Yes:

By Austin Williams

The four-team playoff system is simply not enough and expanding could open the door for teams outside of the major Power Five conferences.

Playoff expansion is needed, probably now more than ever. Making it into the College Football Playoff seems more like a popularity contest, rather than doing what matters most … winning games.

Teams such as the Cincinnati Bearcats and Oklahoma Sooners have proven themselves as winners, as both are currently undefeated. Their position in the first playoff rankings disrespects both teams, as they were ranked behind teams like Ohio State, Oregon and Alabama who all have one loss in their season.

The committee has consistently shown that brand means more than winning out. Cincinnati is in a tough position, as no team outside of the Power Five conferences (SEC, Big 10, ACC, Big 12, and Pac 12) have ever been included in the playoffs. The closest team to make it, outside of the Power Five, was an undefeated UCF in 2017. The Knights were left out of a playoff position, due to not beating enough quality teams.

This is not the case of the Bearcats who have a top-10 win, on the road, against Notre Dame.

The playoff committee also recently came up with the idea of creating a 12-team playoff system. This was brought up, during the summer of 2021, but no major moves have been put in place yet; nevertheless, this is a step in the right direction.

The main objection of expanding the playoff is that it lessens the importance of regular season games, by allowing teams to make early errors and losses and still make the playoffs. Also, player health is a concern as a possible 17 games season can be a lot, mentally and physically, for any student athlete.

Expanding the playoff would just make the great game of College Football more fun. No more “What ifs” if a team did not make it in, more non-conference head-to-head games, it makes these colleges and television networks more money, and the NFL and Division II football both hold playoffs with 14 (NFL) and 28 (Division II NCAA football) teams. Why only hold a spot for the CFP aristocracy? I say expand the playoffs.

No:

By Brandon Dyer

In 2015, the NCAA replaced their BCS system with the College Football Playoff and mayhem ensued as fans were split on the decision.

Now fans are wanting to expand the playoffs to include more than four teams, something that I think will have negative repercussions.

The biggest reason why I don’t want the College Football Playoff to expand is because it takes away from a mentality within college football that I love: every game matters, and if you want to get to the National Championship, you can’t afford even one loss.

This mentality is one that separates college football from the NFL, because in the NFL you can lose seven games and still go on to win the Super Bowl, as the 2007 Giants did.

There has only been one national champion in the past 61 years that had more than one loss, the 2007 LSU Tigers. There is little room for error in college football. I fear that if the playoffs expand, then that room for error will increase exponentially.

Another reason that fans want the playoff expanded is so that it includes the Group of 5 schools. I’m not saying that these teams are necessarily bad, but they lack the competition that the Power 5 schools face.

Instead of letting these teams in after an undefeated season that includes significantly less competition than the Power 5 schools, show them that they should be scheduling schools that are of higher competition to boost their resume at the end of the year.

I think that allowing four teams in is the perfect amount to be put in the College Football Playoff. Fans shouldn’t complain about expanding more and more every few years because their team didn’t get in.

In 2015, the NCAA replaced their BCS system with the College Football Playoff and mayhem ensued as fans were split on the decision.
Now fans are wanting to expand the playoffs to include more than four teams, something that I think will have negative repercussions.

The biggest reason why I don’t want the College Football Playoff to expand is because it takes away from a mentality within college football that I love: every game matters, and if you want to get to the National Championship, you can’t afford even one loss.

This mentality is one that separates college football from the NFL, because in the NFL you can lose seven games and still go on to win the Super Bowl, as the 2007 Giants did.

There has only been one national champion in the past 61 years that had more than one loss, the 2007 LSU Tigers. There is little room for error in college football. I fear that if the playoffs expand, then that room for error will increase exponentially.

Another reason that fans want the playoff expanded is so that it includes the Group of 5 schools. I’m not saying that these teams are necessarily bad, but they lack the competition that the Power 5 schools face.

Instead of letting these teams in after an undefeated season that includes significantly less competition than the Power 5 schools, show them that they should be scheduling schools that are of higher competition to boost their resume at the end of the year.

I think that allowing four teams in is the perfect amount to be put in the College Football Playoff. Fans shouldn’t complain about expanding more and more every few years because their team didn’t get in.