Miami's Cam Ward Says College Football Playoff Should Expand to at Least 16 Teams

His Hurricanes just missed out on the first 12-team field.

Cam Ward passes during No. 8 Miami's 42–38 loss to Syracuse on Nov. 30, 2024. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

On Friday, Indiana will play Notre Dame to inaugurate the hotly anticipated age of the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Meanwhile, the citizens of Richmond, Ky., Newark, Del., and Nashville will ask—what took you so long?

Those are the locations of the top three finishers (Eastern Kentucky, Delaware and Tennessee State) in the 1982 Division 1-AA playoffs, which included 12 teams for the first time. The FCS bracket has fluctuated in size over the years, but has largely held true to a 24-team field since 2013 (and never dipped below 12).

On Saturday, Miami quarterback Cam Ward—a veteran of the 2021 FCS playoffs with Incarnate Word—suggested that the ideal size of the College Football Playoff would be between 16 and 24 teams.

Miami quarterback Cam Ward said he thinks the sweet spot for the College Football Playoff would be between 16-24, more like the FCS postseason.

Ward played in the FCS playoffs in 2021 with Incarnate Word.

— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) December 14, 2024

It is worth noting that Ward's Hurricanes finished No. 13 in the final CFP rankings, just missing the field. Miami will play Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Dec. 28.

A large FBS playoff would be a logistical bear (and would probably either kill bowl season or alter it beyond recognition). However, commercialism in college football being what it is, Ward's dream one day coming true doesn't seem unlikely.

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