SOUTH BEND — Count former Notre Dame quarterback Steve Beuerlein among those who recoil at the thought of doubling the size of the College Football Playoff from 12 teams to 24.
“You’re talking about adding a bunch of games,” Beuerlein told the South Bend Tribune earlier this spring. “I think 16 would be plenty. I’m sure there’s an argument for going to 24 as well — that the more teams you allow in, the more arguments you can eliminate by any team that potentially has a chance to make a run.”
After reaching the CFP title game at the conclusion of the 2024 season and being left out of the 2025 playoff that Indiana won, Notre Dame is assured a spot in the next CFP if the Irish are ranked in the CFP committee’s top 12 as of Selection Sunday.
Beuerlein, who does color commentary for Compass Media Networks’ national radio broadcasts of the Dallas Cowboys, has a Super Bowl ring from his time with the 1992 Cowboys. The NFL’s postseason tournament admitted 12 teams back then, and the expansion to a 14-team playoff didn’t happen until 2020.
“I see the logic in it,” Beuerlein said of a potential move to a 24-team CFP, “but, man, I think 16 would be plenty. To me, that’s the right number.”
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, after endorsing a move to 16 teams in December, has since upgraded his expansion thoughts to align with the push for 24. Beuerlein’s comments came before Bevacqua went public with his pro-24 stance.
Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti, the primary early advocate of the 24-team CFP idea, has since seen the ACC, the Big 12 and the American Football Coaches Association climb aboard.
The SEC remains a holdout (for now), but Beuerlein knows how persuasive Petitti can be. When Beuerlein retired from the NFL and made the transition to full-time broadcaster for CBS in 2004, Petitti was the one who hired him for the network’s NFL coverage.
Beuerlein wound up staying at CBS for a decade and a half, even longer than Petitti’s 11-year run at CBS. After stints at Major League Baseball, Activision Blizzard and a football analysis company, Petitti followed Kevin Warren as Big Ten commissioner in the spring of 2023.
“Tony knows what he’s talking about, and I’m not going to question his logic,” Beuerlein said. “The Big Ten, I think, has 24 teams now, don’t they?”
Beuerlein laughed, knowing he was only off by half a dozen schools.
“I understand what he’s thinking,” Beuerlein said. “The more Big Ten teams he can get in, the better, but who knows?”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Former Notre Dame football QB Steve Beuerlein prefers 16-team CFP
Reporting by Mike Berardino, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
