Ohio State football: What you need to know about playoff expansion

The Ohio State football team has shown that they don’t have an issue making the Playoff as it is currently constituted. Even so, they should be very interested in all of the talk about the new proposal.

The College Football Playoff management committee met with the media yesterday after it was announced expansion is being considered. One of its members, Big XII commissioner Bob Bowlsby, said this about the main reason for wanting to move from four to twelve teams,

"“This proposal at its heart was created to provide more participation for more players and more schools. In a nutshell, that is the working group’s message: More participation.”"

They pointed out 78½ percent of all the playoff spots have gone to just five teams. The feeling is an expanded field will create much more excitement during the regular season and extend that excitement deeper into November than what we see now.

No team has gone from lower than seventh to fourth in the final rankings in the current format. Interest for a lot of fans begins to die out in early November when it becomes apparent their favorite team no longer has a chance to make the top four. Under the new proposal, far more teams will stay in the hunt for a spot in the field.

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Many are probably wondering why go to twelve teams and not eight. Because the proposal calls for the six-highest rated conference champions to make the field, the committee wants to provide plenty of opportunities for at-large teams. There are no automatic qualifiers and there is not a limit on the number of teams from a particular conference.

The format looks like this. The top four seeds would go to conference champions, who would also get a bye in the first round. Notre Dame is not eligible for a bye because they do not belong to a conference in football (they play in the ACC in basketball).

The first-round games between the remaining teams would be played at the home stadium of the higher-seeded team. The quarter- and semi-finals would be played in bowl games. The committee is adamant about preserving the bowl system.

Give some credit to Notre Dame’s athletic director, Jack Swarbrick, who was one of those who came up with this proposal. He felt this was the best plan for college football as a whole. His team will actually play the Ohio State football team in 2022.

There is concern being raised about adding one more game to an already long season for teams who go deep into the playoff. The committee seems unconcerned with this, but I’m guessing if you ask the players, they’ll give you a different opinion. I’ve heard players many times speak to how the playoffs are a grind. This is something that will need to be looked at closely.

This proposal is just that, a proposal. There are a lot of meetings and discussions to be had yet. Those who met with the media yesterday indicated there would be a lot of talking over the summer with all involved, including players. They make it clear no decision will likely be made before September. Bowlsby said,

"“The earliest, and I repeat that, the earliest that any final decision could be made by the board would be in September. It certainly could be later, but the earliest is September.”"

The playoff will not expand this year or in 2022. The current contract runs out after the 2025 season, but the presidents, who have the final say on all of this, could decide to implement this proposal earlier.

There may be some tweaks to this original proposal, but those who put it forth say they’ve gotten good feedback so far from those decision-makers. How this affects the Ohio State football program personally remains to be seen.