Wetzel floats Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State going independent as playoff grows to 24

With the College Football Playoff headed to a 24-team field, columnist Dan Wetzel has raised a question that most Big Ten fans have not considered. He suggested that Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State might do better outside the conference altogether, as independents on the Notre Dame model.

ClutchPoints reported that Wetzel made the case in a Sunday post on X. He argued that college athletics keeps missing problems until they arrive, and that many schools that backed the bigger bracket will come to regret it. In his view, Notre Dame already has the best setup in the sport: a near-certain playoff berth, freedom to build its own schedule and full control of its media value. Wetzel called the 18-team Big Ten "bloated, distant" and said winning it means little to the league's biggest names. He believes the three programs could form a scheduling partnership that comes close to tripling their media revenue.

The obstacles are real. Each school would still need to find about 10 opponents every fall, and the Notre Dame example shows how quickly old games can disappear. The Irish lost their annual USC game once the Trojans joined the Big Ten and took on a nine-game league slate. Wetzel expects the larger bracket to push more programs toward independence anyway. The proposal comes as the 24-team format moves closer to reality. ESPN reported that the CFP has reached a handshake agreement for the network to televise the expanded event.

No school has said anything about leaving. For now, Wetzel is offering a thought experiment rather than reporting a plan. Still, it matters because it comes from a prominent voice at the moment when automatic access and conference titles are losing value.

What it means on the field

This season shows how far apart the three programs are. Ohio State is 6-1. Its only loss was 24-23 at No. 4 Texas, and on Saturday it won 19-15 at No. 5 Indiana, the kind of result that already makes conference membership feel secondary for the Buckeyes. They visit No. 16 USC on October 31.

Michigan is 4-2 after holding off Penn State 21-18. Before that, the Wolverines lost consecutive one-score games to Minnesota and No. 17 Iowa. Next they host No. 6 Indiana on Saturday on Fox. Indiana is favored on all 12 venues on this site's game board. On the moneyline, Novig has Indiana at -270 and Michigan at +257, and Polymarket has the best Michigan price at +262. Most venues set the spread at 7.5. Novig prices Indiana -7.5 at +111, while Hard Rock Bet offers Indiana -6.5 at -120. The total sits at 41.5 at Novig, with the over at -117 and the under at -106. Pinnacle lists the under at 42. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.6% to 5.6%, so the venues are not far apart.

Penn State has the most trouble. The Nittany Lions are 3-4 and have lost four straight to Wisconsin, Northwestern, No. 19 USC and Michigan, three of those by a touchdown or less. They host Purdue on October 31. For a program in that position, a 24-team field looks less like a reason to go independent and more like a way back into the playoff.