Confirmed 12-team College Football Playoff model is nearly perfect
The details of the 12-team College Football Playoff were finalized on Tuesday and it's a nearly perfect format heading into the 2024 season.
The College Football Playoff has been in the news a lot lately. There was the report about a new deal reached with ESPN to continue broadcasting the College Football Playoff, which some have questioned, while the 12-team playoff format was finalized, at last, on Tuesday.
When the 12-team College Football Playoff was introduced, it was going to include the top six ranked conference champions and the top six at-large teams. However, when the PAC-12 capsized, that changed the equation.
There are only four major conferences now. There are also five group of five leagues, so guaranteeing a spot to the top six conference champions didn't make sense. The changes were ratified (finally) on Thursday and six months ahead of the 2024 college football season, we finally know what the playoff format is going to be once and for all.
And in my mind, this model is nearly perfect. Notre Dame fans might not like it. The Fighting Irish can't be seeded as a top-four team. Those spots to go the four highest-ranked conference champions. They will also get the first-round byes.
Yet, Notre Dame doesn't play in a conference or a conference championship game, so that eliminates a game for them, which is not being allowed to earn a first-round bye makes sense.
It's the most fair way to deal with Notre Dame. It also rewards teams for winning their league, while also giving the best at-large teams a chance to win the national title, even if they have two losses.
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What I really love about the new 12-team playoff is that is guarantees a group of five entrant. Every team in the FBS has a legitimate chance to win the national championship.
If a program wins all of its games, even if it's from the Mountain West, it will have a seat at the table and that's not something we could say before.
One change I would make is allowing the top four seeds to host quarterfinal playoff games, instead of hosting them at bowl sites. That would make it perfect. I understand why it is how it is, but the top four seeds should get an on-campus playoff game.