The College Football Playoff is a broken system that will go on until the TV contract and the advertising deals run their course.
UCF has the all the rights to claiming a National Championship
Everyone has their own opinions about the College Football Playoff. Some like the new four team layout, some people want eight teams, and everyone fucking hated the BCS. But if we’re being honest, everyone that wants an eight team format is lying to themselves. With eight teams, there are the same issues. The truth is, the Playoff needs more spots than that to really make any kind of difference. They need to push this to 16 teams and let it all settle itself.
Firstly, there are 129 FBS programs out there. There is no way someone can convince me that a four team playoff is enough for that many teams. It’s a bullshit way of saying no one but the “elite” schools matter. That’s because money matters and the NCAA wants to make sure ratings are high and the money keeps coming in. It’s fucking over teams like UCF (MY National Champion) and the other conference champs from competing.
My solution? 24 team playoff. Let’s blow the doors off this thing. have all 10 conference champions make the playoff. I’m not counting the Independents, because that’s another issue. They can get an at-large bid. But let’s make this fair. You want a National Champion? Fine. Let the Sunbelt, MAC, Conference USA, and AAC conferences make their stake and get a shot at a title. Will they all get blown out? Probably. The Sunbelt and MAC will probably get their wheels blown off, but who cares? It’s a chance at a title, which is what every team should have the opportunity to accomplish. The committee can rank the teams and give the two highest seeds a bye week. The 10 conference champions should be rewarded with a home game as well. They absolutely need to be rewarded somehow, which is something the current committee clearly is having trouble doing.
With 10 teams down, there are 14 spots open for 14 at-large bids for the committee to choose. I don’t care who makes it at that point. Some years there won’t be that many deserving teams. But look at March Madness. Out of 64 teams that make the dance, not all of them are deserving or will make a run. If they go on a run, great. If not, they had a chance, which is more than they ever had before.
One big issue that has to be addressed is the number of games. I understand they can’t add all these games to the schedule. It increases the chance of injuries and time away from actual school. So let’s shorten the regular season to 10 games. That’s all teams should need, right? Look at who these teams are playing. Alabama played Mercer in November. Georgia played Samford. Do they really need those games? 8 conference games and 2 out of conference games should be enough to show what a team is. With a conference championship, teams will play 14 games at most, which brings the total to the 13 or 14 they are already playing in the current system.
I can guarantee this will never happen. North Texas in the playoffs? No chance. College football has a HUGE gap between the top teams and the bottom teams. But if a MAC school can sit a kid down and talk about a chance for the playoffs, maybe they can get a local blue chip recruit or two to stay close to home. There are flaws and this seems far-fetched, but it could work wonders to bridge the gap in college football and finally find out a true champion.