College Football Playoff Expansion

             With the first ever College Football finals taking place in a few days, there has been some talk as to expanding the playoffs. People seem to think that an 8 team playoff will be more fair than a 4 team. There is a good case to be made for this to happen:

1.     The Big 12: At the end of the year, many Hornfrogs were upset that they would not be in the playoff, despite being ranked 3^rd in the polls the previous week. Baylor was also not happy being ranked below a team they not only beat, but a team they beat in one of the most amazing comeback wins this year (and this is coming from an FSU student). Without a championship game, the Bears and Hornfrogs would split the Big 12 title, creating no real champion. At the end of the year, both were ranked at 5 and 6 respectively. The only reason neither were in the playoffs was due to an astonishing Big 10 championship game led by Ohio State’s 3^rd-String QB Cardale Jones. TCU would fire back in their bowl game, dismantling Ole Miss, making a case for them being in the playoff. Baylor would attempt to do the same against Michigan State, but would taste defeat similar to the way they defeated TCU.

2.     First 2 Out: Lets face it, no matter how many teams the playoffs hold, the first 2 teams out will have some case for being in the playoffs. We beat Oregon, we only lost that game by 3, our starting QB wasn’t playing in our loss. This year, the first 2 out could have easily won their game in the 8 team playoff format. Going under the system where the lower seeds play the higher, we would have seen TCU play FSU and Baylor would play Ohio State. These games could have gone either way. TCU and Baylor showed all year that they deserved to be ranked in the top 5, and they were snubbed out due to a blow out win by Ohio State.

3.     Anyone can be beaten: If we have seen anything this year, it’s that anyone can lose on any given day. Alabama lost to Ole Miss and narrowly won their game against Arkansas. FSU had too many close calls to count, but were finally beaten. Even Oregon lost to Arizona, but they were the only team to be able to get a second chance in the same season as their loss. It just takes that one game to screw up a teams run to the championship. Does that seem fair? The answer is no. I understand that the committee’s job is to find the true best of college football, but does that happen in every sport? Do we honestly think that the 2007 Giants, or 2013 UConn, or even any championship year for the Yankees, were ever the best team that year? The point of the playoff is that they earn their spot to compete for the title.

When expanded the playoffs would like this in 2014-15:

Alabama vs. Michigan State

Oregon vs. Mississippi State

Florida State vs. TCU

Ohio State vs. Baylor

Now that sounds like a good playoff.