In 2014, the NCAAF introduced the College Football Playoffs, which included the top four teams in College Football to play for a chance at the National Championship. Over the last two years, there has been talks about expanding the playoffs to eight teams because teams who deserved to be in the playoffs were allegedly left out.
This year, Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama were the four teams that made the playoffs. There were other teams that also deserved to be in, for sure, but more importantly, an eight-team playoff would be more exciting, and also bring in more money for the NCAAF.
The College Football Playoff committee caused a lot of controversy when they left FSU out of the playoffs. They were the first ever power 5 team to go undefeated and win their conference, but also be left out of the CFP. In week 12 of the college season, FSU’s star quarterback, Jordan Travis, suffered a season ending leg injury. FSU went on to win that game 58-13 against North Alabama; they also beat Florida the next week.
In the ACC championship, FSU defeated Louisville 16-6 with third string quarterback, Brock Glenn. FSU defense stepped up again like they did all year and held Louisville, ranked 14th, to only two field goals. The FSU defense also held their opponents to 16.2 points per game, which ranked 8th best in the nation.
Although FSU lost Travis, they were able to win their last two games, and beat Louisville because of how dominant their defense is. As people say, “defense wins championships,” so why was a top 10 defense left out of the playoffs just because their quarterback got injured?
The College Football Playoffs should be expanded to eight teams because especially this year there were way more than four teams who could have won the National Championship. Outside of the four teams that made the playoffs, teams such as Ohio State, Georgia, and Oregon could have beat any team in the playoffs. If the playoffs were expanded to eight teams, they would obviously look very different, but any of these teams would be capable of fighting for a chance to beat the four teams in the playoffs this year, which is why an eight-team playoff would be more beneficial.
An expansion of the CFP to eight teams would also bring in more money for the NCAA. With an eight-team playoff, the number of overall games woudl go from three to seven. Currently, the NCAA creates about $720 million in revenue during the CFP. An eight-team playoff would increase this 2.7 times, bringing in roughly $2 billion. Not only does increasing the number of teams included in the playoffs bring in more money, but it brings in four more school fanbases.
If the playoffs were expanded, then there would also be more viewers. Most students at universities will only watch college football if their school is playing. A majority of people who watch the college playoffs are just fans of college football or a fan of the school. Adding four more teams will also bring in fans of four more schools, increasing views by millions or even billions.
There are many beneficial reasons for the NCAA to add four more teams to the playoffs, and doing so would not only bring in more money for the NCAA, but also additional fan bases and viewership. Most importantly, increasing the number of teams would give four more deserving teams a chance to win the National Championship.
