The 12-team College Football Playoff hasn’t even been played once, and there are already calls for it to be changed again. Various models have been proposed, but the most common change seems to favor a 14-team playoff.
This format gained another supporter with Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark who said the following:
“My feeling is more access for student athletes is a great thing…Providing them with championship experiences is a wonderful thing. … Hosting games on-campus is fantastic for all the right reasons. And if we ended up going to 14, and we can further enhance the championship experience for more teams and more student athletes, I think that’s great.
I’m going to continue to bet on the Big 12 that we’re going to take some of those at-large spots. In theory more is more. More is good. Proof is in the details, and obviously, I’m excited to see how this year plays out at 12.”
The Argument For 14 Teams
As previously mentioned, there are a few ways to get to 14. Some SEC and Big 10 supporters claim that they should get their conference champion as the overall No. 1 and 2 spot and let the other 12 spots be at-large.
Another format suggests going to a 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, model where the SEC and Big 10 each get four bids, the ACC and Big 12 get two bids, the G5 gets a single bid, and then there are three at-large bids for the next few teams. Some are more hesitant to accept this model as it would show a clear power and influence of the Big 10 and SEC, while others argue that getting two in automatically is better than not having any guaranteed teams (the Big 12 would have been a one-bid league this year).
Big 12 commish Brett Yormark said league favors a 14-team playoff (over 12-team playoff) starting in 2026. "I'm for more access for student-athletes for (competing for) championships. More is more. More is good."
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 1, 2024
Argument Against a 14-Team Playoff
There are a few arguments against going to a 14-team playoff, but they can be summarized pretty quickly and simply:
- Expanding the playoff would further devalue regular bowl games. The larger the playoff gets, the less teams will care about other bowl games. This may be a moot point since it seems there couldn’t be much less interest as it is.
- If the playoff is going to 14 teams, why not go to 16 and make it a more equal playoff? This would certainly create a Sweet 16-like feel in college football and would make the 1 vs. 16 game interesting.
- If the 3,3, 2, 2, 1, (+3) model is adopted, it would be a step closer to the Big 10 and SEC breaking off from the rest of college football even faster. The longer that the ACC and Big 12 can keep things ‘equal’ the better…for them.
College Football is a Mess
College Football will someday be studied by historians as one of the oddest and most chaotic sporting organizations in the history of sports. NIL, the transfer portal, conference realignment, TV money distribution, and now a playoff expanding before the new format is even tried out are some of the things in complete disarray.
The league may have lost all interest if this were any other sport or league. But since it’s college football, we fans just roll with it and hope for the best for our teams.