The Big Ten Has Proposed An Insane New Playoff Format… And I Kinda Like It

Image: USA Today

By Cody McClure

The Big Ten is floating quite a big idea out there when it comes to College Football Playoff expansion.

In fact, it would be massive — like 24 or 28 teams massive — according to ESPN’s sources.

The proposal would eliminate conference championship games and increase the number of automatic playoff bids substantially.

In the 28-team model, the Big Ten and SEC would each get SEVEN auto bids. The ACC and Big 12 would each get five.

Then there would be an additional two at-large bids — basically guaranteeing Notre Dame a spot every single year — as well as a pair of bids for non-Power 4 teams.

The 28-team format would put 20 playoff games on campus, ESPN reported, and the CFP committee would still be the entity that seeds the field and picks the at-large teams.

Call me crazy, but I’ve been thinking about this and I’ve decided I don’t hate it.

It’s an unpopular opinion. One that agrees with Eli Dorkwitz. Which I don’t like.

But I’ve decided that this would make college football absolutely magical in November and December.

It would feel a little bit more like the NFL’s playoffs, which I personally don’t think is a bad thing.

Would it water down the regular season? Yes. Would it make games in September and October mean slightly less? Yes.

But I think of the years when Tennessee was 8-4 — 2015, 2016, 2023. We had decent, competitive teams in those seasons.

Now 2023 wasn’t as good as 2015 or 2016. That was more the benefit of an easy schedule. And the ‘15 and ‘16 teams were coached by Butch Jones so championships would have been unlikely.

But for those teams to at least have a chance at winning a championship would keep seasons like that interesting all the way into winter.

Think about how you felt at the end of the 2016 season. Terrible, right? Not too excited about that Music City Bowl vs. Nebraska. But what if that team had another shot in a meaninful postseason?

Think of 2022, even. Remember how devastating that South Carolina loss was? Why? Because the rest of that season was magical but we knew at that point that it was over in terms of playoff relevancy.

As fun as the Orange Bowl victory was, it still didn’t quite mean anything of significance. Because there were no real stakes.

What if that ‘22 team got another shot at Georgia on a neutral field? With Hendon Hooker hurt it wouldn’t have mattered but for the sake of this narrative let’s say he was healthy.

Hopefully you get my point.

Everyone complains about bowl season now. There are very few actually meaningful bowl games. As it stands now, when a team racks up its third loss the season is basically over in terms of relevancy.

How do coaches keep teams that have nothing to play for motivated?

Remember those terrible years when UT was sitting at like 5-4 and we were just there wading in purgatory? In a couple of those seasons we reeled off some wins to end the year on a hot streak.

You’re 5-4 but you’ve got Kentucky, Southern Miss, and Vanderbilt left on the schedule. Suddenly you’re 8-4 and smack dab in playoff consideration.

To me, that makes the whole of the regular season matter more.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe this waters the sport down too much. That’s what people will say. Maybe the situations I’ve described above are only good for mediocre teams.

Maybe Georgia goes 10-0 and then takes those last two games off. That would be bad for the sport, but I doubt it would happen that way.

Teams play to win, and seeding would still be of importance. Plus, if we’re getting rid of conference title games and doing more of a “play-in” style in November, teams sitting starters likely wouldn’t be an issue.

I don’t buy the narrative that this would ruin college football. I think football fans are going to watch football.

“But then Texas and Ohio State playing Week 1 means absolutely nothing.”

Eh, what’s the difference in how it is now? We know both of those teams are going to be in the playoff regardless.

We’re still interested in watching the game. Because we are football fans.

Am I supposed to believe people would just stop watching? Would regular season ratings drop?

I doubt it.

What’s the downside here? Just that some less-than-deserving teams would get in the playoff?

If you use last year as an example, I believe the SEC had seven playoff-level teams in Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and your pick of LSU or Missouri.

It may not be the case every year that the SEC or Big Ten are deep enough for these teams to deserve an at-large bid, but in that scenario the cream would simply rise to the top.

With 24-28 teams, you’ve got a lot more teams with an opportunity. More excited fan bases to be engaged in the sport and engaged in driving revenue, as Dorkwitz pointed out last month.

I hate that I agree with him now, but I’ve thought a lot about it since then.

We started down the slippery slope when we went away from the BCS. At this point, I’m used to it and thus have decided I’m on board with further expansion.

It’s just more football — what’s the worst that could happen?

I guess you could say I’ve now got my skis fully attached.