The College Football Playoff is nearing a deal to expand from 12 to 24 teams, with the format starting in 2027, ESPN reported Thursday.
The CFP doesn’t need 24 teams. College football is built on the idea that every Saturday matters. Before the playoff began in the 2014 season, one loss in the regular season could potentially end a team’s national championship hopes. With a 24-team playoff, the regular season won’t matter all that much.
Look at the games this weekend. No. 4 Ohio State will travel to Bloomington on Saturday to take on the No. 5 Hoosiers in the biggest game of the weekend. With two top five and undefeated teams facing off, a loss for either could have implications on the College Football Playoff and the Big Ten Championship.
But what if this game didn’t have these ramifications?
In a 24-team playoff, a loss for either team wouldn’t change a lot. The losing team would still have a clear shot at the playoff, making a top five matchup less significant than it should be. Expanding the playoff paves way for more teams to get the opportunity to play for the ultimate goal, while also allowing more room for error. Conference championships and the excitement they generate would also be eliminated to lighten schedules under an expanded playoff.
This would change the way fans view the regular season because when teams are able to lose three games and still make the playoff; the regular season becomes less meaningful.
Fans spend their Saturdays, eyes glued to their TVs, knowing that a slip up could hurt their teams’ chances of winning their conference or the national championship.
Under the previous four-team and 12-team playoff formats, just getting to the postseason was an accomplishment within itself. It meant teams proved they could compete with the nation’s elite. Under a 24-team playoff, qualifying becomes even less exclusive.
I want to see the best of the best compete in the playoffs. I don’t want to watch middle of the pack Power Four teams in the CFP every year. In last season’s final AP Top 25 rankings, three-loss University of Virginia secured a spot, alongside four-loss USC, Michigan and Iowa, none of which made the CFP. By expanding to 24 teams, the league is allowing inconsistent teams to enter the playoff with 3-4 losses the chance to play for a championship.
College football is at its best when every game matters. A team should stack wins over the regular season to get a shot at a championship. I don’t think teams be rewarded for underachieving during the regular season.
Saturday’s game between Ohio State and Indiana shows why the regular season should matter. A top five matchup with implications on CFP seeding and the Big Ten Championship race should have major ramifications. The CFP doesn’t need 24 teams. Instead, it should protect what makes college football so enjoyable: the importance of every Saturday.
Hayden Pope (haypope@iu.edu) is a senior studying sports media and is the Indiana Daily Student’s national sports columnist.
