Pat McAfee: James Madison, Tulane winning in CFP would 'change college football forever'

For the first time ever, two Group-of-Five teams are competing in the College Football Playoff. On Friday, ESPN’s Pat McAfee revealed how James Madison and Tulane‘s first-round performances could permanently affect the CFP format.

“There’s two teams that are playing in this College Football Playoff that are certainly, potentially, going to be the ones who change the future of the College Football Playoff,” McAfee said. “Obviously, whenever the rule was made for the top five conference champions to make it into the College Football Playoff—the 12-team—nobody would have expected two Group-of-Five champions to be in the field.

“… We are incredibly happy for them and their story. It’s not their fault, but if these games are to get ugly, I think it’ll cause change for the future. But, if they were able to win, if they were able to have a Cinderella story, some special, magnificent moment in January that leads into an offseason, saying ‘Anybody could win,’ that changes college football forever.”

When the CFP management committee introduced the 12-team format in 2024, it stated the five highest-ranked conference champions would receive automatic bids. Most analysts expected this clause to guarantee one team from each of the Power Four conferences and a single Group-of-Five program.

Alas, the CFP took an unexpected turn this season when a 7-5 Duke team won the ACC title. Thus, James Madison earned the fifth guaranteed ticket to the CFP.

Last season, Boise State was the Group-of-Five representative. It received a 3-seed in the bracket, but suffered a 31-14 loss to Penn State in the CFP quarterfinals. If JMU and Tulane don’t put up better fights in their first-round games, Pat McAfee believes the CFP management committee could consider excluding Group-of-Five programs altogether in the future.

Tulane posted a 2-1 record against Power Four opponents this season, while James Madison went 0-1. Tulane’s lone Power Four loss was a 45-10 blowout defeat against Ole Miss. Ironically, the Green Wave are matched up against the Rebels again in their opening CFP game.

Meanwhile, James Madison’s only loss of the season was a 28-14 defeat against Louisville. The Cardinals finished the season with an 8-4 record. James Madison will face off against 5-seed Oregon in its opening CFP game.

On Saturday, each team will look to shock their respective opponents and potentially affect the future of the CFP. Their Group-of-Five counterparts will likely be cheering for their success.