Lane Kiffin’s LSU Faces a New Playoff Reality With Reported 24-Team CFP Expansion

Lane Kiffin holds the reins of one of the most well-known programs in college football, the LSU Tigers, as an experienced coach with an impressive resumé.

He's brought great success to multiple SEC programs and Conference USA, defining himself as a coach who builds programs up over time. The only flaw in his coaching career is that his success has never been shown in the College Football Playoff.

With high expectations to make that change this season at LSU, the team hopes to secure marquee wins in the final stretch to squeeze into the bracket, as this could be the last time this challenge will present itself.

A New Playoff Picture Coming

College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl — The College Football Playoff logo is painted in the endzone prior to the Cotton Bowl between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Miami Hurricanes at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Dec. 31, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Every team hopes to be a part of the CFP at the end of the season, playing well into December to get a shot at bringing home the National Championship trophy.

Up until the 2024 season, the CFP bracket was an exclusive club, only granting four teams a chance to play football in December.

For ten years, the playoffs consisted of four teams, still being chosen by a committee of 13 members, evaluating a team's conference championship success, strength of schedule, and head-to-head results.

Until it brought up one too many controversies about well-deserved teams being left out.

So, in 2024, the CFP expanded to a 12-team bracket, with the Power 5 highest-ranked conference championships getting automatic bids and the committee selecting the next seven, usually from its own rankings.

This is a system the league has been using for two seasons now, and it is set to make the anticipated decision this December. For the last time.

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Once again, the CFP is expanding its bracket, this time doubling instead of tripling, expanding into a 24-team playoff bracket for the 2027-2028 season.

OFFICIAL: CFP to Expand to 24 Teams Starting with the 2027-28 College Football Season; Announces Exclusive Media Rights Agreement with ESPN to Televise New CFP Games through the 2021-32 Season

Full news release and fact sheet » https://t.co/duBPAfukQy
— CFP (@CFBPlayoff) November 9, 2026

This will bring a brand new competition to the postseason, and new expectations to each program that is set to compete.

How It Affects LSU

LSU football Lane Kiffin — Tigers Head Coach Lane Kiffin, The LSU Tigers take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. October 17, 2026; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; at Tiger Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

This brings a whole new ballgame to Kiffin and his Bayou Bengals.

It can change his expectations as a head coach and his team, because if the college football playoff gets less competitive, the reward is less deserved.

Let's take a look at this season: LSU has to win out to even get stay on the committee's radar. Ahead of playing Alabama last week, LSU was sitting at No. 14 in the CFP rankings to make the playoffs, meaning they were right around the cut-off line.

After losing to Alabama, its chances got even slimmer, meaning the team has to win out, beating Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas to get back on the committee's radar as a three-loss team.

Next season, there will be more leverage with three loss teams, meaning that LSU can easily pull off a playoff berth. That's now become the standard, not a hopeful expectation late in the season.

It'll no longer be about whether LSU is able to make its way into the playoffs, but about how Kiffin and his program can compete in a place they should be each postseason.

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