Aggies' road to a title changes in 2027 as the College Football Playoff doubles to 24 teams and the SEC championship game ends

Texas A&M and every other major college football program will chase a national title through a playoff bracket of 24 teams starting next season, and the Southeastern Conference championship game will be played for the last time this December.

ESPN and the College Football Playoff signed a five-year agreement Monday that doubles the field from 12 teams beginning in 2027, ESPN reported, adding that sources put the deal's value at close to $1.7 billion. CBS Sports also reported the expansion, citing sources.

"Opening the Playoff to more programs, more student-athletes and more fan bases across the country is great for college football," said Mark Keenum, who leads the CFP's governing board, in a statement ESPN published.

How the bracket will work

The 24 spots will go to 19 at-large teams, the four Power Four conference champions and the highest-ranked team from the Group of Six conferences, according to ESPN. With no title games, the power conferences are expected to decide their champions from regular-season standings and tiebreakers, ESPN reported, citing sources.

The top eight seeds get first-round byes. Games in the first two rounds will be hosted on the home field of the better-seeded team, with teams seeded ninth through 16th hosting first-round games, ESPN said. In a statement quoted by CBS Sports, the CFP said the format includes 16 on-campus playoff games that will "bring Playoff football to more students and local fans."

The quarterfinals and semifinals stay in the New Year's Six bowls, including the Cotton Bowl, and the national championship game is still scheduled for New Orleans on Jan. 24, 2028. ESPN reported the regular season will run from "Week Zero," the week before Labor Day, through Thanksgiving weekend, and the playoff will begin the second weekend of December 2027.

SEC title game's final edition

The SEC announced Monday that its 2026 championship game, set for Dec. 5 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, will be the last. It will be the 35th edition of a game that began in 1992 in Birmingham, Alabama.

"As the sport evolves with an expanded College Football Playoff, we look forward to celebrating the remarkable legacy of this event with its 35th and final edition," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in the conference's announcement.

CBS Sports reported that Sankey had favored a smaller field that would have kept the championship game, and that the Big Ten pushed for 24 teams. The ACC, Big 12 and Notre Dame also backed the larger format, according to CBS.

Critics have argued a bigger bracket could weaken the regular season; Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti has pushed back on that, ESPN reported, pointing to the format's seeding incentives.

Under the deal, Notre Dame no longer has a guaranteed path and must earn an at-large bid if it is not ranked high enough, according to ESPN. The Army-Navy game will move to Dec. 4, 2027, the weekend that used to hold conference title games, ESPN reported.

Sources

ESPN

CBS Sports

secsports.com