The College Football Playoff has felt like an exclusive club that is extremely difficult to get into. Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Georgia have earned 26 of the 40 berths in the first ten years of the format, and those schools have won 8 of the 10 national championships.
That all changes this season with the expansion of the playoff to 12 teams. So, while all of those schools look to get back into the dance, there are now seats for others to be able to have a chance to make a championship run. That includes the Group of 5, who only earned one playoff spot in those first ten seasons (Cincinnati, 2021).
So, as we look forward to watching teams crash the typical playoff party, it is more wide open than ever for these schools to actually be a factor come the postseason. Here are 15 schools that could throw a wrench in the College Football Playoff.