SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and his presidents need to decide soon--hopefully this week at the Spring meetings in Destin, Fla.-- whether or not to play an eight-game or nine-game conference schedule in 2024./Photo by USA Today.

A Jersey Guy: CFP Greed showing up

Author:
Mark Blaudschun
Publish date:
Feb 25, 2024 10:11 PM EST

Let's cut to the chase in college football.

We will take a look at its landscape in, say, 3 years.

And say hello to the new CFP czar who will have total control.

His name is Gordon Gekko, the main character played by Michael Douglas, in the 1987 movie "Wall Street."

Gekko's mantra was simple: 'Greed is good.''

Who will emerge as the real Gordon Gekko has yet to be determined, but make no mistake, the concept of "Greed'' is the driving force.

If I had a say, I would make a hard run at Barack Obama although SEC commissiolner Greg Sankey remains the most powerfui figure in college football.

CFB 2024, RIP

What was revealed this week by the CFP is its vision of the future, which will include a full slate of games starting on Labor Day weekend, championship and playoff games in December and playoff games in January, with a total of as many as 16 or even 17 games for some teams.

The CFP cleared a major hurdle by expanding its playoff system from a Final Four three-game format to a not-so-elite, 12-team, 11-game system.

With first-round byes for the four highest-ranked conference champions, 5 slots guaranteed to the top 5 ranked conference champions and 7 at-large slots open, the plan seemed to rectify most of the exclusionary aspects of the previous 9-year CFP package, which ended in January with Michigan rolling over Washington for the national championship.

But that is only a two-season deal before the real package slides into the place.

"Today was another example of through the course of conversations, looking at yes the potential of going to other numbers, 14 or etc'', said Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips, who will welcome Stanford, California and SMU to the ATLANTIC Coast Conference as new members next fall, which will stretch from Boston to Palo Alto and from Berkeley to Miami.

There it is... 12, 14 or even 16 teams in a CFP version of what is really an NFL lite playoff system.

Phillips and his buddies would have jammed 16 teams with a full slate of playoff games in December and January down eveyone's throat right now, but there wasn't enough time to work out the details -- the reason for the 12-team, two-year plan.

The force behind going from 12 to 14 or 16 is being generated by the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten Conferfence, each of which could have as many as five teams in a 16-team playoff.

Both leagues make more than enough money, but in this era of NIL spending and Transfer-portal free agency, expenses are up.

The old system is finished. The new wild world of NFL-college football is upon us.

And no matter what you hear or read, the mantra of the future is basic, "Show me the money" and "Greed is good."