While we’re going to see a 12-team CFP format in the upcoming season, there is also a growing consensus on expansion. The debate has come down to whether we’ll see 16 or 24 teams in the playoffs. And as conference commissioners debate whether to keep championship games, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti has accepted their fate. But it may still not bring the perfection CFB fans are hoping for.

“I think that’ll happen too down the road,” Indiana’s HC Curt Cignetti said to Rick Pizzo during an interview with the Big Ten Network. “I think you’ll see the season start earlier. I think you’ll see the playoff system expand. Conference championships will end, and the portal window will kind of fit in there a little bit somewhere. It will never be perfect. It will never be perfect, but you know, I think there’ll be some improvements.”

That uncertainty sits against the backdrop of a playoff system that has already shown both promise and controversy. The 12-team format has produced different champions in Ohio State and Indiana, while also sparking debate over whether more deserving teams, like Notre Dame, BYU, Texas, and Vanderbilt should have been given a shot at extending their seasons. The main point of contention is whether the expansion should be to 16 or 24 teams.

During the Big 12 spring football meetings last month, all 16 head coaches voted in favor of a 24-team format. In his comments after the vote, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark acknowledged that they still have to “work around the economic” and “address any unintended consequences.”

And while Cignetti has accepted the fate of conference championship games despite being the reigning Big 10 champions, the question of eliminating them comes down to economics.

The Big 12 and the ACC both generated around $25 million in revenue from conference championships last year. But the Big Ten earned around $50 million and drew 18.33 million viewers. Whereas the SEC generated $100 million in revenue and had 16.9 million viewers. So, losing that kind of income is something neither conference wants.

According to Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, the 16-team format doesn’t justify eliminating the conference championship games because the conferences will not be able to generate the desired revenue from those extra 2 games. The 24-team CFP solves that issue. Petitti also took issue with the notion that increasing the number of teams will dilute the competition.

“When I was in baseball, we never had to convince people that keeping more people in the race is better for everybody,” Petitti said last month. “But I feel like, in this space, we’re being asked to do that.”

Still, even Cignetti’s acceptance of change comes with a major caveat: logistics. Adding more playoff games means college football needs extra weeks on the calendar. To make room for additional playoff rounds, many coaches, such as Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart, supported removing the title games. There are also considerations for starting the season a week earlier by removing Week 0.

Tony Pettiti shuts down Super League rumor

For years, the possibility of the SEC and Big Ten creating a new “super league” made a lot of buzz. Some believe the two powerful conferences could eventually break away from the current NCAA system and run their own competition. Recent arguments over College Football Playoff expansion have only strengthened those rumors.

However, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said those rumors are not true. He strongly denied that the Big Ten has discussed creating a super league with the SEC or anyone else.

“At no point in time have we discussed such a concept with the SEC or anyone else. Any suggestion otherwise comes from people outside our respective conferences,” Petitti said during an interview with Yahoo Sports reporter Ross Dellenger.

Some fans and analysts still do not fully believe the Big Ten because conference leaders usually do not reveal every plan publicly. However, there is currently no proof that the Big Ten is trying to create a super league with the SEC or anyone else. The entire focus remains only on getting the playoff format sorted without further chaos.