The Ohio State football program won the first 12-team College Football Playoff. It's the second time that they've won the national championship in the first year of a format change to determine the national champion. They were the first champions of the CFP era in 2014.
There has been a lot of time spent talking about what changes should be made to the CFP format after just one year of the 12-team bracket. A lot of talk about seeding has been given, in addition to the fact that the Big Ten and SEC could potentially change the format entirely.
Ryan Day was asked about what he thinks of the new College Football Playoff format. Now that he has won a national championship and played in the longest college football season in history, he has some thoughts on how to make the format better for the future.
Ohio State football coach Ryan Day thinks the bye system needs changed
While appearing on The Triple Option with Rob Stone, Mark Ingram, and Urban Meyer, Day was asked about his thoughts on the CFP. He responded by saying that the bye system is something that needs to be reconsidered moving forward.
"“I think that if you win your conference, sure, you should get in. But you get a bye? I think that’s a little much.”"Ryan Day
Once Boise State and Arizona State got byes in 2024, a lot of talk has been about changing that system. Re-seeding after the first round has been one of the ideas thrown out there. Some also want the automatic byes going to conference champions.
It sounds like Day is in that camp. He doesn't think that winning a conference automatically means that they should be rewarded with a bye. At the same time, Day's team did win the title without a bye. In fact, every team that had a first-round bye lost.
Right now, there are no immediate changes being made to the CFP system before next year. That might change before the season starts. We know where Day stands on the issue. We'll see what the rest of college football thinks.