It’s time for the college football playoff to expand to 8 teams.
Entering year number-7 of the CFP, the college football final-four remains more exclusive than inclusive, and only marginally better than the much-maligned BCS system.
This year’s semi-final games (Alabama vs Notre Dame & Clemson vs Ohio State) will be one-sided affairs. Alabama and Clemson are without question the best teams in the nation and will play for a national championship January 11th in Miami.
Expansion is not designed to prevent the best of the best from squaring off in the title game. It’s meant to be more inclusive.
The most head-scratching aspect of the four-team system is that one power-5 conference team will ALWAYS be left out. Using this season as an example, two power-5’s are on the outside looking in.
Expanding the playoff will almost assuredly ensure each of the power-5 conferences are represented in the playoff. It will also open the door to the Coastal Carolina’s and Cincinnati’s of the college football world…teams with a combined record of 20-0 with five wins over teams ranked in the top 25.
I’m not as interested in the rich getting richer as I am the inclusivity of the “little-guy”. The little guy is what makes the NCAA basketball tournament so special. The little guy never wins the NCAA tournament, but it always has a chance.
There will always be arguments.
There will always be teams snubbed.
Regardless of the size of the playoff field, debates will rage on.
Monetary incentives for all, and a message to the little guy that “we’re giving you a chance”.
Expansion is both necessary and overdue.
