ACC commissioner John Swofford thinks eight teams would be an ideal number for a college football playoff.
Swofford, speaking at a Wednesday luncheon at the Durham (N.C.) Sports Club, said eight, "in terms of the number of teams, would probably be ideal" for a playoff, according to the Durham Herald-Sun.
"I don't think all the controversy's going to go away," Swofford said of the four-team College Football Playoff, according to the newspaper. "You have four teams that get a chance to play for the national championship, which is twice as many as before, but whoever's fifth or sixth is not going to be happy. There will be some conferences that won't have a team in the playoff."
Swofford is a member of the College Football Playoff management committee.
"I expect an 8-team playoff increasingly to be a topic of conversation, but each FBS conference would want to take the temperature of its membership on something as significant as this," American commissioner Mike Aresco told ESPN. "There are real concerns such as the academic calendar and the increased demands on our student-athletes. The details of an 8-team playoff also would be a major issue."
Reigning national champion Florida State (10-0) is the only ACC team in position to make this year's playoff. The Seminoles, though, sit at No. 3 in the selection committee's rankings despite being the only unbeaten Power 5 team.
"I feel really good about where we are at this point in time," Swofford. "I hope I feel as good about it in a few weeks -- December the seventh -- when they announce who's in the playoff, meaning I hope we have a team in it."
The College Football Playoff is in the first year of a 12-year contract.
"I do think it has a great deal of potential," Swofford said of the playoff. "The question is asked a lot, 'Why not eight?' or 'Will it become eight in a few years?' I can tell you why not eight, right now: The presidents made the decision as to how far we can go with the playoff, and the bookends are exams in December, and the presidents don't want football to become a two-semester sport. Those concerns are education-based. So I think they're appropriate"
Information from ESPN's Brett McMurphy was used in this report.