The 24 team playoff might be good for Notre Dame, but it’s bad for college football

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We have arrived at the point in the college football playoff timeline where we are now seriously considering the expansion of the format to 24 teams. It’s perhaps one of the most unsurprising storylines this offseason as so much of the college football landscape revolves almost completely around the CFP. This is wildly different than CFB seasons of the past during the BCS era and before. The focus was on the season itself, with the postseason falling in line later in the year.

But we’ll get to all of that in a bit. (Also… save yourself from using the logistics of the FCS format to argue for 24 teams as the overall picture isn’t even remotely close to being the same).

Right now the battle for expansion rests almost completely on the shoulders of the Big 10 and the SEC who will have to agree on any type of expansion. The SEC is willing to go to 16 while the Big 10 is openly campaigning for 24. That campaign for 24 has now seen both the ACC and the Big 12 fall in line as well, and are using this spring to turn up the pressure.

One of the biggest reasons given for this lust of expansion, is to prevent “snubs” to deserving teams. Apparently, the 12 team format, in their eyes, has created an issue with more than a handful of programs as they fell short and were left out. The programs (and conferences they belong to) feel like there were great injustices that must be corrected. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips boldly (and smartly) used Notre Dame as an example after the Irish were basically set up to be hosed in the final set of rankings.

While Phillips isn’t entirely wrong, it’s a bit ironic given the events that played out on social media and the mainstream media involving Notre Dame and Miami — and more importantly the lack of noise against Alabama. Jim was perfectly happy with Notre Dame’s snub in December, but now he wants an expansion to correct it.

Which is obvious BS. The ACC couldn’t even get their champion into the playoff which was embarrassing enough, but only getting one team in the postseason tournament was even more embarrassing for a conference trying to compete with the SEC and Big 10.

And now, things have gotten bad enough that Notre Dame athletic director, Pete Bevacqua is on board with a 24 team format as the best solution.

Bevacqua brings up a number of points that suggest a 24 team format would benefit Notre Dame such as:

• It would help bring back the Notre Dame vs USC rivalry longterm.
• Power 4 teams would be more likely to schedule Notre Dame with there now being more relaxed requirements for the playoff field (talking about overall records).
• That the importance of the regular season would remain intact.
• It strengthens Notre Dame’s position as an independent.

So… he’s not wrong — not exactly. No, just about every point he makes does sound like a win or an advantage or at least helpful to Notre Dame. Sure, it all sounds good for Notre Dame, but is he running with blinders on?

As we have continually seen over the years — the record is all that really matters. The CFP committee can talk all they want about the different variables, but it really has just boiled down to the record. So, even in an expanded world, who’s to say programs won’t just keep doing what they have been leaning towards lately — scheduling the weakest out of conference slate imaginable. There’s no inherent incentive to play those “more better games” that we have continually heard about since the move away from the 4 team format.

And from a competitive advantage standpoint, the 24 team format lessens the power Notre Dame has in recruiting and the transfer portal. Currently they can show they are one of a handful of programs that can annually be in position for the current format — and that’s real leverage. Move it to 24 teams and now you have 36 programs that can be more inspired on those fronts (if only with their own statements).

While Bevacqua’s claim can be sold, they don’t guarantee anything. As far as the whole of CFB is concerned, however, I feel like it could be a Pandora’s Box for the entire sport. I’m 47 years old, and the college football I grew up on, lived, breathed, and loved with all of my heart was majorly influenced by the controversy and the stakes. The more we lessen those things, the more we lose what has made college football unique and great.

That fear was very nicely described in a recent column by Ari Wasserman.

And that’s really it — I don’t believe for one moment that the 24 team format will do much to improve college football. It may help Notre Dame is some ways, but the overall sport will essentially be diluted into a tea we have never drank before. Even major CFP partner, ESPN, is opposed to anything more than 16 teams which feels like an indicator for what the overall value will eventually be (less than what it’s being made out to be).

In all honesty, a 24 team format is more than likely to happen in the future. Only then, will I know if I’m right or wrong. Only then, will I know how great or terrible the regular season will become. It feel like a big gamble, and it’s a gamble the major power players are ready to make.

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