After Rose Bowl trouncing of Iowa, Stanford coach says he wants an expanded Playoff

Stanford coach David Shaw thinks the College Football Playoff should be expanded to six or eight teams, as he told reporters after the Cardinal’s dominant Rose Bowl win over Iowa.

Shaw has the right to complain, even if he refrained from doing so. The two-loss Cardinal were the only Power 5 conference champion to not make the College Football Playoff. Given Stanford’s performance on New Year’s Day, and those of Michigan State and Oklahoma the night before, it’s hard to argue that the Cardinal didn’t deserve a chance at the national championship.

Shaw is correct that the Playoff format isn’t changing anytime soon. ESPN’s contract to broadcast the Playoff runs for another decade, and specifically does not include a clause for renegotiating during that term. Expansion to include a third round of Playoff games would only occur if both sides agree to tear up the contract -- unlikely for the universities and conferences in the Playoff making more than $5 billion per year, especially given this year’s television ratings -- or at the end of the contract.