The College Football Playoff is going to expand to 24 teams. It’s not “official-official” just yet, but it’s going to happen — and it’s going to start next season.
I’m going to try and not pontificate too much on the absurdity of this decision, but there are things that have
to be said. This isn’t good for the sport, and I’m having a hard time finding very many people that I admire and/or trust within the CFB media bubble that thinks the expansion is a good idea.
This is a good news and bad news scenario. It’s good news for Notre Dame, but very bad news for the CFB sport we have known and loved for our entire lives.
Part of the deal in all of this is that Power 4 teams are going to have to play 10 Power 4 games during the regular season. Essentially, this means that there are many more teams now that will be out looking for a Power 4 game… and Notre Dame has the space. The Irish are also going to adjust its schedule with more Big 10 and SEC teams.
So, yeah, getting more better games for Notre Dame to play each year feels like a nice win given the schedule we’re dealing with right now (and that’s not nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be).
So Notre Dame gets a more interesting schedule and obviously an easier path to the playoff now with its 24 teams. So maybe Notre Dame fans are cool with all of this… but I’m not.
I’m a college football fan who fell in love with the sport before I was a teenager (48 years old right now). I fell in love with it because of the big games and the big rivalries across the country, and there was a cuthroat-winner takes all situation to many of the games. Each Saturday felt much more relevant to the chase for the national championship. Upsets were KING and the debates that came along with it all were some of the best sports arguments in history.
But that’s all over with. A team ranked #22 will have about the same chance to win a national championship as the team ranked #5… and something about that allowance of mediocrity doesn’t sit right with an old-timer like me.
This sport remained mostly unchanged for decades under the polls and bowls system, and in the 90’s we finally got a “better” way to figure out who can play for the national championship with the BCS. Then that wasn’t good enough anymore and the College Football Playoff began in 2014 with a 4 team playoff.
A little over a decade later, we have arrived at 24 teams. Why?
Well, I think we can blame a number of people and different scenarios, but maybe the tipping point was a program like Indiana winning the national championship. The Hoosiers took one of the worst programs in history and made them champions by spending money, hiring a good coach, and watering down their schedule. It’s something everyone can do, but not everyone gets the same results. As spending money becomes more and more important to on the field success, more and more programs are reaching out to alumni and donors for more — but many are finding roadblocks by reluctant benefactors who want to see more ROI. The 24 team playoff gives those programs a better powerpoint presentation to those that write the checks.
Seriously — that’s why we’re here.
I suppose 10 years from now we may come to love and enjoy the 24 team format, but it will still have killed off the parts of CFB that we have loved for most of our lives. College football is suppossed to be crazy and messy and full of surprises, and this new path wipes out much of that.
But again… this is all very good for Notre Dame and Notre Dame’s life as an independent. The Irish have made a number of sacrifices to remain an independent over the years, and this entire package really feels like there is no sacrifice needed here — or ever again.
Honestly, this whole thing is actually quite complicated and will likely be studied in earnest in the future. It’s a monumental shift for college football, and I think it’s bullshit — but still good for Notre Dame.
It’s a crazy world.
