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College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

Day, Franklin, and Five Coaches Under the Most Pressure to Make the Expanded College Football Playoff

With the CFP moving to 12 teams, expectations shift for top-level coaches, adding pressure to reach the playoffs.

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Nov 25
Nov 25

By Mike Huesmann

As most of you know, we move to a 12-team playoff in 2024. The top four conference champions will have a bye with the four opening-round games taking place on college campuses. Up to this point, making a New Year’s Six bowl was the standard for many of the top coaches. That is no longer the case. In the case of the Power Four conferences, it will be qualifying for the CFP. In the SEC and Big 10, it likely will take nine wins to qualify. My guess is ACC and Big 12 teams will need 10.

Here are five coaches who have something to prove and are under the most pressure to reach the first year of the 12-team playoff.

Ryan Day, Ohio State

There is a misnomer around Day. Everyone says he has to beat Michigan, but with the expanded CFP, he really needs to make the playoffs. If he does that next year, he should be ok. If the Buckeyes don’t make the CFP, which would shock me, the pitchforks will be out. They have one of the most talented rosters in America and he consistently wins games. A good bowl game won’t cut it for Day next Fall. He needs to make the CFP and might need to reach the final four once there.

James Franklin, Penn State

If there is anyone who has to shake the reputation that he can’t win the big one, it is Franklin. He has not done well against Ohio State and Michigan but if they have a season like he’s been having, it’ll mostly be forgotten. What they have been doing is enough to make the expanded CFP. A veteran QB and a stable of top RBs need to get him there this season.

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Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss

Everything Kiffin’s done at Ole Miss has been building to assembling the roster he has now. With playoff expansion there will never be a better shot for them to make a splash. He has been a tremendous coach for the Rebels, but if they fall to 8-4 or worse and miss the CFP he risks being labeled as another guy who either can’t win the big one, or is more of a recruiter than coach.

Lincoln Riley, USC

Maligned as he was last year, Lincoln will really face the heat after year three if he doesn’t produce. He won’t have an all-world QB to rely on, but he will have a revamped defensive staff. Much of the Trojan faithful will forgive the struggles of the past two years if they make the field of 12. If they do not, if the defense doesn’t improve, and if they get embarrassed like last year, Riley may get a buyout and a pink slip.

Dabo Swinney, Clemson

The ACC doesn’t look to be much more competitive than it was last year, and Swinney should take advantage. He is unique to this list in that his detractors haven’t necessarily targeted wins, but rather his ability to adapt to change, primarily in the form of NIL and the transfer portal. He hasn’t had elite teams without elite QBs, can he change that in 2024? If Clemson fails in 2024 the questions surrounding his ability to change and modernize will persist. 

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