College football once possessed something no other sport could match. Every Saturday felt like a playoff game. One bad afternoon could destroy championship dreams;
College football has finally achieved what every sport seems determined to accomplish these days and that is turning the regular season into a lengthy suggestion.
The College Football Playoff (CFP) announced on Monday it will expand to 24 teams beginning next year. This will double the current field and prove once again that when billions of dollars are involved, enough is never enough.
Not long ago, college football crowned a national champion through polls, arguments and barroom debates. Then came the BCS. That was not enough. Then we got a four-team playoff. That was not enough either. Then 12 teams. We barely had time to learn how the 12-team bracket worked before administrators decided 24 teams would be even better.
Because when you are trying to determine the best team in America, apparently inviting one-fifth of the Football Bowl Subdivision is the logical next step. The official explanation is expanded opportunity. More schools. More athletes. More fan bases. More access.
What is there not to like?
The unofficial explanation is simpler. More games mean more TV, which means more sponsorships and commercials and, of course, more money.
Bushels of money.
Fort Knox gold.
The CFP reportedly secured a media agreement worth nearly $1.7 billion on top of its existing TV package. If college football administrators discovered a way to broadcast spring practice, coin tosses and equipment managers blowing up or, in the case of the New England Patriots, deflating footballs, they would probably find another billion dollars somewhere.
The biggest casualty may be the regular season itself.
College football once possessed something no other sport could match. Every Saturday felt like a playoff game. One bad afternoon could destroy championship dreams.
Now a team could lose two games. Maybe three. Maybe even four depending on the circumstances. As long as it remains reasonably respectable, the team still may have a path into the tournament.
The top eight teams receive byes. Seeds nine through 16 host first-round games. Seeds 17 through 24 sneak into the bracket.
Conference championship games are disappearing. The Army-Navy game is moving again. The College football calendar is starting to resemble the convoluted and overextended IRS tax code. By the time the national championship arrives, fans may need a flow chart, GPS coordinates and a background check to determine how the finalists got there.
Naturally, supporters insist 24 is the perfect number.
Over the next five years, someone will argue that the 25th-ranked team was unfairly excluded.
In 20 years, a committee will announce that a 32-team playoff is necessary for competitive balance.
Then someone will suggest 40.
Then 48.
At that point, the first-round play would commence around Columbus Day.
The funny thing is that none of this is really about finding a champion. The four-team playoff found champions. The 12-team playoff found champions. The 24-team playoff will find champions.
College football administrators insist they have expanded the playoff for the good of the game.
Perhaps.
When they eventually announce a 48-team playoff in November 2, 2046, do not act surprised. Just remember that 24 was supposed to be enough, too.
In modern college football, enough is merely the number right before the next expansion.
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