It’s been just two years since the BCS transformed into the four-team Playoff, but some people are already pining for an eight-teamer. Stanford head coach David Shaw, whose team won the Pac-12, said as much after the Cardinal’s Rose Bowl rout of Iowa.
Why the College Football Playoff should expand only slightly, or not at all
At the site of the National Championship, we talked about whether the Playoff should go beyond four teams. Above are a few different arguments for only adding minor expansions, if any at all.
The problem with a four-team Playoff is that at least one of the power conference champions is always going to be left out. With an eight-team Playoff, every champion could be included, along with possibly the best non-power champion.
Many FBS coaches favor an eight-team playoff. Last year, TCU coach Gary Patterson advocated for an eight-team playoff after his team got left out, saying that he would be fine having another round in place of conference championship games.
“I don’t want to say never,” Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford said. “But I don’t think we’ll see it during the remaining years of the contract.”
That contract goes through 2025. Things can always change, but even with the low ratings from the Playoff on New Year’s Eve, it’s unlikely we’ll see an expanded playoff any time soon.
Here are what some bigger formats would’ve looked like this year, though.
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