On Tuesday, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti made his first public comments in support of a 24-team playoff format for college football.

The proposed format would give the top eight seeds first-round byes, followed by a home game, with the top two teams earning the best path throughout the entire tournament. Petitti said this would create a season in which teams 16 through 25 are fighting each week to keep their spot in the playoffs and potentially earn a home game, while those ahead of No. 16 are battling to keep their bye or home games.

The Big Ten and Petitti have faced backlash from the public and from the SEC, which favors a 16-team format.

“When I was at [Major League] baseball, we never had to convince anybody that keeping more teams in the race is better for everybody and the fans, like we never had to do that,” Petitti told reporters at the Big Ten spring meetings. “I feel like in this space, like we’re kind of being asked to do that. It’s almost counterintuitive. I think that more teams alive as late as possible is a fundamental way that I thought about it when we’re changing the playoff schedule.”

While a new playoff format is likely still at least a year away, we looked back to see who Penn State would have played in the College Football Playoff had the 24-team format been in place, according to the final College Football Playoff rankings.

For reference, in February 2026, the Big Ten laid out the format in an internal document sent to athletic directors and head coaches, per ESPN. As stated before, the top eight teams will get a bye. It’s also important to note, though, that the first two rounds are on campus, and there can be no rematches from the regular season in the first round.

2024 – No. 13 Miami or No. 20 Illinois

Penn State finished 2024 ranked No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, which would have resulted in a bye for round one of the 24-team playoff. In the second round, however, the Nittany Lions would have faced the winner of the No. 13 Miami-No. 20 Illinois matchup.

Penn State beat the Fighting Illini earlier that season in a 21-7 rock fight in Beaver Stadium. Drew Allar threw for 135 yards on 21 attempts and rushed four times for 15 yards. Running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen stole the show, though, combining for 196 yards and two touchdowns. The defense also had a big day, recording 4.5 sacks on Luke Altmyer.

Miami would have posed a greater threat. The team was led by future No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward and had talented players like Elijah Arroyo, Xavier Restrepo, Ruben Bain, Hakeem Mesidor, and Kiko Mauigoa to back him up. All are now in the NFL.

The Hurricanes lost 42-41 to Matt Campbell’s Iowa State team in the Pop-Tarts Bowl to end the season.

2023 – No. 23 Liberty

In the last year of the four-team format, Penn State finished the regular season 10-2 with losses to Michigan and Ohio State. The Nittany Lions lost to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl but finished the year ranked No. 10 and in the 24-team field.

As the 10 seed, Penn State would have taken on No. 23 Liberty in the first round at Beaver Stadium.

Liberty was undefeated in the regular season that year, but with no Power Four wins or really any strong wins at all. The closest game the Flames played was a 21-16 victory over Sam Houston. Liberty ended up in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl against No. 8 Oregon and lost 45-6.

The team was led by quarterback Kaidon Salter, who threw for 2,876 yards and 32 touchdowns with a 61% completion rate. He also added over 1,000 yards on the ground and 12 touchdowns. Future Miami Hurricane and Los Angeles Ram, CJ Daniels was the top receiver, putting up over 1,000 yards.

2022 – No. 22 Mississippi State

In another 10-2 regular season with losses to Michigan and Ohio State, the Nittany Lions ended the year ranked No. 11 and in the Rose Bowl against No. 8 Utah. In the 24-team format, however, Penn State would have faced Mississippi State at home in the first round of the playoffs.

The Bulldogs, led by quarterback Will Rogers, went 8-4 in the regular season. Their losses came at unranked LSU, unranked Kentucky, No. 6 Alabama, and No. 1 Georgia. Mississippi State’s top-25 ranking was due to wins against No. 20 Ole Miss and No. 17 Texas A&M.

Rogers threw for almost 4000 yards that season with 68% completion rate. He also had 35 touchdowns and eight interceptions on the year. Future USC Trojan and Houston Texan Woody Marks was the primary running back for the Bulldogs, recording 582 yards on the ground and 288 through the air.

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Penn State football would not have made the 24-team playoff in 2025, 2021, or 2020.