The 2026-27 College Football Playoff schedule is out, and it is so bad.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are on a quest to get back to the College Football Playoff in 2026.
They aren't all that far off, and truthfully, with their schedule, they shouldn't have much of an issue getting there if things go well. The only problem that would arise if they get back to the playoffs is the schedule that the committee put in front of these teams.
It is unlikely that Penn State will be competing for the Big Ten Championship next year, and that is ok. For the sake of this article, let's operate in a space where Penn State is an at-large team.
In that case, Penn State's final game of the 2026 season is on Saturday, November 28, against the Maryland Terrapins. If the Nittany Lions win that game, they won't play their first-round game until December 18th, 2026.
My first reaction to that date is truly that it isn't horrible. With the fact that they have to get the Conference Championship weeks in, I am OK with a delayed start to the playoffs.
With that said, a 22-day wait to play a football game, one of the most important games of each player's life, is a bit long. However, that is not the most egregious part of the schedule.
It gets worse when each team has to wait another two weeks to play in the quarterfinals on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. While that feels forced, just wait until having to wait two more weeks to play a Thursday night and Friday Night Semifinal game.
Then, to top it all off, the National Championship game doesn't kick off until Monday, January 25th.
It is a six-week playoff and a nine-week timeframe from the final game of the regular season to the National Championship.
Raising a trophy is hard enough as it is, but doing it in an extended and ridiculous timeline makes it all that much harder.
There is no reason that the National Championship game isn't on New Year's Day every year. If it were, all of the problems in College Football could be solved, and these players and coaches could operate in a normal system.
That would make way too much sense. Instead, the NCAA is going to continue putting out stuff like this and continuing to deteriorate a sport that we all love so much.
Hopefully, on the near eve of February, it is Matt Campbell and the Nittany Lions hoisting the trophy as the lone survivor in the college football season.
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