A new rule has entered the field this season in college football. In 2014, the College Football Playoff (CFP) system was first implemented, as an improvement to the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), and it started as a four-team playoff. Ten years later, the playoff now consists of twelve teams.
The system has had a positive impact on college football. It offers more teams a chance to compete for the national championship, more fair games, live college advertisement, and increased merchandise sales. Before this, it was a confusing system that was very subjective, unorganized, and uncentralized.
Currently, twelve teams will be selected to the playoff field. The winners of the five biggest conference championships automatically get a spot in the playoffs. This leaves seven teams which are decided by the College Football Playoff committee, and gives colleges more visibility which leads to more interest from the student body and high school seniors choosing a college pathway. The national exposure and better recruits leads to a successful program.
There are also benefits to the fairness of football. In the 2023 decision for the playoff teams last year, Florida State and Alabama were neck and neck when achieving the final spot. In the end, Florida State had zero losses and Alabama had one. However, the CFP ended up choosing Alabama, which caused a lot of backlash to the decision as well as to the old system. The conflict seeded the idea of the new and improved system. The 2024 selection of the next twelve teams for the playoffs was recently announced, and football fans are on the edge of their seats to see the results. Elena Collins ‘25 says “I think it’s nice to have longer playoffs, since there will be a longer series of games, which can keep fans entertained. It also gives more room for mediocre teams to be in the playoffs.”
