With teams like Georgia, Ohio State, and UCF being left out of the playoff this year, talks of teams wanting an extended playoff remain. These talks of expansion have been among us ever since the first year of the College Football Playoff System. Now, we look deeper into how some of those expanded playoffs would look:
Six Team Playoff
This form would allow a spot for Group Of 5 teams to join the mix, as well as give great conference championship contenders a second chance. If the playoff does decide to expand, this would be my first pick. This bounces off the similar build of an NFL Bracket for their conferences.
Eight Team Playoff
Many feel as if this needs to be the next step. This sized bracket will yield 7 eventual matchups for the fans to watch and will expand the playoff within anyone’s reach. We see great conference competitors like Michigan and Georgia, that didn’t win their conference, having another shot. I could see as to why others would like this style as well.
Twelve Team Playoff
This form of the bracket would give rise to the importance of the Top-4 seeds in the rankings. This would mean the difference between two games to get into the championship or three. I feel like teams would deem this unfair to the better teams and would fail quite quickly.
Sixteen Team Playoff
If you are asking me, I think this is quite absurd. In this case, we are making a March Madness equivalent for college football. I don’t know any teams that would like to play four games to decide a national champion. This is not giving credit for teams that worked to be undefeated, rather than a three-loss team that sneaked their way in.
The Truth
The Playoff will ever expand to eight teams. This is only due to the Group of 5 being not represented. Other than that, the rest of you need to call your quits on a non-championship season and focus on your bowl. This strive for two or three loss teams trying to pry their way into the playoff is absurd. If you didn’t put in the work during your season to make the playoff, then it is what it is. Don’t ruin a great system because you’re sad you didn’t have a good enough season. College Football is a sport of grit and glory, not of hand-outs and participation trophies.
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