Momentum is building for the College Football Playoff format to expand from four teams. But what the best number would be — 8, 12 or even 16 — has remained somewhat of a mystery.

Yahoo’s Pete Thamel may have an answer.

Thamel is reporting that among the options for an expanded College Football Playoff field, increasing the number of teams to 12 is the leader right now. From Yahoo Sports:

Yahoo Sports spoke to more than a dozen stakeholders Monday on every side of the playoff decision – university officials, athletic directors, media executives and others around college sports. Amid those conversations, a surprise emerged — officials on campuses, in conference offices and in the television world have expressed an openness toward a 12-team playoff as the most likely result.

While it’s unfair to say momentum has built toward a 12-team playoff before models have been presented to the commissioners or presidents, the 12-team model has emerged as the favored outcome over the eight-team playoff within the industry.

“The reason that you go to 12 is because you can develop the road of least resistance toward a good result,” said a high-ranking college official with knowledge of the process.

There is no definitive answer as to what the new model will look like. An expanded field to 8 or even 16 teams are still possibilities. Regardless, there’s been a staleness that has developed with the current model.

Critics have talked about the limited inclusion into the field, as well as the declining ratings. At this point, change seems imminent. It’s just a question of when and how many teams will be invited into the new format.