The College Football Playoff debuted for the 2014 season, replacing the BCS system with a 13-member selection committee set to pick the four best teams in the nation to play in a playoff for the national championship. The four-team playoff lasted ten seasons before expansion to the 12-team playoff beginning in 2024. That system will last just three seasons, as the CFP is set to expand to 24 teams for the 2027 season.
While many teams and conferences are excited about the playoff expansion, MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher had a slightly different view on the impact of the expansion, releasing a statement for the conference, per Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports.
“The Mid-American Conference has long advocated for greater access to the College Football Playoff and meaningful opportunities for our student-athletes to compete for a national championship. We are pleased that the MAC will have a place in an expanded 24-team playoff. At the same time, I believe we must ask an important question: Does continued expansion truly strengthen college football as a whole?” the statement began.
It is a valid question. Will an expanded playoff be beneficial to the product overall? Steinbrecher then raises the biggest area of concern.
Is the product really going to be better?
“One of the great attributes of college football is the significance of its regular season. Every game matters. Rivalries matter. Conference championships matter. As we expand the postseason, we must be careful not to diminish the very qualities that have made college football such a compelling sport. We must also recognize that a larger playoff does not necessarily mean greater financial benefits for all conferences and institutions, making the long-term sustainability of the entire FBS an important consideration,” the statement continues.
Steinbrecher raises multiple solid points. What happens to big-time regular-season games? The first season of the four-team playoff saw the difference in just one game. In 204, Baylor looked destined for a playoff spot, but a loss in mid-October on the road to West Virginia cost them that chance, as they finished just outside of the top four. They won the Big 12 and would have made it in the 12-team playoff. Now, with 24 teams, Baylor making the playoffs that year would not have even been a question. Further, the major conferences have decided to end conference championship games, allowing the conference to determine the champions based on predetermined tiebreaker policies.
This could also put a damper on rivalry weekend. The weekend of Thanksgiving will be the final weekend of the season. Teams would have the next weekend off, but the first round will start mid-week. If a team, for example, Alabama, knows they have a first-round bye locked up, do they play their starters against Auburn? If Auburn is a bubble team that year, winning against a group of backups at Alabama could put them in over another team. Does Alabama go for the knockout blow of their rival, or play it safe? Losing the killer instinct of a rivalry game would overall hurt college football.
Some rivalries, such as Red River between Oklahoma and Texas, are traditionally played earlier in the season. Meanwhile, others have lost steam due to conferences changing and the games being moved, such as the Apple Cup between Washington and Wahsington State. Adding another layer of potential players sitting out rivalry games would continue to hurt the product.
Article Continues BelowWill the new playoff help the MAC?
“The expansion of the playoff creates opportunities, but a larger playoff alone does not define progress. Ultimately, the success of this new format will be measured by whether it strengthens college football as a whole, not simply by the number of teams competing for a national championship,” the statement concludes.
There is also the fact that this does not truly help the MAC. Only the top-ranked team from the non-power conferences will get into the playoffs. The MAC has rarely put teams in a position to be that top-ranked team. However, in 2003, they could have had two teams in the playoffs. Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, and Miami (OH) were Top 15 teams during the season. Northern Illinois had defeated Maryland, Alabama, and Iowa State that year. Bowling Green defeated a ranked Purdue team and lost by just five on the road to Ohio State. Miami (OH) beat Northwestern, Cincinnati, and UCF. All of these are wins against power conference schools. With power conference teams needing ten games against other power conference opponents, the chances to build these resumes are likely gone.
Overall, teams from the MAC, Sun Belt, American, C-USA, PAC-12, or Mountain West will have fewer big-time games to be ranked. The chances that two of them have the resumes to do that are next to nothing. That leaves the question: is college football really better when Cinderella has just one chance to dance?