It's OK to Expand College Playoffs, Just Don't Let Added Teams Play for Title
Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports
We hear it every year from conferences and teams that don't have the drive and desire to achiever excellence.
"Hey man, we need to expand the college football playoffs to 12 teams to more conferences and schools can participate. You never know man. You never know."
Well, actually, we do know.
There is a large enough sample size to easily surmise that it's borderline impossible to get anything competitive as far as a national playoff with four teams. Adding another eight teams is completely pointless.
Look at all the non-competitive semifinal games we've had without watering down the system.
2022
Alabama 27, Cincinnati 6
Georgia 34, Michigan 11
2021
Alabama 31, Notre Dame 14
Ohio St. 49, Clemson 28
2020
LSU 63, Oklahoma 28
2019
Clemson 30, Notre Dame 3
2018
Alabama 24, Clemson 6
2017
Alabama 24, Washington 7
Clemson 31, Ohio St. 0
2016
Clemson 37, Oklahoma 17
Alabama 38, Michigan St. 0
2015
Oregon 59, Florida St. 20
In the entire history of the college football playoffs, only three semifinal games have been competitive. That's three out of 16 games – 18.7%.
So if the NCAA wants to consider whether to expand the playoffs, it has to ask itself what the purpose of the college football playoffs actually is.
If it's to determine a national champion, then the system in place more than accomplishes that goal.
If it's to placate PAC-12 champions, small schools, and other "champions" with 3-4 losses because their feelings are hurt, then it would be a disservice to those teams anyway because they clearly don't have the mental toughness it takes to be a champion.
After all, which would be worse – hurting their feelings, or hurting their bodies when they go up against borderline NFL teams with something legitimate on the line?
If the teams that didn't recruit well enough, weren't coached well enough, or weren't mentally and physically strong couldn't rise to the moment when it mattered throughout the season, then include them in a playoff to determine the rest of the Top 10.
Give No. 5 and No. 6 a bye, have No. 7-10 play for the right to take them on. It will provide intriguing viewing during what is an often unwatchable bowl season while giving these teams quality experience should they find themselves in the national championship playoffs one day.
Either way, don't water down the playoffs. It's hard enough to find teams that can be competitive with what we already have.
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