Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban says the College Football Playoff’s expansion from 12 teams to 24 will come at a steep cost, warning that bowl games are headed for extinction and the SEC Championship Game could disappear entirely.
Saban made the comments Saturday morning on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” broadcasting from BYU’s campus ahead of a weekend loaded with marquee matchups, including Ohio State vs. Indiana and Notre Dame vs. BYU.
“People want to see the best teams in the Playoffs. There’s not 24 teams in the country that deserve to be in the playoffs,” Saban said. “I don’t think there’s 24 teams in the country that can win the championship.”
Saban didn’t stop there. “Bowl games are gonna be a thing of the past,” he said, and warned of another casualty: “We’re gaining something but we’re also giving something up. There’s gonna be no SEC Championship Game now.”
The expansion plan, which is reportedly nearly finalized, would take effect in 2027 and bring more Playoff games to campus sites across the country. Teams seeded 1 through 8 would get a first-round bye and a home game in the next round, a structural change several commentators on the
