It’s no secret the world of college football is changing so quickly, with NIL and schools shifting to different conferences to drive better recruiting and competition. There has been no more significant news in recent months than what came out of Los Angeles earlier this week, with USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten conference in 2024. There is also the potential for other schools from the Pac-12 to join in the coming months.

As a media member covering college football and also a fan, I have been brainstorming the possibilities of the sport’s changing landscape. After thinking it over and sharing the ideas with my colleagues, here is the big ‘What If’ for the sport’s future.

Let’s pause the expansion talks for now. What if college football had four major conferences, and each winner of those conferences would be automatically bid to the College Football Playoff? Initially, the gauntlet of each conference would earn the schools the right to make the field of four. Furthermore, what if the current four-team format is the correct postseason setup?

Let’s use the Big Ten as an example:

Each conference would have four sets of pods containing five schools. The winner of those pods would play in a mini playoff to see who goes to the conference title game that would decide who would represent the conference in the College Football Playoff.

There would be the East, Central, Midwest, and West pods, assuming the Big Ten lands a handful more schools. Looking at you, Notre Dame. The schedule would be three non-conference games and nine conference games. For instance, the East teams would play all four of their opponents, play another Pod of the conference, and rotate every two years to create that home and home.

In Ohio State’s case, it would create a home and home with a West coast pod team in the rotation. Honestly, it seems like a no-brainer given how the sport is trending. However, this is a big ‘what if’ because college football is changing quickly.