New football rules cut UConn's chance at big rivals
The College Football Playoff expands to 24 teams next season, but new scheduling limits may reduce opportunities for independent schools like the Huskies.
By Tomas Gonzalez ·
College football will feature a 24 team playoff field starting next season. The College Football Playoff approved this expansion on Monday. This change doubles the number of teams competing for the national championship. For the University of Connecticut, the new rules create a tighter scheduling window against major conference rivals.
The Huskies have operated as an FBS Independent for the last seven years. This status began when UConn joined the Big East Conference in 2019. The Big East does not sponsor football. Because of this independence, UConn has scheduled high profile opponents. From 2022 to 2024, the team played four power conference opponents each year. In each of the past two seasons, UConn faced three such teams. Fifty percent of these games at Rentschler Field occurred since 2022.
The new agreement changes how power conference teams build their schedules. ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC schools must now play at least 10 qualifying regular season games. These games must be against conference rivals or other Power Four teams. Notre Dame also counts as a qualifying opponent. With a standard 12 game season, these teams can only fit two games against non Power Four opponents like UConn. Athletic Director David Benedict now has fewer open slots to fill with these rivals.
Political factors also affect UConn's future alignment. The Protect College Sports Act could have made independent teams more attractive to conferences. However, last week's midterm election results make passage in the House of Representatives unlikely. An incoming Democratic majority is expected to slow the bill's progress. This limits UConn's chances of joining a power conference in the near term.
The expanded playoff offers a new path for UConn to compete for a championship. The Huskies have never finished inside the top 25 in the CFP rankings. They did earn their first AP Top 25 vote since 2010 last year. UConn finished with nine wins in back to back seasons. As an independent, UConn cannot earn an automatic bid as the top Group of Six team. They must finish as one of the 19 highest ranked teams without an automatic bid to qualify.
Several non power conference teams have recently placed in the bottom of the playoff field. In 2025, Tulane from the American Conference ranked No. 20. In 2024, UNLV from the Mountain West ranked No. 24 and Army from the American Conference ranked No. 22. In 2023, SMU from the American Conference ranked No. 24. In 2022, UCF from the American Conference ranked No. 22. In 2021, Louisiana from the Sun Belt ranked No. 23.
Other recent examples include Boise State from the Mountain West at No. 19 in 2019. Appalachian State from the Sun Belt ranked No. 20 that same year. Navy from the American Conference ranked No. 23 in 2019. Fresno State from the Mountain West ranked No. 21 in 2018. Memphis from the American Conference ranked No. 20 in 2017. Temple from the American Conference ranked No. 24 in 2016. Navy and Temple also placed in the bottom slots in 2015.
