The worst possible change to the College Football Playoff is being considered

If you thought the discussions surrounding the College Football Playoff were already a circus, you better buckle up because they could get crazier.

After the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff, we've heard nothing this offseason but conjecture about changes that need to be made to the format. Last spring, there was talk that the SEC and Big Ten wanted three automatic-qualifying bids, while conceding two to the ACC and Big 12, along with one to the Group of 5.

Then, a couple of months ago, that number jumped to four. There has been talk about expanding the College Football Playoff to either 14 or 16 teams beginning in 2026-27 with an emphasis on automatic qualifiers, rather than rankings or on-the-field results. Though many fans hate the idea, it's honestly not the worst change that could happen to the CFP, at least compared to one model allegedly being floated out there.

Are leaders openly trying to tank the College Football Playoff?

A new report from ESPN's Heather Dinich has gone viral ahead of the annual spring CFP meeting in Dallas, set to take place tomorrow.

According to Dinich, there is a new CFP model being floated around that Power 4 conferences can earn guaranteed playoff spots by "a combination of team overall records and TV ratings."

How in the world is that supposed to work?

Why would we want a playoff with a determining factor being TV ratings in any shape or form? Who cares that Notre Dame had the best TV ratings in the country if the Fighting Irish finish the season 9-3? The playoff should be based on merit, not TV ratings.

This also gives an inherent advantage to the SEC and Big Ten, as they both have lucrative deals with ESPN and FOX, which would then be even more pressured to get those big games in their respective conferences on, regardless of what's happening with the rest of the country.

This might be an advantage for a handful of teams outside of the SEC and Big Ten — like Florida State, Clemson, Miami, Notre Dame, and even Colorado — that have solid TV ratings on their own, but this would absolutely create a hierarchy in college football that is even worse than what we already have.

Say what you want, but having a playoff based off of brand recognition or conference affiliation is fraudulent and it makes one have to ask the question: Are the leaders in college football intentionally trying to wreck the sport, or is this just a troll-job to get fans riled up?

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