oklahoma and Texas before the schools left for the SEC. The schools have combined for three CFP appearances since joining the SEC.

Yet the ACC and Big 12 still benefit with more participating schools.

DECOURY:It is time for the ACC to give Notre Dame an ultimatum

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CFP appearances in a 24-team CFP since 2014

The SEC is still king here – and all of its current schools would have the CFP as a member of the conference. Would that be a way to sell Sankey on the idea of a 24-team CFP?

MORE: Ranking the SEC quarterback rooms heading into 2026

Schools that would be virtual locks (10 or more)

Schools: Alabama (12), Ohio State (12), Clemson (11), Georgia (10), Notre Dame (10)

Ohio State and Alabama would be the only two schools who would have reached the CFP each of the last 12 seasons.

These five schools have the highest winning percentages in the FBS since 2014 – so the numbers do not come as a surprise. Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Clemson have combined for nine of the last 12 national championships. Does a 24-team format help this group? Not really.

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Notre Dame is the school that sticks out. In a 24-team CFP format, the Irish would have less incentive to join a conference because the playoff access is wide open. Keep in mind Notre Dame gets an automatic berth in the 12-team CFP if it finishes in the top 12 as a result of a tweak in the format that takes effect this season.

Upper-tier FBS schools (7-9 appearances)

Schools: Oklahoma (9), LSU (8), Michigan (8), Oregon (8), Utah (8), Penn State (7), USC (7)

This is the “job security” portion of the group. James Franklin is probably the coach at Penn State considering he would have had seven playoff appearances.

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These schools have combined for two national championships – LSU in 2019 and Michigan in 2023. The Tigers and Wolverines, however, had three coaching changes apiece since 2014. Oregon also had three coaching changes – and Mark Helfrich led the Ducks to a CFP championship appearance in 2014.

Two of these schools (Oklahoma, USC) had two coaching changes – and Lincoln Riley is under pressure to take the Trojans to the CFP for the first time in 2026. In the 24-team CFP, USC would be a playoff regular.

‘New’ CFP regulars (3-6 appearances)

Schools: Iowa (6), Oklahoma State (6), Ole Miss (6), Texas (6), Florida (5), Florida State (5), NC State (5), Tennessee (5), Washington (5), Auburn (4), Baylor (4), BYU (4), Miami (4), Michigan State (4), Mississippi State (4), Missouri (4), Northwestern (4), TCU (4), Wisconsin (4), Arizona (3), Boise State (3), Cincinnati (3), Houston (3), Indiana (3), Iowa State (3), Louisville (3), Stanford (3), Texas A&M (3)

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This is the group that would benefit the most. Iowa – who Petitti cited using the Minnesota game – would have made the CFP half the time. Does that reward excellence or consistency?

Iowa has a .682 winning percentage since 2014 – the highest number among this group. The only other schools better than 65% are Washington (.676), BYU (.652) and Wisconsin (.651). Three of those schools are among the six Big Ten schools on that list.

There are eight SEC schools and eight Big 12 schools on this list. The ACC has five schools; and Boise State – now in the Pac-12 – is the only G6 school. This is the group of schools that would frequent the proposed first round.

The best of the rest (1-2 appearances)

Schools with two appearances: Arizona State (2), Colorado (2), Georgia Tech (2), Kansas State (2), Kentucky (2), Louisiana (2), Memphis (2), Navy (2), North Carolina (2), Oregon State (2), Pitt (2), SMU (2), South Carolina (2), Syracuse (2), Temple (2), Tulane (2), UCF (2), UCLA (2), Virginia (2), Virginia Tech (2), Washington State (2), West Virginia (2)

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Schools with one appearance: Appalachian State (1), Arkansas (1), Army (1), Coastal Carolina (1), Fresno State (1), Illinois (1), James Madison (1), Liberty (1), Minnesota (1), San Diego State (1), San Jose State (1), Texas Tech (1), Troy (1), Tulsa (1), UNLV (1), Vanderbilt (1), Wake Forest (1), Western Michigan (1)

Mostly lower-tier Power 4 programs and Group of 6 schools. Colorado would have made the College Football Playoff under Deion Sanders with Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter in 2024.

Still, this feels like the “participation trophy” portion of the playoff in some ways.

There are 18 schools currently in the Group of 6 on this list – and Navy, Memphis and Louisiana would have made the CFP multiple times. While the proposal calls for one automatic qualifier from the G6 – there have been multiple G6 schools in the top 24 in seven of the last 12 seasons. This format would benefit the G6 schools more than viewers think – and they would be less likely to split and do their own postseason tournament.