A 24-team College Football Playoff could be cool, but the system they’re going to pick won’t be

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Basically ever since the first ever edition of the College Football Playoff, the powers that be have been plotting — secretly and sometimes not so secretly — on how to make it bigger. They eventually succeeded a few years ago when it went from four to 12 teams, and in the past couple months, the scuttlebutt has been that some are looking to expand it all the way to 24.

News around expansion has popped back up over the past couple days for a couple reasons. One is that the first edition of an expanded FIFA Men’s World Cup has been taking place, and some people have been publicly wondering what type of lessons can be learned from that. In a more direct way, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips came out and publicly reiterated his support at the conference’s Kickoff event this week.

When the potential for a 24-team playoff is mentioned, most fans immediately express displeasure. That’s mainly because — despite what conference commissioners, the sports’ leaders, and TV power players think — fans aren’t dumb and can really that it’s purely a money play as opposed to doing anything in the better interests of the sport. I certainly don’t disagree where those fans come from.

However, I do have a bit of a confession to make: I would be okay with a 24-team playoff. I also know that if/when it goes through, it’s going to be implemented in the stupidest possible way.

I genuinely do think that if you had a 24-team playoff where every conference champion — whether they be from the ACC, SEC, or the MAC — qualified would work. Yes, the 11-2 Western Michigan team that gets the MAC autobid would probably lose their first game to whatever 10-3 power conference team they play, but opening up a path for every FBS team to be able to have a legitimate road to a national title would fix so many concerns about the sport.

Plus, as far at the at-large teams go, that would limit how mediocre the power conference teams that get in would be. The last at-large team last year in that system would have been #18 Michigan, that was with one less conference than we have, as the Pac-12 now has a full set of teams again. No one below that would have any legitimate argument to be able to win a national title, and I’d much rather see the aforementioned Western Michigan team try than I would 8-4 Iowa or whatever.

Ideally, the playoff format could also have on-campus games up to the final, or at the very least the semifinals. Having three rounds of essentially Bowl Games hasn’t done much for me, I have to day.

Of course, none of that is actually going to happen. The format will end up being the 24 highest ranked teams and we will have to deal with okay but not great power conference teams getting a bid ol’ check for losing 24-6 to other solid but not championship-contending power conference teams. A decent chunk of the games will also probably be held at neutral site Bowl Games as well, robbing us of exciting atmospheres. Hey, at least the SEC and Big 10 will get to cash a bunch more checks though.

On the other hand, this system may be the only way we get to see UNC play in the College Football Playoff, so whatever.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos