The Big Ten didn’t get its wish of a 24-team College Football Playoff field starting in 2026, but that isn’t deterring the conference from pushing for its goal.

The Big Ten reportedly shared an internal document detailing how it sees a 24-team CFP playing out with the conference’s athletic directors and head coaches. ESPN also received a copy of the document, reporting on the details.

The document, which the conference is referring to as the “24 team CFP Format Compromise,” wants to see the CFP expand to 16 teams for 2027 and 2028 and to 24 teams no later than the 2029 season.

The Southeastern Conference reportedly was willing to grow the field to 16 teams for the upcoming season, but the Big Ten would only agree if the SEC agreed to a future 24-team playoff in the near future — which the SEC refused to do.

In the proposed 16-team format, there would be five automatic bids and 11 at-large spots. The bottom four teams would play the second weekend of December, No. 13 vs. No. 16 and No. 14 vs. No. 15.

There would then be six on-campus games in the next round, with the top-two seeds earning byes to the quarterfinals held at traditional New Year’s Six bowl locations on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

That would align with a mid-January national title game, much like it has the last few seasons. It would maintain conference championship games the first weekend of December.

Those would not remain in the proposed 24-team format, which would not have any automatic bids, according to the Big Ten’s vision.

Instead of conference title games, the top eight teams would receive byes while the remaining 16 would play on-campus games, ideally the second weekend of December.

That would be followed by eight more on-campus second-round games, hosted by the eight teams who earned first-round byes.

Like the current format, quarterfinals would be played around New Year’s, semifinals the following week and a mid-January national championship would follow.

The Big Ten also believes that regular-season rematches should be avoided in this 24-team format, although conference opponents who didn’t face off that season could be paired up for opening-round games.

Much of the Big Ten’s desire for a larger playoff stems from its belief that a larger field would allow for more room for error.

“In today’s transfer portal/player movement era, teams may lose a game or two early and gel together later in the season — more playoff opportunities late provides an appropriate safety net,” the Big Ten’s document said.

The debate about expansion will rage without a likely resolution in the coming months. ESPN has mandated a Dec. 1 deadline in order for the 2027 CFP format to be finalized.

–Field Level Media

Virginia Tech delivered its best win of the season earlier this week to build its postseason resume.

Now the Hokies look to avoid a pitfall which would negate that positive momentum when they face Florida State on Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.

Virginia Tech (17-8, 6-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) had lost two straight games and three of four before securing its second ranked win of the season, 76-66, at No. 20 Clemson on Wednesday.

It was an offensive explosion for the Hokies — 52% from the floor and 52.4% from 3-point range — as they shot above 50% for just the second time in 12 ACC games.

Jailen Bedford scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the first half to build a seven-point halftime advantage, and Ben Hammond scored 17 of his 19 in the second to ensure the Hokies never trailed after half.

Virginia Tech delivered the win despite getting just seven points from leading scorer Amani Hansberry (14.9 points per game). It became just the second ACC team this season to score 76 points against the Tigers, who rank second in the ACC in scoring defense (64.6 ppg).

“The season takes a lot of interesting turns. Some good, some bad,” Hokies coach Mike Young said. “(Wednesday) was a great turn. Now let’s make the most of it.”

With the win, the Hokies are now the second team out of the NCAA Tournament in ESPN’s latest projection released Friday.

The Seminoles (11-13, 4-7) nearly pulled off an equally impressive win on Tuesday, leading for over 27 minutes before going cold late in a 61-58 loss to visiting No. 15 Virginia.

Florida State missed its final 11 field-goal attempts and was held scoreless for the final 4:54, resulting in its three-game winning streak being snapped.

Lajae Jones led the upset bid with a team-high 21 points and 13 rebounds. He’s now tied for the team lead in rebounding (5.9 per game) and is averaging significantly more boards in conference play (7.4) than he did in nonconference play (4.6).

“He’s been super impressive,” Seminoles coach Luke Loucks said of Jones. “He’s his harshest critic, which is a sign of a good competitor.”

That’s played a big role in the Seminoles’ defensive turnaround. Since allowing 90-plus points in three straight games between Jan. 3-13, Florida State has allowed more than 80 points just once in its last seven games.

–Field Level Media

Gary Player lashed out at the current leadership of Augusta National after the three-time Masters champion was denied of his request to play a fourball round with his grandsons.

Player, 90, is one of three honorary starters for the first major of the year, which he became the first non-American to win in 1961.

“I have been an ambassador for Augusta for all these years, yet they won’t let me have one round of golf in my life with my three grandsons,” Player told Golf Monthly. “All the courses that have hosted the Open (Championship), the U.S. Open and the PGA (Championship) would oblige, but they won’t do it at Augusta.

“My grandsons are dying to know about their grandfather’s episodes on that golf course. It is just this current management there.

“But these are the times we live in, and I accept it, but I accept it with sadness. When I go there, I feel like I am walking on to a golf course in heaven. I tread very carefully and I love Augusta so much — but I don’t like all the rules.”

Player’s 52 Masters appearances are more than any other player in history, and he began serving as an honorary starter in 2012. During his playing career, the World Golf Hall of Fame member was part of the “Big Three” along with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

He added two more green jackets in 1974 and 1978, with the Masters serving as the site of three of his nine career majors. As a past champion, Palmer has playing privileges at the course. However, unlike Palmer and Nicklaus, Player was never granted membership at Augusta National that would enable him to bring guests to play alongside him.

He previously has criticized his lack of playing privileges at Augusta, saying in 2023 that he was “disillusioned” about the difficulty of playing the course with a guest. At the time, he ranked the Masters last among the four majors.

Player’s son, Wayne, reportedly also received a lifetime ban from Augusta after holding up a pack of golf balls in a marketing stunt during a 2021 ceremony honoring Lee Elder.

“There are a lot of things that have made Augusta what it is, but the part we played was a prevalent part of my career,” Player told Golf Monthly. “(Co-founder) Bobby Jones was a wonderful man and a wonderful asset to a wonderful tournament, as was (member) President (Dwight D.) Eisenhower as was (co-founder) Clifford Roberts. Those three people, they basically made Augusta.

“Then Arnold, Jack and I came along, and we fought it out every year, and then we made Augusta thanks to the coverage and publicity we generated around the Masters, whether the club likes to admit it or not. They won’t admit it, but we made Augusta.”

–Field Level Media