The College Football Playoff is closing in on an expansion to 24 teams, with ESPN's Pete Thamel reporting the deal is nearly done and the new format could launch as soon as the 2027-28 season, according to Yahoo Sports. For Big Ten programs stuck in the middle of the pack, including Iowa, the change resets what a successful season means.
The timing matters for Hawkeye fans. Iowa has finished in the top 24 of the CFP rankings five times since P.J. Fleck took over at Minnesota in 2017, Yahoo Sports reported, while the Gophers have done it once. A 24-team field turns that gap from a talking point into a realistic path to the postseason for every program in the conference.
What the 24-team playoff means for the Big Ten
College football's decision makers, network executives and conference presidents, are chasing television money, and a bigger bracket means more of it for everyone. Yahoo Sports was blunt about the motivation, writing that the people running the sport care about the bottom line and always have.
The practical result: a playoff berth becomes attainable for mid-tier Big Ten programs such as Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska, not just the Ohio States and Michigans of the world. Yahoo Sports noted that a billion-dollar television contract means the money is there for every single program in the conference, even Rutgers.
How Iowa stacks up in the expanded field era
Iowa fans have watched the Hawkeyes climb this season after a dominant win over Washington, a result that moved Kirk Ferentz's program up the Big Ten power rankings. Under a 24-team format, seasons like that stop being about bowl destinations and start being about seeding.
The old measuring sticks fade fast. Fleck has built his Minnesota brand partly on a perfect 7-0 bowl record, but Yahoo Sports reported the traditional bowl system may not survive the new format. If the Rate Bowl and the Pinstripe Bowl disappear or lose their meaning, the programs that treated a mid-December bowl game as a trophy suddenly need a new definition of success.
Minnesota's standard faces a stress test
The Gophers' recent history raises the stakes in Minneapolis. According to Yahoo Sports, Fleck said at Big Ten Media Days in July that Minnesota is closer than people think to qualifying for a 24-team field. That theory gets tested immediately, and the early returns are rough.
The Star Tribune called Minnesota's loss to Purdue last week one of Fleck's worst flops yet. Yahoo Sports reported that the Gophers had a path to being ranked before that defeat, and a three-game stretch against Iowa, Indiana and UCLA now threatens to spiral into a four-game losing streak.
Yahoo Sports also laid out the historical context: Glen Mason made bowl eligibility the expectation in Minneapolis in the early 2000s, Jerry Kill carried it forward, and Fleck inherited a standard built on decades of mediocrity. When Fleck was hired in 2017, four teams made the playoff. Ten years later that number will be multiplied by six.
Rivalry games still matter, but the math changes
Iowa fans do not need reminding that beating Minnesota for Floyd of Rosedale still counts for something. Fleck's reactions to beating Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan in recent years show he understands what rivalry wins mean to a fan base, Yahoo Sports reported.
But the new format changes the accounting. A 7-5 regular season that once earned a bowl trip and a pat on the back now sits on the playoff bubble. Yahoo Sports asked whether Minnesota's administration will still accept those seasons in the 24-team era, and the same question applies in Iowa City, Lincoln and Madison.
For Iowa, the expanded field is an opportunity. The Hawkeyes have been a consistent top-24 presence in the CFP rankings, and a bigger bracket rewards that consistency. National analysts are already debating how the conference's contenders stack up, with some pointing to Iowa's role in Ohio State's playoff resume as proof the Big Ten schedule now doubles as a playoff audition.
What happens next
The exact format of the 24-team bracket has not been finalized, Yahoo Sports reported. The deal still needs formal approval, but the direction is set, and the first expanded playoff could arrive in time for the 2027 season.
Until then, every November game in the Big Ten carries more weight. Iowa's annual meetings with Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska are no longer just about trophies. They are about a spot in a field that, for the first time, has room for programs that used to spend January watching from home.
FAQ
When could the 24-team College Football Playoff start?
According to Yahoo Sports, the new format is expected to begin with the 2027-28 season, though the exact structure has not been finalized.
How many times has Iowa finished in the top 24 of the CFP rankings since 2017?
Yahoo Sports reported that Iowa has finished in the top 24 of the CFP rankings five times since P.J. Fleck was hired at Minnesota in 2017, compared with once for the Gophers.
Does the 24-team playoff replace bowl games?
Yahoo Sports reported that the traditional bowl system could largely disappear under the new format, though nothing has been officially decided.