College Football Opens 2026 Season With 12-Team Playoff and 8-Team Pac-12 Revival
Updated
Updated · Bleacher Report · Aug 27
College Football Opens 2026 Season With 12-Team Playoff and 8-Team Pac-12 Revival
3 articles · Updated · Bleacher Report · Aug 27
Summary
Saturday’s opener in Dublin starts a 2026 season that again feeds a 12-team College Football Playoff, with the top four ranked teams earning byes and the championship set for Jan. 25, 2027 in Las Vegas.
The biggest structural change is the Pac-12’s return as an eight-team league, adding Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Utah State, Fresno State and Texas State alongside Oregon State and Washington State.
That reshuffle pushed Louisiana Tech to the Sun Belt, while the Mountain West added Northern Illinois, UTEP and North Dakota State, and the MAC brought in Sacramento State.
Rule tweaks were limited: first-time second-half targeting now carries only a same-game suspension, offensive pass interference drops to 10 yards from 15, and coaches get two replay challenges with a third available if both succeed.