College Football Playoff makes decision on expanding playoff field

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There has been a groundswell of support for expanding the 12-team College Football Playoff, but the sport's biggest revenue leagues, the Big Ten and SEC, which are the main decision makers, failed to get together on what that would look like. As a result, the CFP Management Committee announced that the playoff field will continue to remain at 12 teams for next season.

And while the number of teams selected for the playoff won't change from 12, there will be a tweak in how they are selected. Beginning next year, the Power 4 conference champions will be guaranteed spots in the 12-team field, and so will the highest-ranked conference champion from the Group of 6, including a remodled Pac-12. Notre Dame also gets a win, as it will automatically be a part of all the fun if it finishes in the CFP committee's top 12.

Even those slight adjustments would have meant a different field than what we saw this year. The Irish finished in the Top 12, so they would have been included, and so too would have the Duke Blue Devils, who won the ACC Championship Game. If that had been the case, Miami — which reached the CFP Championship Game — and James Madison would have been left out of the CFP field.

The major points of contention between the Big Ten and SEC on expanding the field include the ultimate number of teams. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti favors an eventual field of 24 after initially expanding to 16 teams, while SEC commissioner Greg Sankey would like to cap the field at 16. Both also disagree on how the teams will be selected. Pettiti has pushed for automatic qualifications with the Big Ten and SEC receiving more bids than other conferences, while Sankey prefers going solely by the CFP rankings.

"After ongoing discussion about the 12-team playoff format, the decision was made to continue with the current structure," said Rich Clark, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff. "This will give the Management Committee additional time to review the 12-team format, so they can better assess the need for potential change. While they all agree the current format has brought more excitement to college football and has given more schools a real shot in the postseason, another year of evaluation will be helpful."

So, if you are a big fan of the 12-team CFP model, the good news is that you will still get to experience that with a couple of tweaks. If you've been rooting for more teams to be included, it's almost assured that you'll get your wish; it's just going to take more time.

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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: College Football Playoff makes decision on expanding number of teams

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