"As much as I should hate this, it’s pretty damn cool": Fans confused by imaginary 40 team CFP based on Matt Rhule's suggestion

Fans have reacted to Nebraska Cornhuskers coach Matt Rhule's suggestion of a 40-team College Football Playoff. On May 12, he spoke with HuskerOnline to discuss the 2025 season and his preparation.

When asked about a potential expansion of the College Football Playoff, the coach joked that he would be happy with 40 teams competing for the national championship.

"The more spots the better," Rhule said (Timestamp: 14:18). "Make that thing 40 and let's go."

On Wednesday, On3 shared a bracket of what a 40-team College Football Playoff would look like on X (formerly Twitter).

Fans have commented under On3's tweet with mixed reactions to how it would work.

"As much as I should hate this, it's pretty d*** cool," a fan wrote.

"More football the better. They could get rid the bowls and do an expansion or just have the a playoff and play them at the bowls.," a fan wrote.

"What I've been saying....March Madness feel to it(Eyes emoji)," a third fan replied.

However, some fans were not happy with the hypothetical bracket and shared their opinions in the comments.

"This is how college football gets killed. The viewership would still probably be there but it wouldn't be the same," a fan tweeted.

"So 14 spots go to the SEC.....that's cute but no thanks. What would be the point in the regular season? 12 teams is plenty with the correct format," another fan commented.

"Seems like these people are trying to make me stop watching college football," a fan commented.

Matt Rhule explains why he's open to an expansion of the College Football Playoff

The Nebraska coach expressed interest in expanding the College Football Playoff to improve the team's chances of competing in the tournament. He pointed out that his team is at a disadvantage because they have to play nine conference games while others have eight.

He also believes the Big Ten would benefit from Nebraska's participation in the College Football Playoff, where other teams would compete against them in cold weather.

"You just think about playing meaningful games in Memorial Stadium in November, December, and January, where the weather starts to be a real factor," Rhule said (Timestamp: 14:59).

Rhule shared that he usually asks where games against the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans are being played because he likes to face them at home in the cold weather.

"As we start thinking about the College Football Playoff, yeah, I want to play those games in the Midwest, in the Northeast, you know, in the North," Rhule said (Timestamp: 15:22). "I want to play them in cold areas to help the Big Ten. So, the more spots, the better."

Nebraska will start the 2025 season against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Aug. 28.