The College Football Playoff Debate Has Become EXHAUSTING... THIS IS WHY

Is college football really heading toward a 24-team College Football Playoff? The 2026 CFP remains a 12-team format, but the debate over future expansion continues — with potential formats involving 16, 20 and even 24 teams becoming part of the conversation. On today's Locked On Hoosiers and Locked On Nittany Lions crossover, Jacob Goins and Zach Seyko debate whether college football should stop dragging this out and simply embrace a much larger playoff. Would a 24-team playoff create more meaningful postseason games and massive matchups? Or would continued expansion water down the regular season, eliminate traditional bowl games and potentially change conference championship games? There's also one enormous factor driving the conversation: money. More playoff teams create more games. More games create more television inventory, ticket sales, merchandise opportunities and revenue. That's a major reason Zach believes expansion is ultimately inevitable. But Jacob raises another concern: are college football fans simply getting exhausted by the constant changes to the postseason? We also discuss an ESPN report about what starting players at Power Conference programs are commanding financially, including the incredible market for quarterbacks and premium positions. And later, we dive into an important Indiana Football fall-camp battle. Penn State transfer AJ Harris entered Bloomington looking like a potential starter, but returning cornerback Ryland Gandy is reportedly ahead in the competition opposite Jamari Sharpe. What does that mean for Curt Cignetti's secondary? Would YOU support a 24-team College Football Playoff? Or has expansion already gone far enough?   00:00 Is a 24-Team Playoff Coming? 01:41 Just Go to 24 Teams Already? 03:27 What Happens to Bowl Games? 04:44 The MONEY Behind CFP Expansion 06:51 Big Ten vs. SEC on Expansion 07:20 How Much Are College Players Making? 09:06 What Does a Starting Player Cost? 10:44 $1-3 MILLION for a Quarterback?! 11:43 Running Back Market Value 12:52 Offensive Linemen Are Getting PAID 14:59 What Kickers & Defenders Make 15:39 Will Player Salaries Ever Drop? 17:28 College Football's Spending Problem 19:01 $100 Million Rosters?! 20:33 AJ Harris May NOT Start at Indiana 24:08 AJ Harris vs. Ryland Gandy 25:28 What Happened to AJ Harris? 26:32 Is Harris a System Corner? 27:09 Why Indiana Shouldn't Panic 28:37 Can Harris Win the Job? 29:38 Final Thoughts   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!   KALSHI For a limited time, Download the Kalshi app and use code [LOCKEDON] to get $10 when you trade $10. .   The Game Don't miss this chance to celebrate 40 years of The Game with 40% off your entire order. Visit https://TheGameCaps.com and use promo code LOCKEDONat checkout. Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon. 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   Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COMto play Daily Dingers and make your free pick on who’s hitting a homer this MLB season.  FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable 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.