{"id":810308,"date":"2026-03-13T18:15:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T18:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/810308\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T18:15:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T18:15:36","slug":"what-if-2026-had-a-68-team-college-football-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/810308\/","title":{"rendered":"What if 2026 had a 68-team college football tournament?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Until Saturday Newsletter \ud83c\udfc8\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s college football newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive Until Saturday directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Sup. Let\u2019s do something silly today.<\/p>\n

This Is March: What if CFB had a 68-team tourney?<\/p>\n

College basketball\u2019s Selection Sunday is \u2026 Sunday. That means it\u2019s time for an exercise: pretending the committee is putting together a Division I football tournament instead.<\/p>\n

I do this every year, but can never remember the prior year\u2019s method.\u00a0Here\u2019s last year\u2019s<\/a>, if you want to check. (I didn\u2019t.)\u00a0This time:<\/p>\n

I included every team that won a DI conference, got a vote in\u00a0the final AP Top 25<\/a> or appeared in the FCS quarterfinals. From there, I let a blend of the AP, the final FCS poll and various computer ratings rank those 39 teams (plus 29 at-larges), then complained about how low the FCS teams were.
\nWith teams ranked Nos. 1-68, I followed\u00a0the NCAA\u2019s S-curve model<\/a>\u00a0(No. 1 overall seed Indiana\u2019s region gets the lowest-ranked No. 2 seed, etc.) while also trying to avoid opening-round rematches or lower seeds getting advantageous geography.<\/p>\n

You can tap to zoom, but we\u2019ll also go through each region below. No, Big Ten, you did not get 18 auto-bids. (I adapted this bracket from our website by ruining it in Paintbrush. Printable\u00a0men\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0women\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0brackets, for those who like filling in by hand on Sunday.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We have an Indianapolis region, which means the Hoosiers get to host in their home state. Does this setup mean all of these games happen in Indy, or just the final rounds? I dunno, the format changes every year. Call me the BCS.<\/p>\n

Maybe first-round games are hosted by higher seeds. Maybe middle rounds happen at lower-tier bowl games.\u00a0But this time, the funniest version is each region happening entirely in one city. Alabama hosts UC Davis on an Indianapolis high school football field at noon.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

(Yes, the 7-6 Nittany Lions have a decent seed. Some computer ratings would\u2019ve ranked them way higher, actually.)<\/p>\n

Next, in Phoenix, overall No. 4 seed Oregon winds up with friendly-ish geography, having been to the Fiesta Bowl four times. So many culture clashes in this group. Duke will somehow win it, despite losing four times in a single-elimination tournament.<\/p>\n

After this part of the bracket, we\u2019ll examine some serious stories written by professional grownups, then get back to nonsense.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Quick Snaps<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8 It\u2019s coach-ranking time for Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman.\u00a0Yep, Curt Cignetti vaulted to a unanimous No. 1 after ranking in the teens on both their 2025 lists.<\/p>\n

Biggest contention in the comments under\u00a0Stew\u2019s top-25 list<\/a>: Kalen DeBoer at No. 5. Going 20-8 at Alabama\u00a0feels like going 8-20, but his NAIA dynasty and Washington turnaround are still evidence of his capability. No. 2 recruiting class, FWIW.
\nBruce\u2019s top 25<\/a> has DeBoer at No. 4 (!), with Mario Cristobal at No. 5. Clock-management jokes aside, was Miami not a play away from a title? I\u2019m glad nobody asks me to rank 25 coaches. I can just summarize other people\u2019s lists as if they\u2019re equally correct.
\nYour turn.\u00a0Tell us FBS\u2019 five best current coaches<\/a>.\u00a0After the obligatory Cignetti\/Smart\/Day trio, I went with Kyle Whittingham and Matt Campbell. Not ranking 20 more, though.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf0 News:<\/p>\n

