The expanded 12-team College Football Playoff format has brought more excitement than ever to college football. Every team now has a chance to make the field including Group of 5 programs like James Madison and Tulane this season who wouldn't have had the chance in most seasons. While the Playoff is now more exciting than ever, the system has deep flaws.
The conference commissioners continue their never ending battle over how big the next round of expansion should be with the SEC and the Big Ten holding all of the power. The bigger issue at hand should be finding a way to amend the schedule as the season is dragging on far too long.
Lane Kiffin bashes the CFP for making the schedule worse
On Tuesday, the College Football Playoff released the schedule for the 2026-27 format.
CFP has announced dates for the next two years of bowl games.
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace) February 3, 2026
Teams will essentially have 2 weeks off between quarterfinal and semifinal.
No New Year’s Eve game this season. Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl will host semifinals.
National Championship in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/wYDDZdSb1N
The biggest issue almost everyone has is how long the Playoff drags on as there's almost two weeks between the quarterfinals and the semifinals. Between the 13 day break between the Quarterfinals and the Semifinals and the long layoff before the National Championship Game, there's frankly too much time off for these teams.
Among the many who have an issue with the Playoff format is LSU head coach Lane Kiffin who took to X/Twitter to bash the new format.
Somehow the calendar got even worse on purpose…. Kids play until Jan 25th and have almost a month between the games?!?! https://t.co/O71xLD1J9D
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) February 3, 2026
The college football season starting in August and ending at the end of January is just far too long of a season. The NFL is able to finish a 14-team playoff in 29 days which makes the College Football Playoff taking 38 days ridiculous.
The season running until the end of January doesn't help with the current dilemma with the Transfer Portal opening during the Playoff. If the coaches are going to get what they want which is a calendar that doesn't lead to players leaving teams during the Playoff than the format has to be sped up rather than extended.
As the conference commissioners continue to debate what's best for the Playoff, they need to figure out a way to cut down on all of the layoffs. Starting the season earlier in the year or making it exactly a week between games would make the most sense, but getting everyone to agree will be the biggest challenge.