How New College Football Playoff Formats Impact Oregon Ducks, Big Ten

The Big Ten is reportedly in the early stages of proposing an overhaul to the 12-team College Football Playoff format, but how will this change affect the Oregon Ducks? The Ohio State Buckeyes eliminated an undefeated Oregon in the Rose Bowl after the 2024 season.

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a first-down catch against Oregon during the 2025 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. | Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Entering the 2025 season, some Oregon Duck fans seek to wash out the taste of the previous year's College Football Playoff results, which humbled the No. 1 ranked team with a loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Rose Bowl.

Since every single team with the "bye" lost their playoff game, folks from around the college football world look for a new format. A change even arrived in May from the College Football Playoff Committee, giving the top-four ranked teams a bye, not just conference champions.

Per recent reports, the Big Ten Conference is in the midst of some early restructuring talk that could completely eliminate conference championships in favor of a brand new playoff.

Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) eyes a pass to the endzone in front of Oregon Ducks linebacker Bryce Boettcher (28) during the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

28 teams competing for the title

According to NBC Sports' Nicole Auerbach, the conference is in the "very early stages" of discussing a 28-team College Football Playoff that would take out conference championship games and designate a specific number of playoff entry spots per conference.

Auerbach reports that the entries per conference would go as follows:

Big Ten: 7
SEC: 7
ACC: 5
Big 12: 5
G5: 2
Other: 2

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Oregon Ducks linebacker Connor Soelle (22) watches confetti fall Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, after the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Oregon Ducks defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions, 45-37. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New Format Details

With this format, the first round of playoff games would replace a conference championship, with the first two weeks being played on campuses instead of neutral sites.

Auerbach emphasizes that these plans are in early stages, and are mostly topics staying in the Big Ten, but the admission of a potential rehaul of the playoffs is intriguing nonetheless.

What did Dan Lanning Propose?

When it comes to the Oregon Ducks and playoff changes, the conversation is ongoing. During the 2025 Big Ten media days in Las Vegas, Oregon coach Dan Lanning called for an overhaul of the playoff system that would have the season start on "week zero" of the current format and end on New Years Day.

Jul 23, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon head coach Dan Lanning speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

"I'd be in favor of creating our playoff system to mirror every other playoff system in sports," Lanning told ESPN. "The season's over, and the playoffs start shortly after. The long break is something I'm not crazy about. I wish we played every single Saturday in college football. I wish college football ended Jan. 1."

However, when Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti heard about Lanning's proposal, he emphasized changing the playoff format would be "tricky".

"It requires a lot of combining and compressing the regular season," Petitti said to ESPN. "It's tricky to try and get everything done as early as you want. Is it physically possible? Yes, but it requires real compression in how you play. I think it's partly in trying to wrap the season off so you can get some of the tough portal decisions that we're facing about where that goes, and you can just complete your season and then get on to building a team for next season."

So, does the playoff format Auerbach reported have any legs?

Potentially, but as reported the talks are in very early stages. For Duck fans, it should be comforting so many voices behind the scenes are working to make sure high performing teams aren't rewarded a 25-day break that could result in a rusty team.