The College Football Playoff Gets Bigger, But is it Better?

The College Football Playoff (CFP) is a system that was designed to crown a national champion of NCAA Division I FBS football, but it has been the leading cause for debate the last decade. 

It was originally created in 2014 to take over the previous BCS (Bowl Championship Series) system, which was a pretty boring way of selecting teams based upon polls, rankings, and algorithms to determine who were the two most qualified teams to compete in the national championship. 

While this system took a lot of criticism at the time, and rightfully so, it only took us 10 years to criticize the 4-team playoff format that we currently had, up until 2024. 

The leading cause for debate around the world for the 4-team playoff format was that it lacked not including everybody. It was the same teams, same names, and same conferences year in and year out. 

For example, Alabama appeared in the playoff eight times, Clemson seven times, Ohio State six times, and the Georgia Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners both with five appearances.

For a lot of fans, including myself, this got old very quickly with the same teams playing each other every January. 

The format left out a lot of deserving teams, especially ones who were not apart of the non-Power 5 conferences at the time. This was shown time after time when the selection show came out every Sunday after championship Saturday and teams like Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson would almost inevitably find there way in. 

This is when the so called peanut gallery chimed in and voiced their opinions. They all agreed that the playoff format was not meant for the most deserving teams, and instead, the teams that would bring in the best representation for the sport. 

Then it was decided that starting in 2024, the NCAA would expand the CFP to 12 teams. This caused a stir and had both positive and negative reactions. It solves the inclusivity problem and gives teams the chance to host a playoff football game at home in late December. It also provides the opportunities for teams that are not in the big power conferences to get in, like we have seen this year with Boise State.

However, the playoff committee, who is chosen by conference commissioners, may have bitten off more than they can chew.

For example, everyone wanted to see non-Power conferences get in, but can you take away three loss teams such as Alabama or even a two loss team like Miami?

This all started when teams like Central Florida had a perfect record in 2017, 12-0 to be exact, and wasn’t selected to make the playoff. This led to the school giving them the title “National Champions” even though they didn’t actually win the national championship. 

After moments like this flared up in the media and constant debates were talked about year in and year out, we were given a potential new format, an expansion that would now include 12 teams to have a shot at the title. 

Under the new system, the six highest-ranked conference champions would earn automatic bids to the playoff, along with six at-large spots for the next best and deserving teams. This would ensure that every major conference would be represented, and more teams would have the opportunity to compete for the national title. 

This almost cured and put an end to debates from last year and years past, when it came to the realization that once the season had ended, almost everyone knew the three out of the four teams that would get in to the original 4-team format.

With 12 teams, the selection process would feel more interesting and less likely to put in the big same, elite programs. Teams that finished strong late in the season, or that had high-powered offenses or defenses but didn’t quite crack the top four, would still have a shot at the national title. 

This would make the regular season more exciting now knowing that 12 spots are up for grabs, and no matter the conference, your team had a shot at making it in to the playoff. 

One topic that doesn’t get talked about enough is the importance of conference championship games. Under the four-team format, teams from the Power 5 conferences often didn’t have to win their conference to secure a playoff berth, such as Ohio State in 2017, when it was selected as one of the four teams despite losing to an unranked Iowa team and not winning its conference championship.

In this new 12-team format, the conference champions would receive a first-round bye and make the conference title game a lot more intriguing for all sides. 

Going off of a further point, this new 12-team format brings in a ton of revenue for the NCAA and all the schools involved. By adding more teams to the field, there will be more games, both home and neutral, more television exposure, and a lot more sponsorship opportunities for everyone who makes it in. 

This would boost the financial landscape for teams such as Boise State and SMU, who don’t usually bring in a ton of money when being compared to schools like Oregon and Georgia. 

While the expansion creates a lot of excitement and ends petty debates all over social media, there is a still a lot of issues that need to be decided. 

Player safety is a big one when asking these 18-23 year olds to play a season which could reach the maximum number of 17 games.

Another big question is one that we had when we found ourselves in December of 2023. Will this new format eventually get old? It might get stale or even boring in a few years and then what happens, do we expand to even more teams, or maybe go back to the four-team format?

It has the possibility to get to that feeling where it goes on for too long, which will leave fans fatigued at the sight of turning on there television and college football is still happening. What makes football so special is that it doesn’t last year round. 

I personally believe that the new 12-team format proposes an exciting way to see new events happen like home playoff games, and fun action-packed games that lead us into the NFL postseason in January. 

The change needed to happen and the four-team format was getting stale and predictable for all parties involved. 

I do think it is important that we recognize that it might not be perfect, but that we need to accept and embrace the change. We need to support the committee in the fact that they are listening to us, and trying. 

Ultimately, the 12-team playoff is a step in the right direction, and addresses many of the criticisms of the old system. 

Whether it will revolutionize college football or create new problems remains to be seen, but for now, it’s an exciting development that promises to make the sport more inclusive, more competitive, and, hopefully, more entertaining for fans all across the country.