The CFP Era · 2014–present

Sam Houston

Twelve seasons in three acts · Conference USA

91–48Record
65.5%Win %
0National titles
1Playoff games
2024Peak season
14Avg. percentile
3NFL draftees

The three-act trajectory

Within-season power percentile against the FBS cohort, season by season.

FOUNDINGTRANSITIONEXPANSION0255075100141516171819202122232425Peak of the era2024 · 10–3Steepest fall2025
Source CFB Zeitgeist · power ratings
Founding2014–2020

The four-team Playoff era. The bracket is small, the margin for error none.

60–21 · avg percentile 15
Transition2021–2023

The last seasons before expansion — NIL arrives, the portal opens, the four-team format ends.

19–14 · avg percentile 13
Expansion2024–present

The twelve-team Playoff. A wider field changes what a season has to prove.

12–13 · avg percentile 17

Defining games

Coaches of the era

K.C. Keeler2023–2024
Phil Longo2025–2025

Coach records begin 2023.

Roster of the era

3 players drafted into the NFL across the CFP era.

115
117
121

Entering Year 13

The 2026 season opens the next chapter of the expansion era under Phil Longo. See the 2014–2025 program page →