On Wednesday, reports surfaced that Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips is in favor of expanding the College Football Playoff from 12 teams to 24 teams. 

The field will remain at 12 teams for the upcoming season, but expansion could begin in 2027 if more parties agree to it.

Per On3:

“Our desire with the coaches and the ADs is 24,” Phillips said. “When you’re leaving national championship-contending teams out of the playoff, you don’t have the right number. We lived through it, we suffered through it with Florida State, when the field was four.

“I know other schools have suffered for it. Notre Dame was a CFP worthy team last year and you saw what happened to the last team that got invited with Miami.”

It's fairly obvious: Money.

At a time when schools need more money to fund NIL initiatives and sustain their current sports loads, the easiest path to money is more meaningful postseason games and the television revenue associated with them.

It's the same reason why the NCAA men's basketball tournament is expanding from 68 to 76 teams.

Also simple. It gives an easier path for Syracuse to make the College Football Playoff, just like it gives all ACC teams a simpler path.

While Syracuse will still have to improve the program to the point where it can win meaningful CFP games, simply being there is a good thing to be able to sell to recruits.

It may also help retain coaches, as coaches in the program feel like there's a true path to winning big at SU - maybe in a way there hasn't been for the last two decades.

If there's more playoff games, that means the regular season will likely get shrunk.

If the regular season is shrunk, that probably means the elimination of some non-conference games, which means the elimination of some potential victories for the Orange.

Furthermore, it probably means a reduction in home games at the JMA Wireless Dome as a result.

If power conference schools can't play non-power conference teams in the non-conference schedule, what happens to those programs and their chances to secure meaningful non-league victories?

These are all things that will need to be thought of and ironed out over the next calendar year, but we know the ACC is on board with it.

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