![Florida head coach Jon Sumrall talks on the sideline during spring practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2659,h_1495/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/production/213/01ksn4sqvc0amha1vkpd.jpg "Florida head coach Jon Sumrall talks on the sideline during spring practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
We here at Hail Florida Hail have argued against the expansion of the college football playoffs past 12 teams. The way things are set up now, there is still a sense of tension in the regular season, and there are still real debates over who the 12 best teams in the country are. Once one starts getting past those 12, we start getting to teams who have no business trying to claim they are the best team in the country.
So, while we respect Jon Sumrall’s rationale for why he would be in favor of the playoffs moving to 24 teams, Florida fans would not benefit from this expansion.
Jon Sumrall favors 24 teams for the playoffs
The SEC is essentially the last holdout standing in the way of the playoffs staying at 12 teams and moving to a 24-team model. What’s ironic is that most of the coaches and ADs who have spoke at the SEC Spring Meetings seem to be in favor of the playoffs moving to 24 team.
Sumrall is among that group:
"I think access is nice to have when you're at that level. I do think I've been on both sides of this now. Are there two deserving G6 teams in a 12-team playoff? I would question that. I think this league top to bottom is very challenging. I'm for playoff expansion.
I don't have time to figure out what all that looks like. I'm too busy trying to build a roster and coach our guys, but I do think more football is good football in my opinion. And a lot of people say we'll water it down or whatever. I think people will still probably watch. So, I got a pretty good hunch on that."
Yes, people would still watch, but that doesn’t mean that more is better.
The two-fold problem of a 24-team playoff is that it lowers the stakes for the regular season. Once you start removing the tension from things that happen in the regular season, fans will find a way to tune out until the playoffs begin. No longer do games in October and November feel like they have much meaning because everyone’s fate will be decided in December and January.
The other problem is that a 24-team system now starts to string along bad coaches who can now duck under the cover of “But I made the playoffs.” There is a world where Billy Napier’s 2024 would have been in the conversation to make those playoffs, given Florida was in the top 20 in computer rankings and the NCAA loves its computer rankings.
If the powers that be created a system where every conference champ got an auto bid and the field was still 24 teams, we could possibly be in favor of that since the cut-off for at-large teams would still be around the No. 16-ranked team.
But since the Power Four conference would rather their 8-4 teams get an invite, we are stuck watching the slow disintegration of college football in front of our very eyes.
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