While I disagree with those of you who think there’s an obvious logic underpinning the idea that the college football playoff will expand to eight teams and stop there — okay, vehemently disagree — I don’t question your sincerity.
The problem that I believe you fail to see is that you aren’t the decision makers. Those people don’t think like you do. In other words, they’re greedy assholes who will use any justification they can to rake in the money, which, after all, is the real force behind playoff expansion.
Greedy assholes like this greedy asshole:
One of the refreshing perspectives from speaking to officials around the sport is that some of the next generation of leaders are annoyed with the postseason still being tethered to the bowl system. Essentially, college sports are still outsourcing their most valuable inventory. That has always been dumb.
“I think we should do 16,” a Power Five AD said. “If not, at least 12. That’s what everyone wants. That’s where the value is. Athletes want it, fans want it and TV wants it.”
The AD, who is at a school that’s perennially in the top 20, put it this way: Observe the actions and habits of the fans and players, the sport’s two most important constituencies. Fans care exponentially less about non-playoff bowl games than they do College Football Playoff games. Elite players are tipping their hand — wisely, by the way— by sitting out non-playoff bowl games.
“There’s two really important groups to whom bowls don’t matter – players and fans,” the athletic director said. “Has a [healthy] player sat out a playoff game yet? Well, why don’t we play more of those? That’s just Marketing 101. What do they want? Give them more. What don’t they want? Give them less.”
This guy wouldn’t know Marketing 101 if it walked up and bit him in the ass. But he is clearly a Jedi Master when it comes to circular logic.
The funny thing coming down the turnpike is how you eight-team advocates are going to sound more and more like me one day. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Get The Picture 
Thanks for depressing the crap out of me.
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Agreed. See: March Madness “play-in” games because 64 teams just isn’t enough. SMH…
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The same people behind the push to expand the basketball tourney are the same bunch driving the CFP train. To think their motivations are different depending on the sport isn’t rational.
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In theory, 8 would be great although I believe every wild card cheapens results from the regular season. 8 is going to suck because you’re going to get a mandatory bid for a Group of 5 team that has no business at the big boy table generally at the 8 spot. That game will be a Georgia-Hawaii type of game every year.
It really sucks because we can’t trust the powers to be to take the playoff beyond 8.
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You’ll be asked to shell out airfare, hotel accomodations, rental car, etc for this blowout of a game also.
You’ll be asked to repeat this if your team “wins.”
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Why do these marketers have tax exempt status?
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Maybe we should keep the current 4 team format for the real playoff and rig up a massive NIT tournament using the rest of the bowls. That would give them a little more meaning without diluting the real playoff.
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Actually, why don’t we leave well enough alone. The playoff as is, is fine. The rest of the bowls have been ruined already and nothing is going to change that. Going to 8 makes a ton of regular season games meaningless. I can see it now. Saban rests Tua in the SEC title game (or even Iron Bowl) because the Tide is a shoe in for the “more important” games.
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That absolutely will happen. Dont NFL teams phone in their last games? Either for a or for b
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The bowls were done as soon as the CFP came into existence. The only fans that will care are the ones that get excited about spending a ton of money to go to a spring game that (kind of) counts so we can get an idea of how next year’s starters look when they have to carry the whole load.
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“Wake me up when November ends”
The new Marketing 101 college football theme song
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Every post regular season game added decreases the value of the regular season.
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I’ve always advocated 8 teams because that is the best number to choose a cfb champion without being excessive so as to include an unworthy team while it added only one more game to the playoffs. Knowing the money planners were going to do their thang, there was no need to be pulled into those “what if” arguments.
I saw this 16 team advocacy two days ago and refused to read it while thinking that it was a 4-game advocate trying to ply that “slippery slope” excuse from ancient football history blogdom. If no one else can see the reasoning for 8 teams, I can’t help them, nor will I try. More than 8 is not a Playoff anymore than 4 is now and 4 leaves a worthy true champion out in my book.
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Yeah, that must be it.
Maybe they won’t go past eight if you refuse to consider the possibility.
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Adjacent topic: He forgot another “most important constituent” — Mickey, who owns most of the bowl games. Bowl games generated ~197M viewers (or fans, or constituents, or whatever he wants to call us) last year, up 30M Y/o/Y.
So while he claims fans/constituents don’t care, the eyeballs tell otherwise. As in stadium bowl attendance is down, viewership (see: ad revenue) is up.
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A multi-team playoff, (more than four) seems to work for FCS football teams, why not for the big boys?
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“Seems to work”? Like, you’re not sure if it really does work?
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It does work…it happens every season, doesn’t it?
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