Brian Kelly Outlines His Vision for a Fair and Competitive 16-Team College Football Playoff That Honors Conference Champions

LSU head coach Brian Kelly has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind when it comes to the future of college football. As the sport prepares to transition into a new era defined by conference realignment, NIL deals, and expanded postseason opportunities, Kelly has added his voice to the growing chorus of coaches, administrators, and analysts discussing what the 16-team College Football Playoff should look like. And in typical Kelly fashion, his proposed model is bold, principled, and grounded in a desire to reward on-field performance—specifically the accomplishments of conference champions.

Kelly recently sat down with reporters and revealed his preferred structure for a 16-team College Football Playoff format, which he believes will best serve the sport’s long-term health. In a time when money and media influence are reshaping the college football landscape, Kelly’s proposal cuts through the noise with a model that he argues preserves fairness and meritocracy at the heart of postseason competition.

According to Kelly, the cornerstone of his vision is a format that guarantees automatic playoff berths for all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference champions. That includes not just the champions of the Power Four conferences—SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12—but also the champions of the so-called “Group of Five” leagues, such as the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West, and the Sun Belt. Kelly’s argument is straightforward: “If we’re going to call this a national championship, then every part of the nation should have a path to it.”

Kelly’s support for automatic bids for conference champions reflects his desire to maintain the integrity of the regular season and ensure that championships on the field matter. He believes this emphasis on merit would restore meaning to conference title games, which have often felt like mere exhibitions in the era of the four-team playoff. Under Kelly’s model, winning your conference is your ticket in. No debating. No politicking. Just win—and you’re in.

That approach, Kelly believes, also helps preserve the identity and unique flavor of college football, a sport long celebrated for its regional rivalries and diverse traditions. By giving every conference an opportunity to compete for a national title, Kelly’s model resists the growing perception that the sport is becoming an exclusive club dominated by a small handful of super-teams and super-conferences.

But Kelly doesn’t stop at the automatic qualifiers. The second part of his model would include six at-large bids awarded to the highest-ranked non-champion teams, determined by a selection committee or ranking formula. This gives the playoff system flexibility and ensures that top-tier programs who fall short in their conference races—perhaps due to a single loss or a loaded division—still have a path to the postseason. According to Kelly, the six at-large berths provide “a pressure valve,” allowing elite programs from top conferences to earn inclusion without undermining the importance of winning a league title.

The LSU head coach also favors a seeding process that respects on-field accomplishments rather than solely relying on strength-of-schedule arguments or historical prestige. In Kelly’s ideal setup, the top four seeds—and the accompanying first-round byes—would go to the highest-ranked conference champions. That means if a Group of Five champion finished inside the top four, they would receive a top seed, further emphasizing the importance of winning your league and performing well throughout the season.

Kelly’s proposal also envisions on-campus first-round games for seeds 5 through 16, which he believes would be a massive win for fans, student-athletes, and the sport’s atmosphere overall. In his eyes, nothing compares to the energy of a college football Saturday on campus, and turning early-round playoff games into major home events would create electric environments while rewarding higher seeds with a true home-field advantage.

Under Kelly’s plan, quarterfinals and semifinals could be rotated among traditional New Year’s Six bowl sites, with the national championship continuing as a neutral-site spectacle. This hybrid model, in Kelly’s estimation, marries the passion of on-campus football with the pageantry and legacy of college football’s most iconic bowl games.

Kelly’s playoff blueprint doesn’t only focus on structure; it also carries philosophical weight. He’s concerned about a postseason model that becomes too narrow or elite, one that alienates fans from schools outside the top revenue-generating conferences. By making sure every league champion gets a shot, Kelly believes the 16-team playoff would retain its national scope and give smaller programs something real to play for each season.

“There’s nothing wrong with Cinderella in college football,” Kelly said, referencing the magic of NCAA Basketball’s March Madness. “Why can’t we have our own version of that? A team like Tulane or Appalachian State shouldn’t have to go undefeated and then pray for chaos just to get noticed. Win your league and prove yourself in the postseason. That’s what real competition looks like.”

While some critics argue that expanding the playoff dilutes the regular season or risks player fatigue, Kelly counters that these challenges can be managed with scheduling reforms. He’s an advocate for eliminating conference divisions to ensure the best two teams meet in league title games and supports trimming non-conference cupcakes in favor of more meaningful contests. In his view, a streamlined regular season with fewer mismatches and a true 16-team playoff would produce a better product for everyone involved—from players to fans to television networks.

Another sticking point for Kelly is transparency. He urges the future selection committee to adopt a clear and public methodology for ranking teams. After years of heated debates about criteria in the current four-team model, Kelly believes fans deserve to know exactly what factors determine a team’s playoff fate. In his model, objective metrics like strength of record, head-to-head results, and conference championships should carry significant weight. “Let’s stop pretending this is a beauty pageant,” he said. “We’re talking about football games, not brand names.”

When asked how his own LSU team would benefit from such a format, Kelly laughed and acknowledged the Tigers would likely be in the mix most years—but that’s not the point, he said. “This isn’t about helping LSU. It’s about doing what’s right for the sport. If you’re afraid of competition, you’re in the wrong business.”

Of course, Kelly’s vision is just one voice in an ongoing conversation. Decision-makers across the sport, from the College Football Playoff management committee to conference commissioners, university presidents, and television executives, will all have input in shaping what the 16-team playoff ultimately looks like when it’s implemented. But Kelly’s clear, thoughtful model stands out in a debate often clouded by self-interest and corporate maneuvering.

In the months and years ahead, as college football inches closer to its expanded postseason, proposals like Kelly’s will continue to shape public perception and influence the debate. His model may not be the one ultimately adopted, but it serves as a compelling reminder that college football can expand access, reward performance, and maintain its identity—if its leaders are willing to think boldly and act in the best interest of the game.

For now, Kelly will return to Baton Rouge and continue preparing his LSU squad for another high-stakes SEC season. But don’t be surprised if his playoff model gains traction among coaches and fans alike. It reflects not just a plan for more football, but for better football. And in a sport teetering on the edge of transformation, that may be exactly what it needs.