🏈 If you're hoping to see the College Football Playoff expand...

[RTB X Bot]

There are absolutely no signs of the College Football Playoff expanding anytime soon. I have asked every member of the CFP management committee - all 10 FBS commissioners and ND AD Jack Swarbrick -- if they they are still in favor of a four-team playoff and the answer was a resounding, unanimous "yes." Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said he is "fully supportive," Swarbrick said "yes, strongly." Another topic you can put to rest is any notion of the Group of 5 splitting off to form its own championship. It's an idea that is scoffed at by the sport's decision-makers. In January, at the national title game, MWC commissioner Craig Thompson told me, "We have no traction in our league at all. I wouldn't say ridiculous, but what's an adjective that's close to that?"

 

[50+yeartidefan]

Needs to stay at 4......it will expand eventually...4 seems to work at present...
Of course Bama hasnt been that 5 th team yet....then my opinion changes

 

[sean]

to me, he asked a loaded question.

he asked if they were in favor of a 4-team playoff. in my opinion, that can suggest he's asking for an answer for that vs. the previous way it was done. for a true answer, he should've asked if they were in favor of a keeping it a 4-team playoff forever or do they think it should eventually change to an 8-team playoff.

another case of ask a question with not enough info to get the answer you really want or the one that will generate the most talk.

 

[planomateo]

Is this the same as when AD's give full support to their head coach?

 

[TUSKtimes]

Look at the wear and tear on our team with a 15 game schedule? Just too much attrition.

 

[PCRammer]

Im fine with 4. Id probably be OK with 6 too. But when its get to a point, say 8, when the #1, #2, #3, and maybe #4 teams can just rest their players the final weekend because they know if they lose they won't fall past 8, then I have a problem. I can see that happening with 8 teams. Then the regular season becomes garbage and that's what make CFB great.

 

[rammerjammer]

I too, think that it will eventually expand to 6 or 8 teams as well. Bottom line this is all about money always has been and always will be. I wonder if they are attempting to curb the growth or keep from getting too big too fast. I liken it to Nascar through the late 90's early 2000's. Nascar grew at an exponential rate and became very corporate, all the while alienating John Q Redneck that put them on the map to start with. When the lull came, Nascar has a lot of tracks with a lot of empty seats.

It is something to think about. This year was the first time (been in Tide Pride 15 years) that I had the ability or points to get SECCG tickets. I didn't because I was banking on going to Tampa. If you add another game at another venue, think of the money a fan will spend attending these events. Travel and accommodations to the SECCG, Play-off game, National CG.......and we're talking about adding another playoff game.

Networks don't like to show games with empty seats, and advertisers don't like to advertise to empty stadiums. (see Nascar or ACC Championship game)
I know that Bama travels well as would most schools that make it to the play off, but I could see this being an issue, to some or a lessor extent.

I like the 6 game play off model with 1 and 2 getting a bye. However, I would really like the committee to use the BCS computers to help analyze to take a little bit of some of the subjectivity away from the committee.

 

[BamaFan334]

Stick to four. It needs to be something you earn, not coast into. I don't want anything resembling the NFL playoffs where a seven or eight loss team can be crowned a Champion simply because they click for a couple of games. The NCAA tournament is a little different due to the number of games you are forced to play and in the end it's usually the strongest teams make it, not always, but usually teams that should be there. In college football, it's already a long drawn out season that should not be increased just to make teams 5, 6, 7, 8... happy. If you can't do it in the regular season and through Conference Championship weekend, then you don't need to be afforded the opportunity to do it in January. If people are sick of Alabama right now, just think how sick they'll be if it's expanded to more teams and us making it every single year, even if we lose a game or two. Based on where we are at now, if we lose two, we won't lose a third or fourth, so you have simply increased our odds at winning a Championship every year for the next ten years that I think Saban will be in Tuscaloosa. Not saying you should change the rules based off the University of Alabama, but be careful what you wish for. Don't give a powerhouse too many bullets.

 

[rolltide66]

I thought the original agreement was for 4 teams and 4 teams only for at least 10-12 years? Seemed one of the issues the academics were worried about was schedule creep (NCAA Tournament anyone?). The conferences want to keep their championship games and their importance and once the format moves to 8 what will keep it from moving to 12...16... 32....64...68 (and then + two play in games) just create a 128 team play off.. get it over and for the lossers to have something to do the other 12-15 weeks of football season, create a series of Loser's Brackets, maybe call them something catchy like NIT or some similar Who Knows Why we would watch these games name.
As one of the others said, when BAMA is the team left out, maybe my tune will change; but probably not. Dont watch the other teams play anyway, not reason to in the future. Keep it at four... would hate to see the players have to compete for another couple weeks then get ready for the spring or try to get ready for the league.

 

[musso]

Saban made some great points recently about the grind of the lengthened season. It delays players from much needed R&R and rehab to prepare for the spring.

 

[TerryP]

I like the 6 game play off model with 1 and 2 getting a bye.

If people are sick of Alabama right now, just think how sick they'll be if it's expanded to more teams and us making it every single year, even if we lose a game or two, and get a bye in the first round

Add that to the equation. It's one reason I don't see a team getting a bye if it is expanded.

 

[UAgrad93]

I think if the playoff were to expand, then we would and should see a reduction in the number of regular season games. Will ADs be willing to lose a $3-4 million weekend for more games on the backend?

 

[JoshB]

4 is as perfect as it can be IMO but if I would be willing to add one team. By that I mean pretty much a Play-In, #4 vs. #5 with the winner of that game meeting #1 in the Semifinals. Whoever is #4 is not gonna like that though.

 

[musso]

I say this at every opportunity when people advocate for expanding the play off ...

What was the argument for the play off to begin with???? It was that in some seasons (not even every season) a team or two outside of the BCS title game appeared just as good as the BCS champion. Plus, the fact that the SEC was always appearing in the BCS title game created resentment. The reality is there is never a case where more than 3 or 4 total teams deserve to contend for the national title. The very fact that everyone agreed who was 1, 2, and 3, yet disagreement abounded regarding the 4th spot is proof that we don't need to expand it beyond 4.

 

[TUSKtimes]

I say this at every opportunity when people advocate for expanding the play off ...

What was the argument for the play off to begin with???? It was that in some seasons (not even every season) a team or two outside of the BCS title game appeared just as good as the BCS champion. Plus, the fact that the SEC was always appearing in the BCS title game created resentment. The reality is there is never a case where more than 3 or 4 total teams deserve to contend for the national title. The very fact that everyone agreed who was 1, 2, and 3, yet disagreement abounded regarding the 4th spot is proof that we don't need to expand it beyond 4.

My feeling as well on the playoffs being expanded. I would just add that even if that 5th team would occasionally show up on the radar, so what? Just the cost of doing business. The business includes making the regular season as much like playoff games as possible. I think every year we play LSU and a few others, we know darn well this is an elimination game. People just need to think in terms of a 15 game playoff schedule and relax.