ESPN personality and College GameDay host Rece Davis recently voiced his thoughts on the potential expansion of the College Football Playoff.
During an appearance on the Packer and Durham Show, Davis spoke on the lack of traction the talks among the sport’s power brokers to expand the four-team playoff before 2026 has gotten recently. He also addressed comments made by ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, who came out last week in opposition of expansion for the time being.
Phillips and the other nine FBS conference commissioners met again Jan. 10 – just hours before this year’s national championship game between Georgia and Alabama – with no agreement in place to expand.
“I don’t know that it’s at a screeching halt,” Davis said. “It’s certainly hit a roadblock, and I was told by many people that were in the room that not much got done in terms of progress during those meetings. Everybody is trying to protect their own best interests, and I don’t think you have a bunch of people in that room who are oblivious to the fact they need to do what’s best for the sport. They have a charge that, first and foremost, they have to protect their members and their constituents in the way that they think is best.
Davis said that’s “a tough thing” for commissioners to balance, which is where he believes Phillips finds himself. The ACC has a media rights deal with ESPN that runs through 2036, so that’s a factor for Phillips and his conference.
While Davis said he doesn’t agree with Phillips that the timing isn’t right to expand the playoff, he concurred with Phillips’ concerns regarding issues beyond the playoff that need to get resolved before any sort of expansion is decided on. Those include the current bowl format, a longer season (that already includes at least 14 games for CFP participants) and the impact of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness in modern college athletics.
“I’m not a huge expansion guy,” Davis said. “I’ve liked the fact it’s difficult to get into the playoff, but I also recognize the impact on the postseason, on the perception of the postseason, on the players’ engagement in the postseason. All of those things, I think we’ve hit a critical point, and it’s probably time to expand to address those things.”
One thing Davis said he’s vehemently opposed to is extending the college football season deeper into January. He would also like to see a permanent change to when the playoff semifinals are played.
“The semifinals have to be on New Year’s Day and then you figure out what’s best for the championship game,” Davis said. “But that’s the wrong direction going deeper into January. You need to move it into December. I hope that will be the decision the folks making these plans and building the structure, I hope they arrive at that conclusion.”
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