College Football Playoff rankings: Who would be alive in a 12-team format?

“I think the overall size and value of the sport is diminished because of the four-team invitational.”

That is a quote from FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt on college football’s current four-team playoff format, which is scheduled to expand to 12 teams as soon as 2024 and no later than 2026.

Klatt — who will call Saturday’s USC–UCLA Pac-12 showdown alongside Gus Johnson and Jenny Taft (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) — has been a strong advocate for expanding the CFP field, so when news broke back on Sept. 2 that the CFP Board of Managers had approved a 12-team model, he was elated.

“This move is going to help the sport get to a place where it can be the best it can possibly be,” Klatt said when the news was announced.

The primary reason expansion is vitally important to the sport is parity, but it also means more teams will be playing meaningful games by the time mid-November arrives.

In fact, if the 12-team playoff format was currently in play heading into Week 12 of this season, there would be an eye-popping 33 teams still alive in the College Football Playoff race. That’s more than 25% of Division I programs that would still have a shot to play on college football’s biggest stage.

“This has to happen, and it has to happen tomorrow because currently what we have, is really eight teams total that can possibly go to the playoff,” Klatt said on a recent episode of his podcast, “The Joel Klatt Show.” “It is minimizing the way that we watch college football and the way we enjoy college football.”

12-team playoff: What would it mean for the regular season?

Joel Klatt discusses what would happen if there was a 12-team playoff currently in place.

Here is a look at the 33 teams that would still have a shot at the CFP if a 12-team playoff format was in place this season.

Note: Under the 12-team format, the six conference champions ranked highest by the committee, with no minimum ranking requirement would earn bids, as well as the six highest-ranked teams not among the conference champions.

*Would be competing for an at-large bid.

SEC

Georgia Bulldogs (10-0, 7-0)
LSU Tigers (8-2, 6-1)
*Tennessee Volunteers (9-1, 5-1)
*Alabama Crimson Tide (8-2, 5-2)
*Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2)

Klatt’s take: “For Alabama, granted you’re not trying to play a meaningful game anyway because Austin Peay is coming to town, but at least you’d be playing meaningful games.”

Big Ten

Michigan (10-0, 7-0)
Ohio State (10-0, 7-0)
Illinois (7-3, 4-3)
Iowa (6-4, 4-3)
Minnesota (7-3, 4-3)
Purdue (6-4, 4-3)
Wisconsin (5-5, 3-4)
*Penn State (8-2, 5-2)

Klatt’s take: “The best one of all, at least in my estimation, is Penn State. This is a two-loss team that is totally out of their division race because they’ve lost to two of the top-three teams in the entire country in Michigan and Ohio State, and they’re not playing for anything right now. They would if there was a 12-team playoff.”

Big 12

TCU (10-0, 7-0)
Kansas State (7-5, 5-2)
Baylor (6-4, 4-3)
Kansas (6-4, 3-4)
Oklahoma State (7-3, 4-3)
Texas (6-4, 4-3)
Texas Tech (5-5, 3-4)

Klatt’s take: “Think about Kansas and how they were this unbelievable story early, and then they just went by the wayside. Why? Because we have a subjective four-team invitational and not a postseason that is expanded to be a point where we can have a clearly-defined path for the champions of conferences.”

Pac-12

USC (9-1, 7-1)
Utah (8-2, 6-1)
UCLA (8-2, 5-2)
Washington (8-2, 5-2)

Klatt’s take: “This weekend, when you’ve got Utah heading up to Oregon … and all of a sudden when you look at Oregon’s loss to Washington, you think ‘well, this game has lost all its luster.’ Now, no one is focusing that Utah is going up to Oregon. Well, in this model, it still means everything because there is a postseason berth on the line.”

ACC

Clemson (9-1, 7-0)
UNC (9-1, 6-0)
*Florida State (7-3, 5-3)

Klatt’s take: “Clemson and North Carolina have already locked up their berths in the ACC Championship Game, so they would still be alive.”

Independent

*Notre Dame (7-3)

Klatt’s Take: “Think about how big Notre Dame’s game against USC would be for both teams in a 12-team playoff? This has to happen.”

Group of 5

UCF (8-2, 5-1)
Coastal Carolina (9-1, 6-1)
Cincinnati (8-2, 5-1)
Tulane (8-2, 5-1)

Klatt’s Take: “I came up with four teams that I think — based on where they are ranked right now, and the way the committee views them — that they would easily be one of the best six champions if they were to win their conference, and maybe two of the six best.”

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Each week, FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt dives into his Top 10 teams, answers questions and discusses the biggest storylines in college football on his podcast. Download “The Joel Klatt Show” here.