Just one year after the new College Football Playoff System was put into effect, many holes in the system increasingly anger fans, players, and coaches around the nation.
Initially, the new system is an improvement from the previous Bowl Championship Series, in which computers calculated who the two best teams were and let those teams play in a “winner takes all” national championship game. The new system involves a committee of members who vote on the top 25 teams.
The top four teams now play in a playoff system where team one plays team four and team two plays team three. The winners of those two games will then play each other. This determines the best team in college football in a more efficient way.
Much like the other system, there are still many teams that are left out. Unless there is a scenario where there are four undefeated teams, the committee’s job is very difficult; every year there will be teams with serious gripes about why they were left out.
In order to fix this problem, or at least help the problem, there has to be an expansion to eight teams instead of four. There will still be teams that aren’t happy because they are left out, but this will lead to an even better playoff system. Instead of the number five team being left out and others having to wonder if they were actually deserving of being in the top four, they will have a fair chance.
This expansion to eight teams can also give teams from smaller conferences, that usually never have a chance to win a national championship a fair chance. Everybody remembers how amazing the win from low-ranked Boise State had over Oklahoma back in 2007.
Last year, the College Football Playoff system debuted and Ohio State ended up winning the national championship. Many questioned if they deserved to be in the playoffs to begin with. Teams like Texas Christian University and Baylor had serious arguments for being in, but expanding the playoffs to eight teams would give other teams a chance.
This expansion would also be great for the fans who would see all of the top teams play each other, and it would leave no doubt in their minds as to which team undeniably deserved to be the national champions. March Madness is easily the most exciting time in college basketball, and an eight team playoff system can become college football’s version of March Madness.
This new college football system is a step in the right direction, but it must continue to be modified in order to be more fair. As currently constituted, this system gives too much power to the committee. This system basically picks between teams with very similar resumes and hopes that the best possible decision has been made. This system will lead to a deserving team feeling unfairly left out every single season when it doesn’t have to be that way.
Switching to this eight-team playoff system instead of a four team system will be the best thing for college football. Fans, players, and coaches alike will be a lot happier because then, and only then, we will have a true and deserving national champion.