RandBall: A 24-team College Football Playoff would be great for the Gophers

Per RandBall:

Greater expectations and opportunities​

The Gophers athletic program has committed a big chunk of its revenue sharing money to pay football players. Their name, image and likeness program is improving. Those things directly impact recruiting of both high school players and transfers. The Gophers landed a batch of promising recruits for the class of 2027 in their first of two “Summer Splash” weekends. A few highly regarded classes in a row will pay dividends in the back half of this decade as college football considers an expansion of its playoff from 12 teams to 16 or even 24.

What a 24-team playoff would mean​

The current 12-team playoff, itself an expansion from just four teams that started in the 2024 season, gives more elite teams a chance. But there’s really only one year under Fleck — 2019, when the Gophers went 10-2 in the regular season — that they would have been part of a 12-team playoff conversation by the end. Boosting the field to 16 teams would improve their odds. But going to 24 teams as soon as a few years from now, for which there is momentum (more on that in a minute), would be a game-changer. It would open up the playoff to good programs, not just great ones. It would mean the Gophers would start every season with a realistic chance of being a playoff team. It would also mean going 7-5 and reaching a third-tier bowl game would no longer be a good season. Hence more pressure and potential.


Go Gophers!!

If they expand, 16 teams is fine. I think that makes sense. I am not in favor of expanding to 24 teams. When Minnesota goes 10-2 and makes the playoff, it will mean a lot more when it's not expanded to 24. I truly believe Fleck will lead the Gophers to the playoffs sometime in the next few years. Just my opinion. 24 teams is not the way to go.

4, or 48 teams- it doesn’t matter. Gophers are making it to the playoff this year.

The Gophers weren't ranked high enough in 2019 to be a part of a 12 team playoff Rand.

The interesting part of this would be the issue we have complained about for years… this would remove (for the most part beyond seeding implications) the issue of inherent poll bias that occurs BEFORE the season. I’m actually for it.

I know it’s not football, but the NCAA tournament has never had anyone beyond an 8 seed win the tournament. Of course the Top 4 will continue to win more often than not, but that rare team could still win it all. Gophers (ok, probably not) included.