Charles Huff on 24-team playoff: "Are you really the national champion, or did you just survive the longest?"

At this point, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that the field for the College Football Playoff will double in size, expanding from 12 to at least 16 teams, and the most popular choice nationally seems to be 24 teams.

The only question has become when that expansion will happen.

While the field is locked in at 12-teams for the 2026 season, expansion is on the way whether fans and coaches agree to it or not. 

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti has been vocal in recent days in his belief that expanding to 24 teams would make the regular season more meaningful, while plenty of fans and coaches disagree.

For what it's worth, I'm in the camp that believes there aren't 24 teams that are legit contenders to hoist the national title at the end of the season. Now, 12 of the right teams? Sure, and I think the committee has reworked the qualifications to make the field of 12 to ensure that the best teams punch their ticket in future years, fixing a glaring issue like Notre Dame missing the field last year when the case could be made for them as a team no one wanted to see and as one of the hottest teams in the country at the end of the year.

The push for 24 teams is clearly centered on one thing at this point - money. The concern that I share with plenty of others in expanding to 24 is where do we draw the line? When 24 teams is no longer compelling, is there a push to 36? Where does the madness end?

First-year Memphis head coach Charles Huff, who has coached at blue-blood programs like Alabama and Penn State as a top assistant as well as head coaching stops at Marshall, Southern Miss and now with the Tigers, brought up another good point regarding expansion of the field to 24 teams recently.

"It's just hard for me to see an 8-4 national champion. Are you really a national champion, or did you just survive the longest?"

It's a valid point. Coaches around the country have gone on the record about how the transfer portal has wreaked havoc on roster depth over the years, and how it isn't close to the same as it was a decade ago, and being crowned national champs for simply surviving the longest isn't the same as dominating your way to a title. 

Huff goes on to share that if they end up 8-4 and don't get in, he will likely have a different response and acknowledges that there are pros and cons to both the current 12-team format as well as the push for 24 teams.

"The competitor in me says win all your games. Win all your games, leave it at 12, and we'd be fine."

Hear his full thoughts in the clip.