Rakes (our CW) has a good rundown on PB's playoff comments
by Jay, San Diego, Monday, May 18, 2026, 06:55 (8 days ago)
In case you missed them in the Athletic, Chris has the choice excerpts in his new substack, along with some worthy speculation on what might be motivating the about-face on 24 teams.
https://rakesreport.substack.com/p/rakes-report-287-the-mysterious-case
any of those theories seem plausible to you +
by CW (Rakes) 
, Harlan County, Monday, May 18, 2026, 12:48 (8 days ago) @ Jay
any bonus theories?
I am far from convinced on the schedule flexibility point
by beattherush, Chicago, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 08:54 (7 days ago) @ CW (Rakes)
I think it's plausible that Pete's thinking that a 24-game playoff would loosen up scheduling.
I don't think that's actually correct, though. A 24-game playoff is going to encourage Indiana scheduling practices, not discourage them. Why stick your neck out playing ND? Play some tomato cans and "the rigors of a conference schedule", lose a big game or two but beat some middle of the roaders, make the playoff every year.
Plus we run the risk of the BiG restarting the "autobids" discussion, which is where the real threat to ND independence lies.
The wild-card in all this is the TV contracts end, and presumably Pete knows that better than we do. My understanding is that right now ESPN holds all the playoff cards, but expansion to 16 reopens negotiations somewhat, and expansion to 24 creates inventory that NBC and Fox and CBS can bid on. College football ratings are up generally in a down ratings market where advertisers are craving opportunities for millions in the demo. That's 1) the NFL, 2) CFB, and 3) everything else. If NBC has a bigger stake in the outcome (or ideally, Amazon or Apple or Netflix start bidding), can/would they exert scheduling pressure on the conferences to open up midseason OOC matchups? That's the $100K question.
Not sure we have an answer. Not sure Pete has one either, though if he did, we probably wouldn't know.
"Why stick your neck out playing ND?"
by Jay, San Diego, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 09:24 (7 days ago) @ beattherush
Money. As an AD of a contending program, if I can add a guaranteed sellout to my home schedule at the very top of the premium pricing sheet (and/or a top neutral site game that is nothing but a whole heap of cash), *and* not kneecap my playoff chances with a loss, that's a win-win.
I wonder
by Jeremy (WeIsND), Offices of Babip Pecota Vorp & Eckstein, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 09:51 (7 days ago) @ Jay
edited by Jeremy (WeIsND), Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 09:57
How much this actually figures into their thinking. Obviously the dollars talk, but how much more money is the university/athletic department getting for an ND home game vs. a directional state school game? The ND game is more likely to sell out, but I'm sure some of the B1G/SEC schools also sell out their home openers against the tomato cans.
Not to mention, they aren't making as much in the years when they have to go to ND (or, insert challenging non-conf opponent).
I'd like to think that at some point, the TV networks start pushing back on the scheduling and demand that their partners play more interesting and competitive games. But that might just end up with the conferences continuing to add more conference games, rather than scheduling the NDs of the world.
EDIT - Thinking about this more, with the current surge-type pricing model for games, I expect there would be quite a difference in the intake for ND vs. Central Michigan, etc. So the hypocrisy seems pretty plain. But everyone seems to be grabbing for those playoff dollars rather than the money from an individual game.
it's significant
by Jay, San Diego, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 10:02 (7 days ago) @ Jeremy (WeIsND)
edited by Jay, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 11:58
Here's Alabama's face value pricing for 2025 for GA tix (not including premium)
ULM (Aug. 30) $45
Wisconsin (Sept. 13) $95
Eastern Illinois (Nov. 22) $40
Vanderbilt (Oct. 4) $70
Tennessee (Oct. 18) $160
LSU (Nov. 8) $165
Oklahoma (Nov. 15) $150
Somebody can do the math but that's like at least 4x the revenue for a ND game instead of Eastern Illinois. And that's not even counting the economic impact for Tuscaloosa bringing the Irish hordes to town. Or the TV money. AND you still get to go to the playoffs and get whatever money you can get there.
Why? Because there will be a ton of shitty 8-4 teams
by KGB, Belly o. the Beast, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 09:00 (7 days ago) @ beattherush
and the ones who actually played an ND when their conference didn't force it upon them are going to look better than the fucking cowards who played Kennesaw, Indiana State and Easternwestern Southnorth A&M.
The benefit of weak scheduling only holds water when your record clearly separates you from the pack. The deeper we get into the chute with 3-and 4-loss CFP candidates, the more that SOS will come into play as a differentiator.
definitely, the scheduling aspect makes the most sense
by Jay, San Diego, Monday, May 18, 2026, 13:11 (8 days ago) @ CW (Rakes)
I think it's revealing what is *not* said. His stated rationale about expansion to 24 is pretty thin, as you say, but the real reason just has to be that he sees the benefits of 1) more flexible scheduling options going forward which ensures 2) continued independence for ND. Whether all that flexibility will actually materialize is an open question, although you have to think that with an additional 2 or 3 mulligans available without risking a playoff berth, most programs would love to welcome a Notre Dame series and its big fat payday.