Kroger Field won't be rebuilt in a day, and Will Stein won't have Kentucky competing in the College Football Playoff right off the rip... most likely. Save for some miracle in Lexington, Kentucky fans may have to painfully recognize that the Cats' best shot at a CFP appearance soon may be in the bracket being expanded.
As Pete Nakos reports that CFP leaders may discuss a 20-team format on Monday, most of the college football world looks on in anguish. Folks were already frustrated when the bracket broke out to 12 teams. Why? Because blowouts became sadly commonplace.
College football's postseason just isn't like March Madness. A bottom seed taking out the top team is miserably unlikely on the gridiron; for the most part, the magic just isn't the same. Nobody wants to see Boise State sneak in, only to get boat raced in their first playoff matchup.
Sources told @On3 that CFP leaders have not been formally presented a 20-team CFP format with play-in games yet, but it could be one of the formats discussed Monday.
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) August 10, 2026
Story: https://t.co/xdGFLYSeAA https://t.co/QTkYDr0jnd
Yet, just as Boise State fans are happy to have a shot, can the Big Blue Nation not celebrate the same thing? Better yet, what if Coach Stein is the one to make a difference? His confident musings on Kentucky being a serious program may convince you that the Cats belong at the top of college football.
If the 20-team format is Stein's key to unlocking that door sooner, I say let chaos reign.
Accepting the 20-Team Playoff Format For the Sake of Will Stein
Mark Stoops' highest-ever AP Poll ranking at Kentucky was No. 7, back in 2022. The Wildcats were technically in the playoff picture prior to collapsing late against the Ole Miss Rebels in week five. That 22-19 road defeat ultimately buried Kentucky's CFP chances, and since then, the program has fallen far to the wayside.
That's to say that, while Stoops had Kentucky knocking on the door early in the season a handful of times, the Cats were never in contention when it mattered.
However, in 2018 and 2021, Kentucky finished in the AP Top 20 under Stoops. Given a 20-team structure, we likely would've seen the Wildcats make the cut in both of those seasons. If Stein is set to improve on Stoops' highest highs, this format would allow him to make program history far faster than previously expected.
A Real Path For Stein to Make Kentucky Football History
No matter how you slice it, Kentucky making the CFP would be a real gold star for a program otherwise marred by mediocrity. If you're a Cats fan, where do you fall between Coach Stein having a chance to upset a high seed in the playoff and maintaining the arguable integrity of the current system?
This is not an argument for the 20-team update on the whole. Rather, it's only a case for how such a change would benefit Stein's start in Lexington.
If it's going to happen regardless, we may as well embrace it. Besides, cheering on the blue and white in the CFP would be an all-time event for the Big Blue Nation. Imagine the scene of a low-seeded Kentucky team having more fans in the stadium than whichever big-name school they're pitted against.
Add us as a preferred source on Google