What Can World Cup Expansion Tell Us About the CFP?

What Can World Cup Expansion Tell Us About the CFP?

June 25, 2026 · 58 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of World Cup expansion on college football's playoff system with guest Mike Goodman.

Mike Goodman, cohost of soccer podcast The Double Pivot, joins Richard and Alex to talk about a subject that’s been on our minds a lot lately: tournament expansion. The World Cup expanded from 32 teams to 48, and we’ve already seen some of the benefits (and perhaps some of the drawbacks) of that move. What can the recent experiences of the world’s biggest sporting event tell us about college football’s potential playoff expansion to 16 or 24 teams? * 0:17: Should the World Cup’s expansion prompt a rethink of the CFP’s? * 3:21: Mike Goodman joins and explains FIFA’s weird (read: corrupt) politics * 27:39: Why this has worked fairly well in soccer but probably isn’t translatable to college football * 45:21: What college football could learn from FIFA’s situation Producer: Anthony Vito This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe

People in this episode

Hosts: Richard Johnson, Alex Kirshner

Guest: Mike Goodman

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Organizations: FIFA

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