Why You Should Buy In on the Big Ten's 24-Team College Football Playoff Plan

Whether you're ready to fully embrace a supersized College Football Playoff or not, the reality of a larger postseason is an eventual certainty.

Sure, it will stay at 12 teams for at least one more year. The Big Ten and the SEC, CFB's most powerful voices, could not find common ground on a new format back in January, meaning the format will stay as it is for the upcoming season.

The reason behind the stalemate centers largely around the Big Ten's desire for a 24-team field in the coming years, a format the SEC was unwilling to agree upon. At least right now.

While this 24-team postseason was put on the ice, the details of the format were released by ESPN, providing a glimpse into the potential future and thought process involved.

At first glance, the resounding takeaway was simple: No thanks.

But the details of this format, while somewhat radical in nature, present some concepts that are fascinating and thought-provoking. In fact, while the layout was not widely beloved at the onset, the details provide plenty to be excited for.

And, with so much more money still to be made, the format will arrive at some point whether it's beloved or not.

The Elimination of Conference Championship Games

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It was a good run. A great one, in fact.

At one point in our lives, conference championship games felt like some of the most important moments of a given football season. As the postseason formats evolved, though, conference championship weekend has lost considerable juice and interest.

Let's just be honest: Much of that weekend is spent pondering what the selection committee will decide on Sunday.

To that end, it's time to move on.

Reaching this conclusion is not without angst. Those who have consumed the sport long enough recognize just how important these games used to be. Conference play still matters, and it will most Saturdays in the fall. But tying it all together with one final game is a ritual we can part with.

Oh, they're trying to keep it alive. Play-in games and other conference-related concepts are being tossed around to keep the weekend intact. The fact that the sport is trying to replace these games, however, speaks to the current issue they create.

So, let's start the playoff. Let's create more games of meaning and substance. Let's do away with Alabama-Georgia, which showcased just how insignificant that matchup was last December.

They will always have a special place in our heart, but the Big Ten has this one right. 

The Elimination of At-Large Bids

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Let's take the death of conference championship games a step further.

In fact, with the mechanism to crown conference champions potentially undergoing massive construction, let's remove the at-large component entirely.

It's tiring. It's incomplete. It fails to highlight and position the best teams for the playoff. And while it attempts to make the regular season more meaningful, it does so at the expense of watering down the bracket.

The Big Ten's proposed format removes the idea that a conference would guarantee a certain number of teams in the postseason based on how they finish. As the topic of playoff expansion has taken center stage, this has been a major sticking point.

The Big Ten shouldn't be guaranteed a certain number of teams. Neither should the SEC.

If we're truly looking for the best teams, then we should look for the best teams. Whether the selection committee as constructed is the best way to fill this bracket is another story entirely, although let's start with doing away with the disclaimers and work our way forward from there. 

More Games (and Rounds) on College Football Campuses

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The current 12-team playoff didn't do everything right, but it nailed one specific aspect.

The addition of games on college campuses has unquestionably been the most meaningful aspect to the current playoff.

Well, more could be on the horizon.

The Big Ten wants to drastically increase the number of games played in college football atmospheres. Currently, the 12-team playoff features four first-round games on campuses, bestowing the No. 5, No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 seeds with the chance to host while the top four seeds earn byes.

In this proposed format, there would be eight games played on college campuses in the first round, with the top eight teams earning byes. The second round would feature eight more home games, allowing those that enjoyed a bye the ability to host a game on their own turf.

This accomplishes a few positives. For starters, it really rewards teams that deliver elite seasons, giving them a sizable advantage in the second round. Most of all, however, it provides the fans of individual teams—and fans of the sport as a whole—the ability to see more meaningful games in the best settings imaginable.

More isn't always more. In this case, it absolutely is.

Creating Cinderella Potential at Just the Right Time

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What has become evident in the era of NIL is that the elite football talent spread across the country is more scattered than it ever was.

The transfer portal and the ability to directly compensate players is largely to thank for this. And while teams across the country still have varying resources and spending capacities, the competitive nature of the sport is changing.

We just watched Miami, a 10-seed in last season's playoff bracket, fall one Carson Beck interception short of a national championship. We watched No. 6 Ole Miss, even without its head coach, nearly play its way into the title game.

This format highlights this movement perfectly. It also allows for programs unaccustomed to postseason access and success the ability to compete for placement—and general program hope—each and every year.

Group of Five teams, which would be guaranteed at least one spot in the Big Ten's proposal, would get more cracks at delivering meaningful postseason runs. While the movement hasn't worked particularly well thus far, that doesn't mean it will never be possible.

What this expanded format gives up in need for perfection, it gains in the form of intrigue and storylines. And with the talent gap seemingly shrinking across the country, the timing for such a logjam has never been better.