College football saw its first expanded playoff system in 2024, with the Ohio State Buckeyes winning it all over Notre Dame in the end.
However, the system was criticized by many, leading to discussion about how to fix it. At the same time, expanding the playoffs even more was always a card on the table as well.
Speaking of Buckeyes, Urban Meyer, the ex-college and NFL head coach, made an appearance on Fox Sports’ “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” where he said he would be a fan of the 14-team College Football Playoff format.
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Urban Meyer, the ex-college and NFL head coach, said he would be a fan of the 14-team College Football Playoff format. (Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)
“I’ve actually done a little research on this,” Meyer said, via Awful Announcing. “It’s a 4-4-2-2-1-1 format. I know it’s out there a little bit, but I did a little diving into it, and of all the ones I’ve heard, it makes the most sense. It’s a 14-team playoff. Now, there’s going to be a big caveat in that, the Big 12 and ACC are going to be pissed.”
Why does Meyer believe two of the Power Five conferences will not be happy with this format? Well, this proposal for a 14-team playoff would have the SEC and Big Ten each getting four automatic bids. An at-large team and the highest rate Group of Five team would get in as well.
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“Here’s the best thing — it takes it out of selection and more into access,” Meyer explained. “So, the selection committee’s going to be wrong. It’s an imperfect system. It’s been that way since the BCS. I like the idea you play into it. …It does not penalize you. If I’m a coach in the current model, I am not playing a tough team in the early part of the season. That’s going to hurt my team.”
One of the main qualms about the current CFP system was teams in conferences like the SEC and Big Ten having tougher opponents than others, especially at the start of the season.
One of the main qualms about the current CFP system was teams in conferences like the SEC and Big Ten having tougher opponents than others, especially at the start of the season. (IMAGN)
With automatic bids, there’s less risk in losing early in the season when thinking about playoff chances.
“If you go on the conferences handle the access, the Big Ten gets four (teams). You’re darn right I’m going to play Texas because I want to challenge my team. It’s great for recruiting. It’s great for our fans. It’s great for the game of football, and it will not penalize me. If I still win the Big Ten, I’m the No. 1 seed.”
Meyer is only one of many inserting their opinion about this matter, with others like SEC Network top analyst Paul Finebaum believing auto bids would be “completely wrong” for the game.
Meyer is only one of many inserting their opinion about this matter, with others like SEC Network top analyst Paul Finebaum believing auto bids would be “completely wrong” for the game. (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
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“Doing our show yesterday, even SEC fans were calling in… saying they don’t like it,” Finebaum said. “There’s something inherently wrong about stacking the deck before the season.”
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