Over the years, college football has slowly gotten worse. Constant conference realignment, lawsuits, and playoff expansion have crushed the sport we love. As an Ohio State football fan, I hated the expansion to the 12-team College Football Playoff, even if the Buckeyes won the first 12-team CFP.
When that happened, it devalued the regular season almost completely. Gone were the days of high-pressure games in September between two great non-conference foes. Now, it has become even worse with the news that the CFP will be expanding to 24 teams.
College Football Playoff expansion devalues multiple pieces of Ohio State's regular season
In the four-team CFP era, the loss to Texas would have put Ohio State on a razor's edge the rest of the way. Now, they might be able to lose two games and still make the Playoff. ESPN's Pete Thamel is reporting that the CFP will be expanded to 24 teams, meaning Ohio State's regular season flat-out doesn't matter.
Want to go 8-4 and still have a shot to play for a national title? Here you go! Rivalries? Who needs them! The only thing that matters is that teams get the chance to be exceptionally average and still be crowned kings of the sport. Ryan Day will never face pressure to win big games again.
The Buckeyes will be able to lose three or four games regularly and still make the CFP. Top-five matchups, like the one happening this weekend between the Buckeyes and the Hoosiers, no longer matter. Why pay attention to the sport until November? That's the only time these games matter.
Greed from presidents and administrators is the only reason this is happening. They will tell you they need the extra revenue to pay the players in the NIL era. They aren't even playing the players as much as they can! They're making you, the fan, donate to their NIL collectives to get the best talent.
They days of college football greatness might be gone
Ratings are down across the board in college football this season from a year ago. Can you imagine what they will be in a watered-down 24-team CFP season? Next year is going to see an incredible downturn in viewership. Why watch on a Saturday in October when it doesn't matter if my team wins or loses?
It's going to be tough to tell Ohio State football fans to care about games against Oregon or Penn State in the heat of the Big Ten schedule. Only The Game and the Playoff matter now. The sad thing is, administrators won't care until viewership tanks, attendance wanes, and the money stops flowing in their pockets.
From a football perspective, this makes things a lot easier for Day and his staff. He should be able to get plenty of sleep next season once this is instituted. As long as he doesn't finish 7-5 with a loss to Michigan, he'll have a cushy job for the rest of his life.
The same goes for every other college football coach in America. Those at the top continue to destroy the game I love, and there's nothing any of us can do to stop it.
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