CBS: Momentum rapidly growing for College Football Playoff expansion to eight or more teams

BleedGopher

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per CBS:

College Football Playoff expansion discussions are moving faster than anyone initially thought. Doubling the CFP field to eight teams is all but assumed at this point, but expansion may not stop there, multiple industry sources tell CBS Sports.

"Expansion is coming, and it may be as soon as this summer. It might even be more than [eight teams]," an FBS athletic director, who recently spoke with their league's commissioner, told CBS Sports.

Yahoo Sports reported Tuesday that a 12-team model is favored by multiple parties. CFP executive director Bill Hancock's bold assertion the bracket could expand to as many as 16 teams -- found in the 17th paragraph of an otherwise sleepy April press release -- ignited increased speculation.

"The SEC is going to push 12 because of their brand. I'm hearing 12," a Group of Five AD told CBS Sports.

A 12-team field would presumably allow for six automatic bids -- Power Five conference champions and the top-ranked Group of Five team -- along with six at-large bids.


Go Gophers!!
 




As the article notes, the SEC is apparently pushing for more teams because......surprise.....they want more SEC teams in the playoffs.

in one example given, an 8-team field might have 2 SEC teams, but a 12-team field could potentially have at least 3 or even 4 SEC teams. (as the SEC sees it, of course, because they think they are the only conference in the BCS.)
 



8. 8 is the right number.
I like 12 if there is auto bids for all conference champs in the top 20 or something like that. If there is only one bid for the G5 conference then it should be 8 or 10

don’t really need the 5th place SEC team playing the 4th place SEC team in the 8-12 game.

too many at larges with 12.

If it’s 10 conference champions, 12 doesn’t devalue the regular season.
If it’s 6 conference champions it devalues the regular season more because 6 teams from one league could get in
 

No more than eight. Give teams in lesser conference a shot at the big boys

SEC just wants an unfair advantage by pushing for a larger playoff. It's more money in the bank for them.
 

I personally like eight as well, but I can easily see to major forces opposed to it, for essentially the same reason: eight doesn't allow for enough high-powered at-large teams to make it into the bracket, which are likely to be the #2-4 SEC/Big Ten teams that are reasonably good enough to make it to the natty but didn't manage to beat their conf champs. Who does that benefit most, over eight: 1) the SEC/Big Ten , and 2) their chief TV partners, ESPN and FOX. I assume those two may need to big together to get the money up high enough to afford the expansion.


But I will be very interested to see how they get around what, I think, is the biggest problem: how are they going to preserve the entire length of the current regular season -- with week 0 starting the Saturday before Labor Day weekend, going through conference championship games the weekend after Thanksgiving -- AND have four rounds of playoff??

The championship is somewhat decoupled from that, as it's off on its own in a special later date and at a special bid-out venue.

But that's still three rounds of games you need to squeeze in there .... in December up through NYD.


I'm sure it's technically possible. The first round could be four games, with the top four teams getting BYEs, then the second round could also be four games, pitting the four winners against the top four.

That could possible be done with four bowls some number of days before NYD, and then the four major bowls could be the second round on NYD weekend. (So, Cotton and Peach relegated to the first round, along with two more high end bowls). Then semi-finals bid-out a week or so later?


Will be interesting to see how they propose it.


I assume no matter what, they'll let the 2021 and 2022 seasons play out as is, to finish the current NY6 cycle that started in 2020.
 



No more than eight. Give teams in lesser conference a shot at the big boys

SEC just wants an unfair advantage by pushing for a larger playoff. It's more money in the bank for them.
If you only expand it to 8 the new 3 are going to be Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, and A&M

if you want little guys getting a chance you are going to have to ensure the big boys get paid and expand to 10 or 12
 


How much is enough? Someone is always going to feel left out.

The Sports Media loves more for money. How is this going to mess with the Bowl Games? The structure most likely will favor the Big 5 unless for the eight team playoff, a guarantee is made for the five spots for other conferences and independent, especially ones with an undefeated season and who have beaten teams in the Power 5 during the year.

What will will it do to regular season schedules? Regular schedules may be shorten to accommodate Conference Championships, and the playoffs. Playing many games over and above the regular season risk key injuries to a team.
 

