New CFP Proposal Could Fast-Track Stanford Football's Return to Relevance

Proposed rule changes could be the push Stanford ends up needing to get back into national relevance

Nov 29, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; General view of the players for Stanford Cardinal after losing to Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

A monumental change to college football could be coming soon, and it's a change that Stanford fans will like, as Yahoo Sports insider Ross Dellenger reported this week that college football coaches are showing support to expand the College Football Playoff to 24 teams while also doing away with conference title games.

This is a significant development that could lead Stanford toward reaching the CFP sooner than expected.

The expansion, which would happen as early as 2027 and no later than 2029, would increase the field from 12 to 24 teams. Without a conference title game, all bids would be at-large based on the AP Top 25 rankings.

Group of Six conferences (non Power-4 programs) would get an automatic spot. An additional round would be added with 12 extra games, and the college football season would end by the second week of January.

Under the proposal, the top eight teams would get a first-round bye while teams seeded 9–24 would play their first-round games at the higher seed's campus.

Stanford, a program in the midst of a rebuild, could benefit greatly from this change. Instead of needing to compete for an ACC title or even finish in the top half of the conference, the Cardinal just need to win enough games to be in the top 24. With a new era on the Farm led by head coach Tavita Pritchard, that could be well within reach under his watch.

Despite coming off a 4-8 season, the Cardinal have overhauled their roster and made major improvements to their depth chart across the board, most notably at quarterback. Combine that with a new coaching staff that has extensive NFL coaching experience, and this is a Cardinal program that could see success — even a bowl game — as soon as 2026.

This season may not be the year that the Cardinal get to the level of competing for the College Football Playoff, but by the time the new rules take effect, the program should be in a better position to make a run at a playoff spot.

Pritchard was pivotal in the development of Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, helping him win NFL Rookie of the Year in 2024 in a season in which the Commanders made the NFC championship game. He has proven himself to be an elite coaching mind and if he finds the same success on the Farm, the Cardinal could be a problem for the rest of college football.

Stanford still has a long way to go before it is considered a legitimate contender, but if these rule changes take hold in the coming years, the Cardinal's path back to relevance, and the postseason, is ahead of schedule.