By Tyler Cheung
On Nov. 9, the NCAA announced that the College Football Playoff would be expanding from 12 to 24 teams starting in the 2027-28 season. This marks another significant change to the playoff format, just two years after it grew from four teams to 12.
How will this new format look?
The top team in each of the Power Four conferences, along with the top-ranked team from one of the other six conferences will automatically qualify for the playoff. The selection committee will then choose the other 19 highest ranked teams.
The top eight seeds will receive a first round bye and host a second round game. Seeds 9-16 will face seeds 17-24 in the first round, with the higher seeds hosting. The first two rounds will be played on college campuses, while the remaining rounds will take place at neutral sites.
Pros:
Expanding the playoff allows more teams to have the opportunity to play high stakes football. Programs that previously had little to no chance of making the playoff now have the opportunity to play for a national championship. Similar to March Madness, this new format could create Cinderella runs and allow underdog teams to make unexpected moves.
It also means more football for fans, more than doubling the amount of games from 11 to 23. This increase in games could attract larger audiences, bringing in more casual fans and expanding the popularity of college football as a whole.
Cons:
One of the biggest concerns surrounding the expansion is the elimination of conference championship games across the Power Four conferences. While each conference will still crown a champion, there will not be a title game played to determine the winner.
This raises the question of the purpose of playing in a conference format if everything ultimately leads to the playoff. The expansion may take away from stakes, rivalries and overall importance of conference play.
Additionally, the expansion will diminish the value of regular season games for top teams. In the past, one or two losses could be enough to eliminate a powerhouse team from the playoff, but with the new format, top programs have a much larger margin of error, potentially lowering the stakes of regular season games. This could ultimately hurt the overall fan atmosphere of college football and decrease the excitement around big matchups during the regular season.
Another concern is the competitive gap between the top and bottom teams. The talent disparity between elite programs and the teams ranked in the 20s is significant and first round blowouts are likely.
Conclusion:
Ultimately, the biggest question surrounding this deal is whether this will actually improve the college football playoff or if it is just a cash grab from the NCAA. Doubling the amount of playoff games creates more opportunities for television deals, advertising and ticket sales. While fans may have more playoff football to watch, the overall product of college football may be negatively affected.
