The debate surrounding the College Football Playoff expansion has been growing, especially after such a bizarre college football season that 2020 gave us.
Many teams such as Texas A&M, who lost one game to Alabama, and Cincinnati, who went undefeated, believe they deserve a shot at a national title, but were snubbed. Just to add fuel to that fire, the committee accepted an Ohio State team who played just six games and a Notre Dame team who got creamed by Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.
On top of this, such a large number of teams top players opt out when they find out their team didn’t make the final four. Expanding the playoff would be a great incentive to keep those players around in hopes to compete for a national title.
The college football world has come a long way since the BCS days where the No. 1 and No. 2 teams would play for the title, but the buzz now is to expand it from four teams to eight.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart wants even more.
Prior to Friday’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl matchup between No. 9 Georgia and No. 8 Cincinnati, Smart said he 100% in favor of expanding the playoffs, but wants twelve teams, not just eight.
UGA coach Kirby Smart said on talk of expanding playoffs that he would support making it 12 teams. "I'd rather go farther than 8 if we're going to do it."
— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) December 31, 2020
The jump from four teams to twelve seems unlikely, but there has been a lot of frustration now being heard from teams who fall just short of that No. 4 spot.
Smart’s Bulldogs made the Playoff in the 2018 season and got the No. 5 spot the following two seasons, falling just short. Those 2019 and 2020 Sugar Bowl games saw a massive increase in NFL caliber players opting out with the mindset of CFP Championship or bust.
There will be many conversations going down this offseason regarding the CFP expansion and only time will tell what the future of college football’s postseason holds.
