24 Teams? We're Already Drowning in College Football and the First Kickoffs Are Still Months Away

Alright, listen up, Emerald City! We live and breathe sports here, but something's got me scratching my head, and we're still weeks from summer. College football is going to a 24-team playoff, and honestly? It feels like way, way too much.

The Pre-Season Deluge That Tells You Everything

Look at what's coming just to start the season in late August and early September 2026. On August 28th, you've got Hawai'i against Stanford, Memphis takes on UNLV, San José State squares off with USC, and Florida State is playing New Mexico State. That's just one day, folks, a single Thursday, before the full weekend slate even kicks off! Then, August 29th, ESPN throws a double-header at us: TCU against North Carolina, and Virginia versus NC State. This isn't even the bulk of it. September 2nd hits with Idaho vs. Utah and Minnesota vs. Eastern Illinois. September 4th alone lists dozens of games, from Florida Atlantic vs. Florida to Miami vs. Stanford, even UTEP vs. Oklahoma. It's a never-ending buffet, an absolute deluge of matchups, and the main course, this massive 24-team playoff, hasn't even been served yet. If the regular season start is this packed, how much more can we cram into the postseason before it all loses its luster?

"Bigger Isn't Always Better" Is Screaming Right Now

This is exactly where "bigger isn't always better" screams louder than a Lumen Field crowd on a game day. Shoving 24 teams into a playoff bracket makes you wonder about the quality of those extra slots. Are we just adding games for expansion's sake? Are we truly diluting the meaning of a championship run when so many teams get a shot? We’re talking about early season matchups where Vegas already sets lines like TCU as a 6.5-point favorite over North Carolina, or Virginia as a 3-point favorite against NC State. If these are the games leading up to a ridiculously expansive playoff, it makes you seriously question the value of every single game, and frankly, the integrity of the entire postseason. We want to see epic battles, high-stakes showdowns, not just a marathon of matchups that feel like glorified exhibition games. The drama gets blurry when everyone gets a golden ticket, and the stakes just don't feel the same.

So yeah, here we are in April, tracking early moves for our Mariners and looking ahead to our Seahawks, and this college football news drops like a ton of bricks. We love our football, but this idea of a 24-team playoff, tacked onto an already packed schedule with dozens of games in the first week alone, just feels like overkill. It’s hard to get hyped when you’re already bracing for exhaustion. Let's just hope that somewhere in this quest for quantity, the pure quality and competitive fire doesn't get lost. We deserve real, impactful competition, not just more of everything. Keep that energy up, Seattle, and here's to hoping the actual games deliver!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.