How Does New College Football Playoff Affect Washington Huskies?

The Washington Huskies football team has slowly fallen off of national recognition due to a disappointing stretch in Big Ten play. The Huskies entered the season ranked 17th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and fell out of the poll entering their conference slate, but were still the highest vote-getting unranked team.

Now, Washington is not even in the discussion to receive a vote, is 3-3 overall (0-3 in Big Ten play) and is yet to score more than 24 points against a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team.

However, a new development with the College Football Playoff could make the path to the playoffs easier for the Huskies in the future.

According to a report from ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, the College Football Playoff is nearing a deal that would extend the playoff from 12 teams to 24 teams. The new format would be instituted for the 2027 season, pending final approvals.

The new format could have multiple different configurations. One would feature five automatic bids — one for the Big Ten, one for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), one for the Southeastern Conference (SEC), one for the Big 12 and one for the highest-graded Group of Six conference champion.

Another format would be a traditional seeding based on rankings, including 23 at-large bids and one automatic bid to the best Group of Six team. The CFP is also attempting to iron out deals for ESPN to pay for more games from now until the end of the current contract in 2031.

The new format would mean that nearly every team in the AP or CFP Top 25 would make the playoffs, which would make the Huskies one of the main beneficiaries.

Washington has made the playoffs twice in the program's history: once under the old four-team format in the 2016-17 season and another time under the 12-team format in the 2023-24 season. The Huskies made the national championship game when it went as a part of the 12-team field.

Under the proposed 24-team format, several previous UW teams would have made the CFP, including the 2017-18 seasons and the 2022-23 season.

Since joining the Big Ten, the Huskies have been unable to play up to the level of some of the top teams in the conference, including the Ohio State Buckeyes and saw a team that historically has not performed well in the conference, the Indiana Hoosiers, win the national championship last season.

Washington has relied on recruiting and developing young players through recruiting to make up for its lack of funds to go in the transfer portal,