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The College Football Playoff Debate Has Become EXHAUSTING... THIS IS WHY
Description
Is college football really heading toward a 24-team College Football Playoff?
The 2026 CFP remains a 12-team format, but the debate over future expansion continues — with potential formats involving 16, 20 and even 24 teams becoming part of the conversation. On today's Locked On Hoosiers and Locked On Nittany Lions crossover, Jacob Goins and Zach Seyko debate whether college football should stop dragging this out and simply embrace a much larger playoff.
Would a 24-team playoff create more meaningful postseason games and massive matchups? Or would continued expansion water down the regular season, eliminate traditional bowl games and potentially change conference championship games?
There's also one enormous factor driving the conversation: money.
More playoff teams create more games. More games create more television inventory, ticket sales, merchandise opportunities and revenue. That's a major reason Zach believes expansion is ultimately inevitable.
But Jacob raises another concern: are college football fans simply getting exhausted by the constant changes to the postseason?
We also discuss an ESPN report about what starting players at Power Conference programs are commanding financially, including the incredible market for quarterbacks and premium positions.
And later, we dive into an important Indiana Football fall-camp battle. Penn State transfer AJ Harris entered Bloomington looking like a potential starter, but returning cornerback Ryland Gandy is reportedly ahead in the competition opposite Jamari Sharpe. What does that mean for Curt Cignetti's secondary?
Would YOU support a 24-team College Football Playoff? Or has expansion already gone far enough?
00:00 Is a 24-Team Playoff Coming?
01:41 Just Go to 24 Teams Already?
03:27 What Happens to Bowl Games?
04:44 The MONEY Behind CFP Expansion
06:51 Big Ten vs. SEC on Expansion
07:20 How Much Are College Players Making?
09:06 What Does a Starting Player Cost?
10:44 $1-3 MILLION for a Quarterback?!
11:43 Running Back Market Value
12:52 Offensive Linemen Are Getting PAID
14:59 What Kickers & Defenders Make
15:39 Will Player Salaries Ever Drop?
17:28 College Football's Spending Problem
19:01 $100 Million Rosters?!
20:33 AJ Harris May NOT Start at Indiana
24:08 AJ Harris vs. Ryland Gandy
25:28 What Happened to AJ Harris?
26:32 Is Harris a System Corner?
27:09 Why Indiana Shouldn't Panic
28:37 Can Harris Win the Job?
29:38 Final Thoughts
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