Casey Woods pushes for more Group of Six representation in expanded CFP

SPRINGFIELD — The college football playoff landscape is changing once again.

The College Football Playoff is expected to set to expand to 24 teams starting in 2027, according to a report from ESPN. The current format pits the best 12 teams against each other, featuring one Group of Six team.

Missouri State head coach Casey Woods was asked about the format and how the Group of Six fits into the fold during his weekly press availability on Thursday, Oct. 15.

Woods shared that he's interested to see what happens because 'you can water it down,' suggesting teams with many losses shouldn't appear in the tournament.

"The reason you go to 24 is to access all of college football," Woods said. "You don't go to 24 to have a 12-team SEC playoff. We have to continue to push to give the G6 teams, the best ones that we've got, the opportunity to jump in there."

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Playoff expansion will obviously bring more dollars and exposure through new television deals. Woods emphasized that this expansion can't come down solely to TV executives.

"It can't simply be about television money even though I understand that's the driver," Woods said. "If we want to keep the health and the integrity of the game from a popularity standpoint, you open that up to having extended opportunities to people that have a five-loss Power-Four team just because they played a hard schedule."

Cincinnati (2021), Boise State (2024), Tulane (2025) and James Madison (2025) have all featured in the College Football Playoff as a Group of Six team. Group of Six teams are winless in their appearances in the postseason tournament.

Liam Keating covers high school sports and Missouri State athletics for The Springfield News-Leader. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@usatodayco.com