Recently, I watched an episode of ESPN’s “First Take,” where Jonathan Coachman and Will Cain argued about whether or not the College Football Playoff should be expanded. Coachman argued for not expanding, and Cain argued that the field should go to eight for the excitement. I believe that both of them are wrong.
The College Football Playoff is not in dire need of expansion, but it would solve many of the NCAA’s current problems with college football’s bowl season.
As of now, every bowl game that’s not a playoff game is seen as a glorified exhibition. Great college players with a serious chance to play on Sundays have little to no reason to put their bodies at risk for this; therefore, players will skip these games, as a few big names have already done. Expanding the playoff would not end this issue but it would help.
Another issue that is more serious than players skipping bowl games is the fact that the Group of Five conferences feel completely ignored by the CFB playoff committee. Some say they aren’t as talented or deep and don’t belong. But my question is, why are we not striving to create more parity in college football? There have only been three playoffs so far, but a trend of not only Power Five dominance but marquee name dominance has shown already. The Alabama Crimson Tide has been in every playoff and both the Ohio State Buckeyes and Clemson Tigers have been in two of three. This year, Ohio State didn’t even win the Big Ten title but still earned a spot.
The Group of Five has a legitimate gripe as a team from one of those conferences could run the table in dominating fashion, beating multiple Power Five teams along the way, and still not crack the CFB playoff committee’s top 10. For example, Western Michigan did that exact thing this year. The Mid-American Conference champs went 13-0 during the regular season beating a seven-win Northwestern team out of the Big Ten. But at their peak, the Broncos only ranked 13th.
Another team to look at for this type of thing is the one-loss 2015 Houston team that handled the Atlantic division runner-up Florida State, beating the Seminoles in the Peach Bowl by 14 points. It has gotten so bad some Group of Five ADs and coaches are considering making the Group of Five their own playoff.
If the field was expanded to 12 teams it would be the best solution for these ails. All 10 conference champions and two at-large bids would be the perfect way to push a more equitable playoff system. Group of Five teams would finally have a shot at the title and they wouldn’t have to worry about their coaches instantly bolting for a bigger opportunity like the coaches of Houston and Western Michigan did. Not to mention, them saying anyone can win it all would finally be true.
Some would argue that it would put unqualified teams in the realm of football giants and they’d get obliterated, but I’d say to give them that chance. We all knew little Boise State would get destroyed by Oklahoma, but one Statue of Liberty play later we found out that we were all wrong. We all knew that Florida State was going to show Houston that the Noles were bigger, stronger, faster and better, but uh-oh, we were wrong again.
Expanding the playoffs gives more games meaning, so they’d likely mean something to players. I doubt that anyone would skip their bowl game with a national championship on the line. Every other level of competition seems to manage just fine with much larger playoffs than this, so for those with the “that’s the way it’s always been” argument, why shouldn’t it be changed? More parity, more excitement and more meaning … what more do I need to say?
