Ohio State football should want a 12-team playoff

Everyone is focused on the big game this weekend, as they should be. The Ohio State football team has the biggest opening game that they’ve had in a long time. Playing Notre Dame is all anyone is talking about, but a piece of interesting news dropped yesterday.

According to Sports Illustrated, there soon could be a vote on College Football Playoff expansion. The expansion would be to a 12-team playoff and if approved, would be in place for 2026 and beyond. But if the vote is unanimous, it could be implemented as early as 2024.

This is very interesting for a number of reasons. First of all, everyone associated with Ohio State football should want a 12-team playoff. That would virtually guarantee that the Buckeyes would make it every year. They could make it with two losses in some years. If they didn’t for some reason, that would constitute a coach getting fired.

Secondly, if the vote is unanimous, that would make the additions of USC and UCLA in 2024 even more interesting. That would mean that the Big Ten has a realistic shot of getting three or four teams into the Playoff. That’s good news for the Buckeyes.

The vote could take place on Friday, but there is no guarantee that it would result in a unanimous decision. If it doesn’t, expansion wouldn’t happen until 2026. There’s also a chance that they won’t vote at all but that seems unlikely. The Board of Managers seem ready to do something.

We’ll see what the decision ultimately ends up being tomorrow. It could be an interesting little news dump on a Friday before the start of the college football season for most programs. This will shape how college football is played for years to come.

Expansion benefits Ohio State, but I’m not sure it benefits the sport.