Texas A&M coach Mike Elko says expanding the College Football Playoff too aggressively could weaken the regular season and hurt the sport.
Texas A&M coach Mike Elko isn’t buying the idea that bigger automatically means better for the College Football Playoff.
As college sports continue chasing expansion, with the NCAA Tournament reportedly moving from 68 to 76 teams, Elko is warning that college football needs to be careful.
The CFP has already grown to 12 teams, and talk of a possible 24-team College Football Playoff has sparked debate across the sport.
Elko, entering his third season at Texas A&M, knows the pressure coaches face. Making the CFP has become a measuring stick for elite programs.
But he also believes expanding too far could cheapen what makes college football different.
“The head coach who wants to keep his job, (he’ll say) the right size is 45 teams or however many we can possibly fit in it,” Elko told USA TODAY, “because (making the playoff) is becoming such a marker for the premier programs, which is, either you’re in, or you’re out. And if you’re out, you failed.”
That’s the danger. A larger field may sound fair, but it also opens the door for three-loss teams to sneak into the postseason while reducing the stakes of September, October and rivalry weekend.
Elko’s 2025 Aggies earned their way in.
Texas A&M started 11-0, finished 11-2 and reached the CFP for the first time in program history. That roster also produced a school-record 10 NFL Draft selections, giving Elko a strong case that playoff spots should still feel earned, not handed out.
“You have to keep the regular season meaningful,” Elko said. “We cannot turn this into college basketball. We’ll lose everything that college football has ever been about.”
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He’s right to sound the alarm. College football’s best-selling point has always been urgency.
Expand too much, too fast, and the sport risks turning every big regular-season game into background noise.
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