Marco Rubio, College Football Stars Petition Trump To Expand Playoff Bracket

NASHVILLE—Dealing with Vladimir Putin was just practice for President Donald Trump’s toughest tango yet: satisfying college football fans.

Vanderbilt Quarterback Diego Pavia on Tuesday asked Trump to sign an executive order expanding the college football playoffs from 12 to 16 teams. Pavia, a top NFL prospect, made his petition on X after Vanderbilt once again found themselves at number 14, despite a major win over in-state rival Tennessee.

Tagging Trump’s official account on X, Pavia said “MAKE THE EXECUTIVE ORDER PLEASE!”

@realDonaldTrump MAKE THE EXECUTIVE ORDER PLEASE‼️???? https://t.co/R37y5YofAo

— Diego Pavia (@diegopavia02) December 3, 2025

Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea co-signed his Heisman-contending quarterback’s request, calling the playoff system “flawed.”

“Let’s go,” Lea told The Daily Wire. “If they’re willing to listen, we will make our case. If we can have someone come in from over the top and say ‘this is what we are going to do,’ at least there’s clarity in that.”

Vanderbilt isn’t the only team left out of the playoff party. Miami is currently on the outside looking in, which was enough for Secretary of State and former Florida Senator Marco Rubio to phone the president for a favor.

“As a point of personal privilege … if the University of Miami gets screwed out of the College Football Playoff, after going 10-2 and beating Notre Dame, the whole thing should be scrapped and (Trump) is gonna have to take over next year,” Rubio said during this week’s cabinet meeting.

“That’s good,” Trump replied.

It’s unlikely that Trump will sign an order before Sunday, when the official playoff bracket will be set. Nor is it clear that an executive order could get the NCAA to expand the playoffs.

But the prospect of Trump attempting to influence collegiate athletics is not entirely far-fetched. The president began his second term signing an executive order to keep men out of women’s sports. He also signed an executive order to stabilize college athletics by preserving opportunities for non-revenue sports and prohibiting “pay-for-play” payments.

College football fans for years have wanted a playoff after having a system where only the top two teams had a shot at the title. In 2014, they got a four-team playoff, but most say that’s not good enough. Last season, the CFP expanded to 12 teams — but the committee still can’t get it right in the eyes of some coaches, players, and fans.

“We’ve tangled the wires too much. I am baffled by the process … the movement of teams up and down,” Lea said. “I wake up this morning and Utah is below us and now Texas is above us. What in the world is going on.”

The Nashville native is fighting for Vanderbilt’s historic season to continue.

“This team deserves to be in the playoff, they deserve to compete for a national championship.”

A Hail Mary from Trump may do the trick.