College football decision-makers appear determined to expand the College Football Playoff to 24 teams as early as next season.
This decision, the latest in a long series of changes, expansions and breaks with tradition, naturally provoked strong reactions. For some, it’s a welcome move that will make the playoffs more exciting and more meaningful. For others, it’s a sign that the sport is abandoning many of the elements that made it unique.
Most people can agree that this will result in more money for those at the top of the hierarchy.
For a program like Central Michigan, it’s hard to see what benefits a 24-team CFP would bring. Sports power players have aligned to ensure that schools like them are less likely to qualify, even as the field grows. And as Central Michigan head coach Matt Drinkall sees it, it’s just the latest reactionary move that’s driving the sport and putting financial concerns ahead of everything else.
Here’s (part of) Central Michigan head coach Matt Drinkall’s quote in opposition to the proposed 24-team College Football Playoff: https://t.co/SzcEQiRg3D
– By the Belt: A MAC Sports Blog (@bythebelt) October 20, 2026
“Everything that’s happened since COVID has been just 100 percent reaction,” Drinkall told reporters Tuesday when asked about the expansion. “No one ever said, ‘OK, if we do this, what will it look like in 15 years?’ What will it look like in 10 years? Is it in the best interest, culturally, of everyone? Or is it just ‘How can I save my ass and make the most money right this second, right now?’ That’s what everyone is going to do.
“Anyone who has to sell TV spots or tickets to every school or promote a conference doesn’t care about what’s good for the sport of football. They don’t care about what’s good for the kids coming in… But they want to know what makes my job the most money right now. So, everything from COVID, all (the) reactionary realignment of conferences, eligibility, player pay, transfer policies… None of that is good. None of that is good. is in the best interest of the student-athlete; none of this is in the best interest of the sport. It’s like everyone went crazy at the same time.
“And it’s just a downward spiral that doesn’t stop until it turns into a smoldering dumpster fire, like the Truffula trees and ‘The Lorax.’ For example, they will promote this sport for every penny they can for as long as they can and prostitute this sport for financial gain. Until people stop caring about it, like they did with boxing in the ’20s, Major League Baseball, when they were selling off all these fields, they would be prostituting themselves.as much as possible until people stop the careng.
Congratulations on the solid Dr. Seuss reference, Matt.
According to Andrew Graham of Mitten Football, Drinkall added that “this will be the final threshold that pushes a certain percentage of college football into the professional realm forever.”
“This will be the final threshold that pushes a certain percentage of college football into the professional realm forever,” Matt Drinkall said of the 24-team CFP (as part of a much longer answer).
– Andrew E. Graham 🗣️ (@AndrewEdGraham) October 20, 2026
It appears there is more to Drinkall’s statement, so hopefully the video will be released soon. You probably won’t hear many Power Four coaches talk that way about the expanded CFP, especially since some see it as a way to keep their jobs longer. However, according to Drinkall, the goalposts will change soon enough on this, as well as other aspects of the CFP, and then we will all have to prepare for the next short-term decision that will change college football once again.
Gn sports
