Here are what bigger College Football Playoff brackets would look like this year. Are they good?
They’re definitely bigger. And they definitely mean players doing more work for the same compensation while everyone else gets more money.
This is the Playoff. It only adds one game to the season, it solved the issue of there usually being about three teams worthy of playing for the title, and it avoids the issue of including so many that totally non-deserving teams are in.
Does this Playoff mean more football? Yeah.
Does this Playoff mean conferences, schools, administrators, coaches, media companies, merchandise companies and stadium sites making more money while players make the same amount? Yeah.
Is this Playoff guaranteed to crown a worthy champion? These teams have lost a combined three games, with only Oklahoma’s loss to Texas being especially bad, all things considered. If the Sooners were to win this Playoff, they’d add two top-five wins to their four top-25 wins and outright power conference title. So, sure.
The six-team Playoff, where earning a top seed actually matters
As it is, the reward for finishing No. 1 is barely existent. Finishing No. 2 this year would’ve given Clemson the same hosting site, since Bama would’ve taken the Cotton Bowl anyway, and would’ve given the Tigers the arguably easier matchup, since nearly every computer metric thinks OU is better than MSU. If these things have to be chained to the bowl system’s soulless stadiums and can’t be on campuses, let’s have a play-in round to ensure the top seeds mean something.
Also, all the power conferences will usually be in, so that’ll cut down on annually contradictory offseason shouting.
This tournament could mean some rosters of amateur athletes enduring 16-game schedules at the FBS level.
Does this Playoff mean more football? Yeah.
Does this Playoff mean conferences, schools, administrators, coaches, media companies, merchandise companies, and stadium sites making more money while players make the same amount? Yeah.
Is this Playoff guaranteed to crown a worthy champion? Iowa was 1 yard away from 13-0. Stanford’s played a schedule almost as good as Alabama’s in coarse terms, with 10 bowl-eligible opponents and two losses to top-15 teams. Winning out would mean adding wins over Michigan State, Bama and another top-five team to the Cardinal’s resume, and it’d mean every other team in the country would have at least one loss. So, sure.
The 12-team Playoff, or just turning the New Year’s Six into one big thing
Seems like this is the one they want to point us toward, right? Why else would they need to have six bowls in one special group, rotating the two games that actually matter among them and having the same Playoff committee match up the other four?
If there were a 12-team field, certain conferences wouldn’t get special rankings-proof ties to New Year’s bowls (like there are now) without lawsuits happening. They also couldn’t exclude the non-power conferences without lawsuits happening. So, top non-power Houston’s in, but otherwise, it’s straight rankings.
This tournament would mean some amateur athletes could play 17-game seasons in a ferociously violent sport’s second-highest level.
Does this Playoff mean more football? Yeah.
Does this Playoff mean conferences, schools, administrators, coaches, media companies, merchandise companies and stadium sites making more money while players make the same amount? Yeah.
Is this Playoff guaranteed to crown a worthy champion? The lowest-ranked team here has one loss, which was by three points on the road. To win out, it’d have to win four games against top-11 teams. So, sure.
Whatever, fine, the 16-team Playoff
You’d have to include all conference autobids at this point, like March Madness or the FCS tournament. This is the smallest bracket that actually means every team in the country has a shot every season.
This tournament would mean some amateur athletes would annually play 17-game seasons in a ferociously violent sport’s second-highest level.
Does this Playoff mean more football? Yeah.
Does this Playoff mean conferences, schools, administrators, coaches, media companies, merchandise companies and stadium sites making more money while players make the same amount? Yeah.
Is this Playoff guaranteed to crown a worthy champion? Some years, this setup could risk some 7-5 monstrosity winning out and making this all look like the NFL. But if 9-3 Arkansas State beats Clemson, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Alabama in a row? Sure.
See More:
