Good Riddance 4-Team Playoff

It is the end of an era. An era filled with controversy, SEC dominance and preference, and some good games.

To the 4 team playoff’s defense, it was better than the BCS era for many reasons. The first reason being that a team outside of the Power 5 conferences finally got a seat at the table (Cincinnati). Secondly, it didn’t automatically place an SEC team in the championship game. Lastly, we got some good quality matchups which didn’t disappoint.

Cincinnati getting into the playoff was a big deal because it finally gave a chance to teams outside of the normal Power 5 a chance to compete with main players. A horrible draw against Alabama wasn’t exactly ideal but a “Welcome to the Big Leagues” moment so to speak. Cincinnati’s defense proved that elite defense can be played elsewhere but ultimately their offense couldn’t hang with Bama’s defense, which many teams failed to do. 

When the first playoff field played out we saw Florida State & Alabama lose in the first round. Pitting Oregon vs Ohio State created the first National Championship NOT featuring an SEC team since USC vs Texas in 2005. The BCS rankings would’ve put Florida St vs Alabama further confirming a need to move away from the BCS system. 

Not every matchup in the 4 team playoff was worth a watch, ie TCU vs UGA, Alabama vs Mich St, and Alabama vs Washington among others. Even though there were some obviously painful viewer experiences along the way, we did get some of the best matchups in history. UGA vs Oklahoma 2018 was arguably the best college football game in history, We got 3 years of Alabama vs Clemson matchups, and the last 2 first rounds produced 4 of the best games in the playoff era. So even though there were some duds we also got to see some of the best football college has to offer.

Not everything was peaches and cream with the playoff as it was littered with controversy due in large part to the arbitrary views by the Selection Committee. The members changed throughout the years and so did their standards. For the first time in history you didn’t have to be the best team in your conference in order to win a championship, i.e. ’22 Ohio State and ’17 Alabama. For the first time ever, an undefeated ACC champion was told the ACC was a “so-called Power 5 conference” and held out of the playoff. An undefeated UCF team was kept out of the playoffs but paved the way for an undefeated Cincinnati team to make it.

Although the 4 team playoff wasn’t perfect and I’ve always thought 8 teams was ideal, we are now moving to a 12 team playoff and everyone should be excited to leave this 4 team disaster in the past. 

No longer will the committee’s decisions determine a teams worth. No longer will a Undefeated smaller conference champion be held out of the playoff. No longer will the number 1 team in the country lose a conference championship and be held out. 

My theme for the 12-team playoff is Opportunity. The expanded field means more teams have an opportunity to play for a championship. Teams outside of the SEC and BIG10 have an opportunity to put together a special season and get rewarded. As a Georgia Southern and Ga Tech fan, getting to #11 or #12 in the country doesn’t seem like an unattainable goal like #1-#4 seems. 

We’ve seen 1 year teams who put together something special year after year have to prove themselves before public perception changes enough to allow for higher rankings. Infamously shown in the BCS era with Boise St vs TCU in the Fiesta Bowl as a “prove for next year” matchup and the playoff era with Baylor and TCU as co-champions, along with UCF running their table to beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl and claim a share of the National Title. 

Too many times in history have we seen a team have to prove themselves 1 year in order to jump in the rankings the following year. However the problem with that archaic mindset for the voters and committee members was teams change from year to year and unless your a top program like Alabama, Ohio St, UGA, etc you’re not reloading with recruits at a pace to keep up so it can take a year or 2 to get back to an elite level again. Which in turn leads to a down year and perception slips until you regain form again. By which time, coaches leave, recruits leave, and so and so forth. 

A slight byproduct of an expanded field could mean stability around the country. Kids and Coaches won’t necessarily have to move around in order to get into the playoffs. 

Now with the 12-team playoff, if you have a special season, where you can play at an elite level, your team will get rewarded in that SAME year. Which is something the rest of the NCAA sports formats allow. 

The 12 team playoff isn’t perfect and undoubtedly will come with controversial decisions such as who gets a bye at #4 and who’s playing earlier at #5 or who gets the #12 spot and who’s playing in the Alamo Bowl? Although it will be easy to get upset about any controversial decision the committee makes, as I’m sure I will, we will never have the committee decide who the haves and who the have nots are when deciding who to leave out of the top 4 ever again and that is something to be celebrated.