Mountaintop View 5-18-26. Playoff Expansion, Wyoming Preview, Pac-12 Realignment, Baseball Tournament, T&F Champs

It’s Monday, and college baseball is getting closer to tournament time. Also, there is always football news happening. But our coverage is still going strong. Check out our original coverage and what we can find from the World Wide Web below.

Will playoff expansion ruin college football?

This post discusses how expanding the football playoff field to 24 teams is something most fans don’t want. It would redefine the sport, and this author thinks it wouldn’t be for the better. Increasing the playoffs would make any given week in the regular season matter less, spoiling the uniqueness of college football. He thinks we would see 8-4 teams make the playoffs going forward. Even worse, it’s a response to solve a problem they created by making conferences too big, and rosters too expensive, so more money is needed from more rounds of playoffs. Then, there is the network battle as ESPN wants to keep its hold on the CFP, which won’t happen if it goes beyond 14 teams. Fox wants to get a share of the playoffs, which is why it’s pushing for expansion.

Wyoming 2026 Preview

College Sports Network takes a look at the Cowboys. Things haven’t gone according to plan with two straight losing seasons, but they are hoping for progress in 2026. It will always come down to the offense, especially the passing game, which should get a boost with transfer Christian Taylor. But the rushing attack has depth, and the OL will be strong on the outside, but needs to reload the interior. They hope to take deep shots through the air, but need some WRs to step up. On the defense, the strength will be the interior of the DL and safeties, but it has question marks at cornerback, and the linebackers were still putting things together in the spring. If the trenches can develop, Wyoming looks to win enough games to make a bowl.

Pac-12 expansion unlikely?

That’s what Jon Wilner thinks in a post he had at the end of last week. The farther away they move from the initial wave of expansion, nearly two years ago, the harder it is becoming to entice another school to leave their conference. One more football-playing school is necessary, and an all-sports member would be ideal to get to an eight-game football schedule and a double-round-robin basketball schedule. But schools stated they are against adding a team just to add them, instead opting for a program that can add value to the rebuilding conference. But thus far, schools in that tier haven’t been interested. Wilner’s industry sources say that the teams that could add value (Memphis, Tulane, South Florida) have already said no, and that UNLV wouldn’t add any media value. The goal is getting as many NCAA Tournament bids and CFP appearances as possible, and bad programs will drag those dreams down. Fans may want to get used to 7 conference games.

Baseball Tournament Bracket Set

T&F Champs

On the horizon:

Today: A new Recruiting Roundup

Today: Baseball Rankings

Tuesday: Reacts Survey

Tuesday: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Wide Receiver

Tuesday: Hike’s Peak Podcast Episode 155

Wednesday: Peak Perspective: Top 10 teams in the West Division Era

Wednesday: NCAA Baseball Tournament Projections Vol 8