CFP Expansion

[Lobot]

Pete Thamel is reporting that the CFP will go to 24 teams next season pending approval from interested parties

[longtimefan]

Pete Thamel is reporting that the CFP will go to 24 teams next season pending approval from interested parties

They’ve given up on these guys being students.

[London 'Cat]

This is stupid, in my opinion. There are only 4-6 teams with a legitimate shot at winning a national championship each year. Those 4-6 teams can differ from year to year, but there is no need to extend it beyond 6 teams. Seeds 1-2 get byes into the semi-finals and teams 4-6 play for the other semi-final spots. That makes for a 5 game tournament, which is sufficient to determine a champion.

[swilsonsp4]

This is stupid, in my opinion. There are only 4-6 teams with a legitimate shot at winning a national championship each year. Those 4-6 teams can differ from year to year, but there is no need to extend it beyond 6 teams. Seeds 1-2 get byes into the semi-finals and teams 4-6 play for the other semi-final spots. That makes for a 5 game tournament, which is sufficient to determine a champion.

While it may be that only a handful of schools can win the title, a whole boatload of football fans, including casual fans, will be glued to their TV/laptop/tablet/phone, taking in the commercials. The schools and ESPN wouldn't do this if it wasn't lucrative. More than half of the teams will get at least one home game in the process. Tickets, parking, concessions. Not to mention, additional practice time, some of which can be directed towards development of younger players (who may or may not hang around after the season).

[bearcatbret]

And the B1G 10 and SEC will have 7 teams each in the CFB. That brings more money into those conferences.

[Lobot]

I'm looking at it from the standpoint that this should end most bowl games. Not necessarily all, but a lot of the bowl games were money losers and saddled the schools with bad debt as well.

[swilsonsp4]

I'm looking at it from the standpoint that this should end most bowl games. Not necessarily all, but a lot of the bowl games were money losers and saddled the schools with bad debt as well.

At least six bowls, since 12 teams would be added to the CFP. None of the early round games would be in bowls, since they'll be on campus sites.

[JohnFrancis]

I assume top 8 teams will get byes and teams 9 (incl) through 24 will play first - so will there still be conference championship games?

[London 'Cat]

I assume top 8 teams will get byes and teams 9 (incl) through 24 will play first - so will there still be conference championship games?

I believe conference championship games will no longer exist under this playoff system.

[daveh]

I believe conference championship games will no longer exist under this playoff system.

i think a lot of the bowl games will be toast, too

[Lobot]

i think a lot of the bowl games will be toast, too

This might be a good thing. A lot of these bowls are money losers and exist solely to give ESPN etc. content for the holiday season.The bowl committee members and advertisers keep these things afloat

[JohnFrancis]

Ok, so now after reading about this planned expansion on Yahoo and elsewhere...the final game of the season will be Jan. 24, 2028 in the Superdome - that's really late into the New Year and I would imagine most schools would be a week or more into their Spring semester.

[Lobot]

ESPN just ponied up $345M for the expanded CFP. done deal per Thamel

[bearcatbret]

According to this author's opinion, ND is the big winner of the expansion. As an independent, ND is almost assured that they will make the playoff every year and pocketing all of the money themselves. Would the top teams from the B1G 10 and SEC go independent to follow the ND model?

A 24-team College Football Playoff is all but confirmed, and while it’s already attracting critics for all the obvious concerns, there will undoubtedly be plenty of unintended consequences, too. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports has a prediction on one of them.
The Big Ten and the SEC have been the driving forces behind the College Football Playoff expansion push, but Wetzel thinks that the expanded field will have an unintended consequence for the conferences that will lead them to regret pushing for the expansion.
“College athletics is terrible at seeing problems around the corner. The 24-team playoff is the latest example,” Wetzel wrote on X. “A lot of schools that supported this will regret it because in the end it won’t be about the playoff or even the now diminished regular season.”
While the conferences that pushed for the change ultimately got their wish, Wetzel argues that, ironically, Notre Dame has emerged as the big winner under the new system because it is independent of the conferences.
“Notre Dame now has the best situation in all of football – almost 100 percent guarantee to make the playoff, freedom to schedule as it wishes, maximization of its own media value,” he wrote.
From there, Wetzel wondered why college football’s top programs across the country wouldn’t try to copy that model.
“To use the Big Ten as an example, why wouldn’t Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State follow? If you can, be independent. That’s the future,” Wetzel continued. “The 18-team Big Ten is bloated, distant, and winning it carries little intrinsic or competitive value for the biggest brands.”