DEVELOPING: Could NCAA Rule Change Help PROPEL North Dakota State to Playoff in 2026 Mountain West?

Moves are taking place for newly-minted FBS programs North Dakota State (Mountain West) and Sacramento State (MAC) to make bowl games this year. The move is common sense. On today's episode of Locked On College Football, Spencer McLaughlin discusses the recent comments from SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee regarding the Playoff. He has a couple of good insights sprinkled with wildly offbase talking points. The 24-team Playoff feels inevitable, but who is really calling the shots as the sport seems to consolidate behind this idea? Plus, a look at the top 2 teams in the SEC for 2026. 00:00 Promotion and relegation in college football 06:02 College football changes needed 12:19 Reconsidering conference championship games 17:43 Notable college football upsets 21:05 Monopoly in college sports 23:42 Discussing playoff expansion expectations 31:13 Preseason top college football picks JOIN THE LOCKED ON EVERYDAYER CLUB (Ad-Free Audio)  https://lockedoncollegefootball.supercast.com/  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!  Indeed  Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast  Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men.  FanDuel  Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game.  FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.