{
  "id": 19840110,
  "title": "'It was actually a self-own': ESPN reporter has unique theory on 24-team CFP",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/it-was-actually-a-self-own-espn-reporter-has-unique-theory-on-24-team",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-13T17:30:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/actually-self-own-espn-reporter-173039831.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "ESPN reporter Dan Wetzel has offered a peculiar perspective on the expansion of the College Football Playoff (CFP) to 24 teams. According to Wetzel, the committee may have inadvertently contributed to its own downfall by prioritizing \"credibility\" through weekly rankings. His comments were made on The College GameDay Podcast, where he asserted that these rankings have undermined the committee's credibility. The Nielsen survey echoed similar sentiments, with 90 percent of respondents who considered themselves college football fans disapproving of the expansion. Despite the committee's acknowledgment of the issue, Wetzel contended that its desire to avoid criticism led to the embrace of arguments favoring more teams for playoff berths. The self-inflicted spiral, Wetzel suggested, was the committee's attempt to spark conversation and appear accountable, resulting in a format nobody truly desired.",
  "summary": "As more information comes out about the expansion of the College Football Playoff to 24 teams, one thing is certain: Almost nobody wanted this. Just this week, The Athletic reported that even ESPN, which has broadcast rights to the entire tournament, didn’t support the idea. And a Nielsen survey showed that 90 percent of respondents…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}