2022 Is Exactly Why We Need a 12 Team Playoff

What a year it has been in college football. Unlike years in the past there I feel like there are a lot of teams in the field you do not want to play. There are the obvious front runners, Ohio State and Georgia. There are also a few high undefeated teams that have recruited really well in Tennessee, Michigan, and Clemson. Let us not forget that Alabama is still there. TCU and Oklahoma State look really strong in the Big 12. Oregon, USC, Utah, and UCLA all look like really solid teams in the Pac 12. Add in a few teams that still could pull out some late season upsets here to make things interesting (Ole Miss, Penn St, Wake Forest, Kentucky) and we have some parity in college football. In the past there has been a clear top team that would dominate such as the 2019 LSU Tigers, the 2020 Alabama Crimson Tide, and 2021 Georgia Bulldogs, but this year there are a whole bunch of teams that you would not to see in the playoff.

The Dumbass Argument Against an Expanded Playoff

I have been watching college football pretty religiously since I became sentient sometime in the early 2000s. The first game I actually remember watching is the 2003 Michigan vs Ohio State game. Michigan won 35-21, Chris Perry ran wild, I was at my friend Codys house. This was of course the BCS era which was… interesting? Every other league of anything has a playoff and for some reason college football decided, computers will calculate this. It took til the year 2014 for the NCAA to think a playoff was a good idea.

The games would mean less

2014 was the first year of the 4 team playoff, and from 2014-2021 we had a raging debate of, “should we expand the playoff?” or “if we expand the playoff the games will mean less”. This argument has always baffled me. By making more games mean more, more games now mean less? So if there are 12 teams that get into the playoff instead of 4 there are less teams that care because more teams are eligible? If 4 teams get into the playoff and there are 5 “Power 5” conferences doesnt that mean one conference champion wont make it in? What about if a top conference (the SEC) has two teams get in (Alabama and Georgia)? Now only 3 “Power 5” conferences get a conference champion in the playoff. What about a really good “Group of 5” team that hasn’t lost a game in like two years (UCF and Cincinnati)? What if those situations happen in the same year (see 2021 CFP)? Now we have two of the “Power 5” conference champions in the playoff with a team that lost their conference championship and a team that is not even in a major conference. Why would we not make a “Power 5” conferences championship game mean something? At the same time, why would we not give a one loss team like 2021 Georgia (future national champion) a chance in the playoff? They absolutely could have beaten anyone and did beat everyone. This “games would mean less” fallacy is very top heavy because in a 4 team playoff basically any team with 2 losses and even a team with 1 bad loss would be eliminated. Texas almost beat Alabama with a backup quarterback this year (and since has had their struggles), but im not so sure any team would feel comfortable playing them in a playoff game. And Texas is not even a team thats being considered as of now for the playoff. When more teams have a chance, more games mean more, and the teams at the top are now battling for a higher seed and a bye week. So if there are more teams battling to get in the playoff those are important games. If the good teams are battling for bye weeks and home field advantage than those games are also equally important. Right?

The final spot will always be controversial

Sure theres always going to be an argument as to who the last team that should be in should be, but thats literally in every sport. The NCAA basketball tournament literally lets in 68 teams and still has a “Last 4 in” debate of the bubble teams. At the end of the day though if you dont get in, you didnt do enough. There is not a lot of debate. I think in a college football playoff there would be similar feelings for the 12 seed. Right now the debate for the last two at large spots would likely be between Wake Forest, Penn State, UCLA, Utah and maybe Ole Miss. If one of those teams didnt get in it would be much less controversial then lets say a one loss Baylor or TCU team in 2014 or a one loss 2018 Ohio State team.

Now to further on the controversy on the last spot in the playoff, if youre one of the mouth breathers that thinks the 4 seed controversy is the fun of college football, you are not really a college football fan. If you really want to see who is the best team get rid of the controversy. After all these are college kids that get 3-5 chances at winning a national championship or even going to a playoff and having a shot at it. Taking a chance from someone who worked hard to get to this level is criminal. Especially at the expense of you and your buddies arguing who should have made it or who should have won it. What a dumb dumb loser way to look at things. Football truly is the sport where if you let the teams play the best team will come out on the other end.

Alabama or Georgia or Clemson or Ohio State Will Just Win it All Anyways

This is the Michael Wilbon special. It is also one of the dumbest arguments there is that is thrown out there. Yeah you know what why do we even play any games? Lets just throw these 4 teams out there week one and the winners will play and that will be football season. They throw this out there on ESPN a lot and its why they should clean house. This might be the most lazy reasoning for anything ever. What a loser way of thinking of things. Why even show up? Lol. Shut up

More Reasons Why the Expansion is Good for All of US

The positives outweigh the negatives in this debate and it is not even really close.

More College Football

Heres an obvious one. Not only is it more college football but its more COMPETITIVE college football. Are you telling me you would not tune in to Michigan vs Ohio State for a second time, at a neutral site, after last years game? What if a team makes a run? Lets say a team like Coastal Carolina from a few years ago comes in with a new offense that teams have trouble stopping, and they make a run. You wouldnt watch that?

More Revenue

Now I am usually the first guy to point out corporate greed and why its evil. Here though it helps the sport of football and I will always support that. More big games = more money. Thats not a tough one. Also lets emphasize the MORE BIG GAMES thing.

Recruiting Stability

Now hear me out on this, but if more teams have a chance to win the National Championship does that mean recruits would be more willing to go to teams that arent perennial top 3 or 4 teams (Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson)? If any team with a solid program and coach can make the playoff then that makes a lot of schools more attractive to recruits. Not only are you going to get a more competitive recruiting scene with more opportunity and NIL deals evening the field, but players will have more to play for. Then we can stop hearing these cry baby pee pants fans complain when their top players sit out the last couple of games or bowl games so they dont get hurt. In general players only shut it down when they are eliminated from making it to the playoff.

Conclusion

It has happened. We are starting to achieve somewhat of a competitive balance. This is the next step. Yes we need to expand the playoff. Yes they need to do it next year. Yes it is good for college football.