Back in 2014, it seemed that the proposed College Football Playoff system would fix all the problems that postseason football was facing. College football and the BCS system was weighted-down by favoritism towards certain conferences, primarily the SEC, as well as argument over what a perfect season truly meant for a team. Only the top-two teams, as voted on by the committee, would play in the national championship game. Most times the two teams would have perfect records. The only problem was some years more than two teams would have perfect records, with one year having four undefeated teams.
Then came the College Football Playoff, or CFP for short—An actual playoff, here to fix all problems of biases towards power-conferences and powerhouse Alabama, (yes, I am calling you out Roll Tide fans). Though Alabama has made it to all four playoffs now, it still seemed a bit more fair when a one-loss Ohio State had the chance to play Bama, and ultimately won that game and went on to win the title. It seemed like all was right, with the four best teams competing in a two-round bracket to determine the true champion of college football.
Jump to this season, the 2017-18 season and we once again are in an uproar over the system. There has always been that bit of doubt in the system, mainly from the fan base of teams who were snubbed in their respective years. However, four years in and the snubs seem to be outweighing the victors. It started with Baylor and TCU in 2014, who both boasted impressive resumes, though both fell short due to no conference championship game to determine which one of the two was better. 2015 saw Iowa miss out though only having one-loss and playing in arguably the best conference. 2016 watched Penn State miss the playoff even though they had come off a nine-game winning streak and winning the Big Ten conference. This year we saw Ohio State suffer the same fate.
Sure, I will admit my bias upfront, I am a Penn State mega-fan. I support the Big Ten and strongly believe it is one of if not the best conference in college football these days. That being said, many of this conference's teams have been snubbed, and I mean snubbed.
It's time for the playoff to be expanded to an eight-team bracket. This season has been the best example as to why this should happen. Even the ESPN/sports world experts have said this. This year, there were far too many contenders for the committee to say that just four deserved to play for the national title. Along with Clemson, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Georgia who did qualify, many argued that Ohio State, Wisconsin, Auburn, USC, Penn State, Miami, Washington, and UCF all could compete in the playoff.
The system would not be difficult to manage, and if the length of the season is the issue, we could just shorten the season by one game. Let's be real, we all know there are several weeks during the season that don't mean anything but are rather an excuse to see which power school can rack-up the most points on a no-name school. There would be no need to make new bowl games since there are plenty to choose from at the moment.
After witnessing all but the national championship game at the time this article was written, the bowl games have also backed this proposal. Last year's Rose Bowl between Penn State and USC proved to be arguably the most exciting game of the season, showing that either could have competed in the playoff in the same year that Ohio State and Washington were absolutely destroyed by their opponents in the first round. This year was very similar, as most of those proposed teams also won in great fashion. Heck, little UCF beat Auburn in their bowl game to become the only undefeated team this year. Yes, they are outside the power-conferences, but undefeated says something.
If you had to ask me, here is how I would have made this year's playoff: There would be eight teams, as I have stated before. The #1 overall seed would play the #8 seed and, similarly, teams would be matched by seeding. No real explanation is needed since this is how every bracket ranking is done.
Here is what the first round would look like under my system:
#1 Clemson vs. #8 UCF
#2 Oklahoma vs. #7 Penn State
#3 Georgia vs. #6 USC
#4 Alabama vs. #5 Ohio State
Yes, under this model I still snub a couple teams, being Auburn, Wisconsin, Miami, and Washington. However, this does seem to be a more fair alternative. Undefeated UCF gets a Cinderella opportunity. Penn State, who only lost by a combined three points all season, gets to prove that Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorely are the real deal. The PAC-12 gets representation in USC, meaning all five power-conferences are represented. Ohio State making an appearance does prove that winning your conference does matter.
There is no perfect method to the madness. Even college basketball's March Madness, which has 68 teams, still has the occasional snub. Yes, it is probably impossible to have such a system for football. Until the end of time, we will be trying to solve this ever-changing problem. However, 2018-19 can be the time we can take another step in the right direction. College football has proven to be one of the most entertaining sports on TV, so why not give us more. As they say, let the boys play.
