College Football Playoff could expand to 12 teams

College football fans have been clamoring for an extended playoff for years, and it looks like they may just get their wish. There are talks between the Commissioners of each Conference and the Notre Dame AD discussing the possibility of expanding the College Football Playoff to a 12-team bracket as soon as the 2023 season.

Details aren’t final, but it appears that this version of the Playoff would have the winners of each Conference be ranked one through four and also get a first-round bye. Teams five through twelve would face one another in the first-round with home field going to the team with the higher ranking. This expansion could also lead to an ever further expanded playoff in years to come.

In terms of CFP representation, lately it’s been Clemson getting the nod from the ACC and they show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Pitt reaching the CFP hasn’t been all that realistic, despite playing in a winnable Division. And since joining the ACC, the Panthers have not even finished the season inside of the Top 25. In short, Pitt has never been close to reaching the CFP.

While the Panthers have some great recruits entering the program, they are still a distant team behind Clemson in the ACC. And while the team would technically have better odds of making the playoff should they expand to 12 teams, it still doesn’t seem all that close.

The expansion of the CFP is a great thing for the sport of College Football and will help a lot more teams contend for a national championship. But until the Panthers’ take a real step forward in a particular season and all of the dominoes fall correctly, it’s difficult to imagine them reaching the top 12.