Change is coming, and Dan Lanning is making sure he is ready for it.
For months, rumors have swirled about the College Football Playoff expanding once again, this time to 24 teams. Last week, reports circulated that the CFP was closing in on a deal to expand the playoff and double the field as soon as next season. For programs that have often been good but not great enough to win conference titles and make the playoff, the bigger field opens the door to more opportunities, while also raising the standard for teams and coaches across the country.
For the Oregon Ducks, a program that expects to be in the playoff every year, the expansion only adds competition in their path to a national championship. Still, Lanning publicly supported the expansion over
the summer and has continued to do so as a deal nears.
Why? Well, the added games would bring in more revenue, which trickles down to conferences and teams to support their growth in the offseason. In an era when players can leave at the drop of a hat, every dollar matters.
"I think I've been an advocate for multiple reasons," Lanning said. "I think there's a revenue gap that has to be replaced if championship games end up looking a little bit different. I think there's still a lot of other things that can be changed too."
Some of those other changes revolve around the rest of the postseason, including conference championship games and bowl season. Bowl games have already crumbled as programs pour everything into the playoff, and the bowl game doesn't hold the same value as it did in the past.
In an expanded playoff format, conference championship games are also likely to be done away with to allow for more time to start the playoff, eliminating the massive gap in time in December between the end of the regular season and the first round of the playoff. December is a crowded month for college football teams, both getting ready for the postseason and attempting to lock down a recruiting class, but Lanning believes the move is a step in the right direction to clean up the mess.
"I'm not a big proponent of bowl games. I think teams with advantages or high rankings should have home games," Lanning said. "But ultimately, I think it's a good thing. It's going to allow a little less chaos at the end. There'll still be chaos, but a little less chaos at the end of the season. Teams with something to play for, and I think we've recognized that there are teams that are right on the cusp or right on the bubble that probably deserve the opportunity to play because they're that caliber of team."
Just last season, a debate surrounded the playoff bubble that had massive consequences. Miami got into the playoffs over Notre Dame, despite being ranked behind the Irish for most of the season, and the Hurricanes made a run to the national championship. Notre Dame, meanwhile, missed the playoff field and declined a bowl bid as a result.
With an expanded field, there will be less room for debate and excuses, and more pressure on coaches to make the playoffs as the standard across the sport.
Oregon has made the playoff field the past two seasons and went to the semifinals last season. The Ducks are facing an uphill battle to crack the bracket this season, thanks to a pair of losses early in the season, but the Ducks are not out of the race yet. Assuming the deal is eventually completed and the playoff field expands, Lanning is bracing for the impact it will have on the sport.
"It's changed over time," Lanning said. "So we're ready to adapt with the change."
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: 'Ready to adapt;' Dan Lanning explains his support of 24-team playoff