How much is enough? Someone is always going to feel left out.

The Sports Media loves more for money. How is this going to mess with the Bowl Games? The structure most likely will favor the Big 5 unless for the eight team playoff, a guarantee is made for the five spots for other conferences and independent, especially ones with an undefeated season and who have beaten teams in the Power 5 during the year.

What will will it do to regular season schedules? Regular schedules may be shorten to accommodate Conference Championships, and the playoffs. Playing many games over and above the regular season risk key injuries to a team.
I think 8 is pretty good.

The distance between #5 wanting making an argument to be in but is left out and #9 is pretty far.

Sure some year it might be a good argument but ... that's a long ways to saying that a national champion was left out.
 




Well, there is this:

a 12-team format means that a team like MN could lose a conference championship game but still make it into the playoffs as an at-large team.

If - for the sake of argument - 3 B1G teams make it into the field of 12, then MN just needs to be the 3rd best team in the conference to be in the playoffs. that is certainly plausible.

so a 12-team field is better for teams like MN that are competitive, but may not be at quite the same level as the top team in their conference.
 

if you want little guys getting a chance you are going to have to ensure the big boys get paid and expand to 10 or 12
The little guys already have a chance, it's called the regular season. What makes you think a 9-3 team squeaking into the 12th spot is actually going to do anything, barring significant injury to the other teams' best players.
 


How much is enough? Someone is always going to feel left out.

The Sports Media loves more for money. How is this going to mess with the Bowl Games? The structure most likely will favor the Big 5 unless for the eight team playoff, a guarantee is made for the five spots for other conferences and independent, especially ones with an undefeated season and who have beaten teams in the Power 5 during the year.

What will will it do to regular season schedules? Regular schedules may be shorten to accommodate Conference Championships, and the playoffs. Playing many games over and above the regular season risk key injuries to a team.
It's going to be 12. I think that's a given now.

They'll work in 4 of the current bowls or even new venues for the first round, and then 4 current bowls or even new venues for the round of eight.

This opens up first round and second round "new markets" for play-off games in Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and basically anywhere with a dome or mild weather.

The market will decide if some of the older and really crappy bowls survive. The Power 5 won't lose out on bowl games, but maybe others will end up losing a post season game. We always have bitching about the 6-6 teams making bowls. This will help take care of that.

Follow the money.
 

The little guys already have a chance, it's called the regular season. What makes you think a 9-3 team squeaking into the 12th spot is actually going to do anything, barring significant injury to the other teams' best players.
That’s not what anyone means by little guys

People are talking about unbeaten group of 5 teams
 

Under the mechanism that Brett McMurphy posted 2019 would have looked as follows:

First Round Byes:
1. LSU (Conf. champ)
2. Ohio St (Conf. champ)
3. Clemson (Conf. champ)
4. Oklahoma (Conf. champ)

1st Round
5. Georgia vs 12. Memphis (Conf. Champ)
6. Oregon (Conf. Champ) v 11. Utah
7. Baylor vs 10. Penn St
8. Wisconsin vs 9. Florida

Bubble in order:
Auburn, Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Iowa, Minnesota
One call out is the 6/11 game would be a repeat of the Pac12 title.
 


I like it. Still gives lots of incentive to finish at the top. Top 4 get a bye, 1st round games at higher seed stadium. Only thing I’d change to have quarterfinals at higher seed home stadium as well.
 


Lifetime dream of mine to go to a Minnesota Rose Bowl. That would make me happy. Getting 7th seed for a money grab - not nearly the charm. I kept my tickets through Wacker and Brewster. Funny that it will be the tossing aside of tradition that’s going to be the reason I drop my tickets.
 





Playing a conf champ game is pointless if there are going to be 12.
A 1 loss Team going into the BIG/PAC/big 12 title game who losses will not make it over a 2 loss SEC team who doesn’t even make their champ. game, because those dicks in the SEC will claim to have played a tougher schedule.
It will end up being 4 SEC team, the conf champ from the other 4, 1 group of 5 who will have to be undefeated and then ND if they have 1 or possibly 2 losses and then two other teams coming from the 5 conferences
 
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