Stryker Pregame Perspective: Eight Is Enough?

The College Football Playoff’s board of managers voted Friday to expand the playoff to 12 teams by 2026, although it’s too early to call it a final decision on the process. There are a few questions to be settled about what that would mean, so I decided to ask Husker Nation what it thinks about CFP expansion.

On a bright and breezy Saturday morning before Nebraska’s home opener against North Dakota, I asked 100 Husker fans this question: “What is your preference for a major college football playoff? Should it remain at four teams? Should it expand to eight, or to 12, or beyond 12 teams?”

Expanding the CFP to eight teams was the top vote-getter, with 47. Expanding to 12 teams was a close second, at 38.

Nine people said they preferred an even larger playoff than 12. Three said they think it should expand, but only to six teams, while three said they think the CFP should not expand at all.

An overriding concern was about the number of games a playoff expansion would require, which seemed to be the major reason the plurality voted for an eight-team playoff.

“Twelve is too many,” said Mike Nelson of Holdrege. “How many games are the kids going to have to play? And they’re ruining the bowls.”

But Bart Thomsen of Omaha came at it from a different angle, since he sees a movement toward two major college football “super conferences” — likely the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference — as inevitable. Thomsen envisions at least a 16-team playoff that would look and feel much like the NFL playoffs.

“I could see it growing to 16,” he said. “There aren’t going to be many 12-0 teams left anymore, especially if they play 10 conference games.”