The CFP has existed in the “12-team format” for only one year and the folks in charge have already decided that the format needs a major overhaul. Last year, the top 4 seeds in the tournament – – the ones that received a first round bye – – were the four highest ranking conference winners. That allowed Boise St. to be seeded in the top 4 because they won the Mountain West Conference and it allowed Arizona St. to be seeded in the top 4 because they won the Big-12. However, in no way on Planet Earth would anyone have considered Boise St. to be the third best team in the country nor Arizona St. the fourth.
So, the CFP mavens have decided this year to attempt to rank the top 12 teams – – with the proviso that conference champions get an invitation to the competition. Here is the statement from Rich Clark – – the executive director of the CFP:
“This change will allow guaranteed success for the playoff by rewarding teams for winning their conference championship, but it will also allow us to construct a postseason bracket that recognizes the best performance on the field during the entire regular season.”
Here’s the deal … There is no perfectly objective way for any committee to rank the best teams in the country to the satisfaction of everyone. However, the original system of putting conference winners preferentially in the top 4 produced a significantly unbalanced field last year. All four of the teams nominally labeled as “Top 4” wound up losing their first games in the CFP to teams ranked below them. Moreover, forcing some very good teams to play a first round game – – against a couple of overmatched opponents – – produced four dreary opening round games.
The new system will not be perfect; there will be complaints and there will likely still be a blowout game or two. But I think this is a significant improvement suggested by the CFP mavens and they should be lauded for acting quickly to improve what should be a great sports/entertainment product.
And by the way, this change may only exist for one season. In 2026, the CFP mavens will consider the possibility of expanding the 12-team tournament to 16 teams. That means more games to televise which means more money to divide up; so, do not be surprised when that happens. The great thing about a 16-team format is that the number 16 is an integral power of the number 2 which means – mathematically – there need be no byes given to any teams in the tournament.
And while I am in the mode of considering how “more TV money” might impact a decision related to college football, allow me to point out another college football situation. For years, the SEC has scheduled 8 conference games per team; every once in a while, someone has suggested they go to a 9-game format to reduce the number of out-of-conference mismatches that teams find ways to schedule. That suggestion always generates a “select committee” charged to study the proposition and that “select committee” has always recommended keeping the status quo ante.
A recent article in the NY Times says that ESPN has let it be known to the folks in charge of SEC football that the network would be willing to pay more for the conference TV rights if indeed there were a ninth game added to each team’s conference schedule. The article did not cite specific numbers, but it most definitely said that ESPN was ready to up the ante for more SEC conference football games.
The article suggests that the addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC increases the number of high-profile games that the conference can present to ESPN for national telecasts. I suspect that the conference was not willing to consider seriously the schedule change until ESPN signaled that they would fork over extra cash.
Here are why fans – – who will receive none of the monetary benefits under discussion here – – should want the schedule to expand.
- Under the 8-game format, each team is allowed only 1 major rivalry game per season. Alabama will play Auburn every year, but Alabama/Tennessee would be on a rotational basis. Texas and Oklahoma would play every year, but Texas/Texas A&M would not.
- Under the 9-game format, more annual rivalry games could be accommodated. Fans should like that improved scheduling.
Back in Watergate days, Mark Felt – – the deputy director of the FBI who was also Woodward and Bernstein’s “Deep Throat” – – told the young reporters to “follow the money” if they wanted to expose the Watergate scandal. Fans should pay attention to the money flows in college football as well …
Finally, having spoken of money today, I’ll close with this from comedian Steve Martin:
“I love money. I love everything about it. I bought some pretty good stuff. Got me a $300 pair of socks. Got a fur sink. An electric dog polisher. A gasoline powered turtleneck sweater. And, of course, I bought some dumb stuff, too.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………