College Football Just Killed Its Own Regular Season For Cash

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College football is about to lose its magic, and the fans are screaming about it. A new report from Yahoo Sports confirms the College Football Playoff is expanding to 24 teams, a move that 70% of fans oppose according to a survey by The Athletic. This isn’t about better games or more excitement. It is a cash grab that will turn our beloved regular season into a meaningless practice run for the real show.

I have raised four kids and now I spoil my grandchildren, so I know a thing or two about patience. But asking us to wait until December for real stakes when the games don’t matter anymore? That is asking too much. The regular season used to be the best part of the fall. Now, it looks like we are just watching warm-ups for a bloated tournament that nobody asked for.

The Money Chasers Are in Charge

The reason for this mess is simple: money. CBS Sports reported that donors are pouring tens of millions into rosters that can’t win, and the league wants to give them a fake path to glory. Schools like South Carolina and Maryland will lie to their donors and pretend they have a shot at the title. It is a grift, plain and simple. To secure additional revenue, college football’s leaders have exerted nearly all their influence to compromise the sport’s integrity.

At the conference’s basketball media days on Wednesday, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey stated the league welcomes playoff expansion, noting a decision might arrive “probably sooner rather than later”. He admitted, “I think there’s an openness to playoff expansion on our part.” That sounds like a green light to me, even if the fans are not buying it. The Big Ten has advocated for a 24-team field, with the ACC and Big 12 also supporting expansion. They want the TV cash, and they don’t care if the games mean anything.

Rivalries and Regular Seasons Will Die

What happens to your favorite rivalry game when a 9-2 team sits out to rest for the playoff? Brooks Austin warned on X that the 9-2 football squad will soon bench its full starting lineup during a rivalry match, labeling it a “DNP – Resting for a playoff run.” Can you imagine that? Your son’s team loses to their biggest rival because the coach decided to rest the starters. That is not football; that is a business meeting.

Josh Pate put it best when he said, “When you went from BCS to four-team, there was supermajority public support behind it.” That support is gone now. Enthusiasm for continual postseason growth has caused widespread speculation regarding the purpose of the regular season. Spencer Holbrook asked on X, “Why will the regular season matter?” when teams like Ohio State or Alabama can get in at 8-4. The urgency is gone. The stakes are gone. We are left with a hollow product designed to sell commercial packages to a network that already owns our attention.

It feels like the sport is jumping the shark just to keep the lights on. Conference championship games are expected to be eliminated, which is another blow to the tradition we love. The Big Ten is the biggest winner here, but the fans are the ones who lose.

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