Who would’ve expected Ryan Day to still be the enemy for some Ohio State fans even after winning a national championship? The Game is too big to settle for anything less than a win over Michigan. That’s why the latest debate surrounding the proposed 24-team CFP had coaches around the Big Ten laughing out loud.

Critics of the 24-team format are floating the idea that Ohio State or Michigan might someday rest starters in The Game to prepare for a longer playoff run. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti heard that theory and responded the way any actual football person would.

“Do you think Ohio State-Michigan, either of those teams are gonna rest their starters?” Curt Cignetti said, via The Athletic. “Come on.”

Cignetti did not sound like he was debating theory. He sounded like a coach who knows how much Ohio State-Michigan means to the people inside it. In that rivalry, one late November choice can follow a coach for years. This is The Game. This is coaches getting immortalized or axed by fans based on one outcome. That idea stems from ESPN’s Mike Greenberg, who’s pushing back on the 24-team idea. 

“If we live in a world where Ohio State and Michigan rest their starters for that game at the end of the season,” he said, “because they’ve got the potential of five playoff games still sitting in front of them, then college football, as we have known it, ceases to exist.”

It’s an example, but still, it captures the fear many fans have about playoff expansion. The problem is, coaches inside the Big Ten like Curt Cignetti don’t seem worried about that outcome. Even Michigan AD Warde Manuel dismissed the idea.

“I can’t envision a world where that would happen,” he said.

Neither can anyone who watched what happened to Ryan Day over the last few years. For all the success he has had at Ohio State, losing four straight rivalry losses to Michigan has had him receiving hate and threat mail consistently. Then, after the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines in 2025, the noise simmered. But that phase revealed that rivalry games still matter as much as championships to huge portions of the fanbase.

Despite the concerns, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti feels a 24-team playoff wouldn’t push the regular season to irrelevance.

“We feel strongly about it, and we’re working really hard with our colleagues and the other conferences,” he said during the Big Ten meetings. “Obviously, the way this is structured, we understand that the SEC and the Big Ten have to come to an agreement, and we’re working hard to figure out ways to get to a solution. But inside our league, there is a deep commitment to 24 and the access.”

That proposal hit home with Big Ten coaches, including Ryan Day. His support matters because he is not speaking from the outside. He is backing the same larger playoff idea even though it could change how fans read Ohio State’s biggest game.

Ryan Day supports Big Ten’s 24-team expansion push

The Big Ten is willing to sacrifice its championship game if that’s what it takes to build a larger playoff model. Ryan Day backed that idea of the 24-team expansion.

“It’s clear that when you look at all 18 teams, that they’re going to feel like Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12, that they’re fighting for a chance to get this Playoff, and that engages their fanbase,” he said. “It’s hard to walk out of that room and not support what Tony’s thoughts are on this.”

Still, not everyone has the same vision. Mario Cristobal sees danger in the 24-team format.

“So yeah, just move everything up, that’s all,” he said. “I have one bye week, and let’s roll. I’m not for the 24 thing. I think that’s just a lot. Like, why play a regular season then, you know.”

As for Curt Cignetti, he sounded unbothered by the debate.

“I don’t direct my attention on anything that I really have no control of,” he said. “Tony is a big proponent of 24. I support Tony. He’s done a great job with our conference moving forward. We continue to expand and get better. And so whatever it is, it is.”

Whatever comes, college football’s biggest programs aren’t just going to stop caring about their rivalries. And they surely won’t be resting starters for The Game.