Washington Huskies Head Coach Jedd Fisch Discusses Expansion of College Football Playoff

SEATTLE — For the second time since the 2023-24 season, the College Football Playoff is set for a massive expansion.

It was reported by several sources Monday that a new deal is now in place to have the College Football Playoff expand from 12 teams to 24 teams beginning next season (2027). The current CFP format, in which all games are contracted to ESPN, will expand through the 2031-32 season.

Under the new format, the playoff will be comprised of five autobids: the winners of the four Power Four conferences and the highest-ranked Group of Six conference champion, and 19 at-large bids.

That new format would likely help out many of the teams on the outside looking into the CFP, including Power Four teams such as the Washington Huskies football team.

Washington head coach Jedd Fisch has been outspoken in his support of the CFP expansion in the past, and maintained that stance in a weekly news conference Monday at Husky Stadium.

"I've been very adamant (about expanding the playoffs)," Fisch said Monday. "I think it's fantastic. I think the way college football is going right now, it's needed. You need to be able to have these opportunities to continue playing. There's an exceptional amount of playoff teams that are 5-4 right now all over the place. The Big Ten is constantly beating each other. There's nothing that is predictable. ... You need to be able to have more playoff games. You need to have more teams being able to compete. You need to be able to be more like the NFL. We're beginning to feel like we're more like the NFL every single day. We need more strict rules, more guidelines so we can be more like them. ... They got 14-of-32 teams competing in their playoffs."

The change in playoff format also comes with some institutional changes to the game as a whole. With as many as two on-campus playoff games on the schedule under the new format, there will no longer be conference championship games.

Reactions on the expanded CFP have been mixed among fans, with some happy at the idea of their respective favorites contending for a national championship every year, with others lamenting another departure from traditions of college football.

Fisch acknowledged the need for college football to adopt more traits akin to the NFL and other professional leagues, while preserving some traditions such as the spring game. He also recognized the growing apathy from several fans and the need for universities to continue to campaign for support among fans.

"I do believe these games are becoming professionalized in a lot of ways, and a lot of people might become disconnected or disengaged and we can't allow that to happen," Fisch said. "I think we have to continue to just educate and talk about — yeah, (the players) might be paid or, yes, the rules might be a little different. But they're still going to class. They're still getting a degree. They're still gonna be part of your alma mater. ... I also think new opponents are hard. I think that's hard, I think new conference are hard. That's challenging. I think it's difficult to see games that don't look the same score-wise. ... But college football is still the most watched (sport). The games are incredible. No one has any idea who's gonna win."

The expanded playoffs could benefit UW, but the program will need to work up a modified schedule to work within the new requirements of Power Four teams.

Under the new format, all Power Four teams will need to schedule 10 Power Four teams. The Big Ten requires nine in-conference games, meaning that the Huskies will have three nonconference games, including one Power Four opponent, in 2027-28. Washington currently has the Tennessee Volunteers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on the slate for 2028-29.

"We're working administratively on exactly what (that 10th Power Four opponent) looks like and on those three games that are not Big Ten games and exactly how those have to be orchestrated," Fisch said. "Obviously, we're gonna abide by whatever we need to do to get that done. I don't know what that exact schedule is gonna look like or how that works."

The Huskies will need to drop one of the nonconference games currently scheduled. Included among those contests is the final two games of the Apple Cup schedule between the Washington State Cougars and Washington.

The in-state rival has been a staple for over a century, but just has two more games left in the current contract. The new requirement of 10 Power Four games may either result in that game being dropped or a new contract not being agreed to.

"I'm not privy, or have not been privy (to Apple Cup discussions) for any other reason than I have total faith in (the administration) working through all the intricacies of what the contacts look like with Washington State, Washington and what other teams we could play or couldn't play," Fisch said.