So who wins and loses the College Football Play-Off Expansion?

 

The powers-that-be who runs the College Football Play-Off have recommended that the play-off be expanded from four to 12 teams.

The bracket would include the six highest-ranked college football champions plus six teams as determined by the College Football Play-Off Committee, ostensibly giving the Committee even more power than they had when recommending four. We don’t know who would do the ranking for the other 6, but we can only hope it’s the AP.

The SEC backed the idea (for very good reason because if it had been last year they would have seen four SEC teams get in (Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia and Florida), as did the other Power-5 conferences.

The first round/play-in games for the Final 8 would be played on college campuses (more money for schools), with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and National Championship Game getting played on neutral sites (keeps the bowl organisers happy).

ESPN added: “If the group reaches a consensus, it will present the plan to the 11 presidents and chancellors who make up the CFP’s board of managers at a meeting in Dallas on June 22”.

WHO WINS

  1. Us, because we get more football. Bottom line: We get more college football. And we love college football.
  2.  The play-in game on college campuses is cool. It’s really nice to see an extra game on College Campuses. More College Gameday, more fun crowds, better than the dirge know as neutral site games.
  3. Neutral site venues/NFL owners: More money for Jerry Jones and the rest of the NFL owners, because there will be a 7 more important college football games being played. That means a lot more parking lot and concession money, baby.
  4. The Committee: The Committee will wield even more power with this new playoff scenario. Because it’s them who will decide the 12, not the AP or other polls. It’s anti-BCS, and it’s going to come with a lot of biases. Not good.
  5.  The SEC in general. This is within SEC interest to get as many teams in, and you can see the SEC having at least four out of 12 teams every single year. And that’ll mean more money….for the conference. Weirdly, that makes the teams that care more about baseball than they do football even rich (Vanderbilt, ahem! Ahem!).
  6.  The AAC: College Football’s fifth/sixth-best conference (depends who you ask!) will benefit greatly, because you can see a world where UCF/Cincinnati/Houston/SMU gets in every year.
  7. The Big Boys (you know who they are): Whether you like it or not, Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson are going to be in the Top 3 practically every year, such is the nature of their recruiting.
  8. The Small Boys: But at least there’s the chance – and that’s what is important – of the smaller player (like Coastal Carolina would have done if the format had started last year) getting in. And that’s what’s important. It’s going to be great for recruiting for teams outside of the ‘Big Three’.
  9.  ESPN: Bigger play-off, more ad money, more ratings (if they matter anymore!!!). The bad news: More of the ****ing Aflac duck.

WHO LOSES

  1. Away fans get screwed: If you’re a first round team and get to the National Championship, just think how much it’s costing you in travel fees. It’s a lot. For the quarterfinals Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said: “I’m not sure playing in East Lansing on January 7th is a good idea”. And being the [add NSFW word here] he is, he added, speaking about neutral site fans hosting three straight games: “I would suggest there’s a pretty good alternative right in your living room if you don’t want to travel. … I don’t think it’s accurate to assume it’s the same cadre of people who travel every week.” And although you get where Bowlsby’s shrugging came from, it seemed utterly tone deaf. Then again, that’s a conference that’s run by Texas for you.
  2.  The Pac-12: The conference who will get screwed on this will be the Pac-12, because it has showed that that they don’t bother watching games out West. Frankly, I wish it could be the AP Poll that decides the Top 6. 
  3. Would-be Conference Champions: Soooo….you win your conference, but still you don’t get into the play-off? Doesn’t that completely stink?