Big 12: Exploring Conference, College Football Playoff expansion

Ivan Maisel of ESPN thinks now is the best time for conference expansion. Longhorns Wire explores how to expand the Big 12, playoffs.

Expansion of the College Football Playoffs

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The College Football Playoffs were first introduced in the 2014 season. In the seven years since it began, fans and media alike have clamored for expansion. Even with four teams in the playoffs, there always seems to be an argument for another team or two. Thinking about the number of games played in a season, how does one pound the table for expansion without a larger workload?

If the conferences could limit the season to 10 or 11 games, then it shouldn’t add more games than necessary. This would add the possibility of three games to the winning team. Each conference would earn a berth with their conference champion in the Power Five conference. Leaving one at large bid to the next highest ranked team determined by the playoff committee.

In this scenario the No. 3 seed would play the No. 6 seed. Then the No. 4 would play the No. 5 seed. The highest seeded winner would play the No. 2 team and the lower seeded winner plays the No. 1 team. The winners of those games move onto the National Championship game. This gives two more teams the opportunity to play in the College Football Playoffs and only adds two games.