\u201cOle Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss said in a court filing Thursday that the uncertainty surrounding his NCAA eligibility cost him a shot at\u00a0being on the cover<\/a> of EA Sports\u2019 college football video game.\u201d
\n\u201cChris Partridge, an assistant coach who was fired by Michigan weeks before the Wolverines won the 2023 national championship, is\u00a0suing the university<\/a> \u2026 alleging he was a \u2018scapegoat.’\u201d
\n\u201cNCAA will continue tampering investigations despite Big Ten\u2019s\u00a0request for moratorium<\/a>.\u201d
\nNIL\u2019s new governing body is facing \u201cunexpected challenges due to a surge of school-affiliated\u00a0deals that may not comply<\/a> with the rules.\u201d My friend, how was that unexpected?
\nConference USA-winning head coach Jerry Mack celebrates his best Kennesaw State players earning\u00a0portal paydays elsewhere<\/a>. Embracing reality.
\nCUSA released a 2026 schedule \u2026 that\u00a0includes Louisiana Tech<\/a>, which is trying to leave for the Sun Belt this year. Double-booked?<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcda That headline about\u00a0the SEC considering its own rulebook\u00a0wasn\u2019t about the conference wanting rampant chicanery or building its own playoff or whatever.\u00a0Really, it\u2019s about<\/a>\u00a0the NCAA barely being real.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\uddac Just five players remain on Colorado\u2019s roster from the 2024 team led by Heisman-winner Travis Hunter. And that\u2019s just the beginning of\u00a0the changes Deion Sanders faces<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcb0 \u201cSacramento State now has a pathway \u2026 to play for a national championship.\u201d You already did! In FCS! The level where you were only somewhat decent! Sorry, I\u2019m yelling again. More here on\u00a0the money of the Hornets\u2019 FBS leap<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Say something nice about Sac State: Did you know director Ryan Coogler (\u201cBlack Panther,\u201d \u201cSinners\u201d)\u00a0played wide receiver there<\/a>?<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcec\u00a0Mandel\u2019s Mailbag\u00a0is on Dan Lanning\u2019s ceiling, which football schools are actually basketball schools\u00a0and more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This Is Still March: More football madness<\/p>\n

Back to the bracket. In Atlanta, overall No. 2 Miami could get early revenge on Louisville, a rematch the committee had a hard time avoiding despite looking at that part of the spreadsheet for at least 10 seconds. The winner of this group will certainly be Illinois State, the team that won an unprecedented four road games in the FCS playoffs.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Iowa State\u2019s appearance in this next region means it\u2019s time to clarify: These teams get their 2025 rosters and coaching staffs. Otherwise, the\u00a0 Cyclones\u2019 2025 starting lineup would mostly now be playing for Penn State.<\/p>\n

Ole Miss vs. Georgia, Round 3. Even the most rematch-hating among us would be seated on time for that.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

I would ask who ya got winning the whole thing, but we\u2019d all just pick Indiana. After all, football is the sport where the Hoosiers actually win brackets. Still, email me at untilsaturday@theathletic.com, if you want.<\/p>\n

Bracket Watch for actual basketball:<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a wrap. In response to Tuesday\u2019s poll on whether Lane Kiffin\u00a0will ever win a national title<\/a>\u00a0at LSU, a resounding\u00a073.1 percent of Until Saturday readers said he won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure Kiffin disdain was a factor. But 3:1 odds are probably more than fair to him. The average tenure among FBS head coaches is about four years, and there are more than four programs whose championship potential is on par with LSU\u2019s.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a topic because this was the most championship-or-bust hire since \u2026 I dunno, Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M? (Nah, even more than that.) It\u2019ll remain a topic for 10 months at very least.<\/p>\n

Love Until Saturday? Check out\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s other newsletters<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Until Saturday Newsletter \ud83c\udfc8\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s college football newsletter. Sign up here to receive Until Saturday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":810309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2026],"tags":[331,7],"class_list":{"0":"post-810308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-college-football","9":"tag-football"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116223238231993881","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=810308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/810309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=810308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=810308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}