Post Season Thoughts: Playoff Reform, SEC Bias, and Then Some

As we head into the college football playoff semifinals, it is a good time to reflect on some post-season results, while also expressing a few frustrations and sharing some shout outs.

It has been another excellent post-season, but it has not been flawless.  Because of some of the issues, I do think playoff reform will again come about, and I have a few thoughts on where it should go.

The expanded playoff has been great.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the format both this year and last.  However, I expect another round of change for next season.

In 2024, all four bye week teams lost their first playoff game, so the automatic bye for conference champions was removed this year.  Well, three of four bye week teams lost this time, so don’t be surprised if the bye is eliminated.

The best way to do that is to expand to a 16-team playoff.  It makes a ton of sense.  Nothing will be added to the calendar, as there are currently four weeks of playoffs.  But with a 16-team field, there will be no more byes.

I think the NCAA should make another change - remove the automatic bids.

This is a complete 180 for me, I acknowledge.  Previously, I was a strong proponent of the auto-bid, as it provided an opportunity for non-power conferences to have a seat at the table.  They could raise a banner at the end of a great season.

However, there is minimal chance that a Group of Five school can raise the ultimate banner and win four straight games against top 12 teams, so I do not think they should take a bid away from a bubble team that could potentially win a college football playoff.

One might call this an elitist viewpoint.  I disagree.  I call it realistic.  (Remember, I am a Virginia Tech fan, elitism is not in our DNA!)

Football is not like basketball, where shooters can go cold, key players can get in foul trouble, or teams can get hot for a few weeks.  It takes talent and depth.  At the top level, there is incredible strength and speed and physicality, and smaller schools just don’t possess enough of that to win four straight games against teams that do.

If that upsets you, then perhaps we should reform high school playoffs across the country.  States rank and seed the top teams, and conference championships are their own reward.

College football should do the same.

For the second straight year, league champs have NOT been successful in the CFP. Last season, no conference champ made it to the semifinals. This year, only Indiana is a champ among the final four. So let’s do away with the automatic bid and seed the top 16 teams.

If the CFP wants to be inclusive, then have a play-in round the week of the Army-Navy game, where 15 plays 18 and 16 plays 17, and one of those seeds can be a G5 team (unless they are ranked higher, of course, and if multiple G5 teams are in the top 18, then naturally they should earn bids).

The expanded playoffs have been great. There is a lot of high-quality football to watch. Sure, there are some blowouts, as an over expanded playoff increases the odds for that. More games equates to more lopsided matchups, but there are also more games that are better to watch. The playoff should’ve been expanded a long time ago.  To 16 teams.

Let me start this section by acknowledging that the SEC is loaded with highly talented football players.  It is hard for any conference to stack up to the SEC rosters from top the bottom.

That said, SEC dominance has waned, and it is time that the media eases up on the SEC superiority narrative.

Let’s just talk numbers:

In the 2024 CFP, the SEC finished 2-3, with only Texas winning games, going 2-1.  Georgia and Tennessee both went 0-1

In the 2025 CFP, the SEC is currently 3-4, with only Ole Miss remaining, and they are the only SEC team to win multiple games.  The other four SEC playoff teams went 1-4, and the lone victory was Alabama over another SEC foe.

The SEC has not won a national semifinal game since 2022 when Georgia won the championship.  If Ole Miss loses this week, it will mark three straight years where the SEC has not won a semifinal game.

The SEC had an incredible run from 2006 to 2022, where the league won 13 titles and had 19 teams play in the championship game.  No other league could touch the SEC over that 17 year span.

But times have changed, and so should the media bias.  Just because a team is in the SEC does not automatically mean it is a better team than a non-SEC school.  Look at Tennessee.  They finished 8-5, lost their bowl game, and finished without beating a power conference team with a winning record.  Yet they spent the first 14 weeks of the season in the rankings.

Why?  Because of expectation, and because of SEC bias, which often perpetuates itself, since strength of schedule factors in opponents’ rankings.

Now look at Iowa, who finished 9-3 and won their bowl game over #14 Vanderbilt (an SEC school who had a great year, but in the end, they also did not have any big wins on their resume).  Despite this, Iowa did not see the rankings until week 11.  They stayed in the rankings for two weeks, fell out for two weeks, then finished the final two weeks with a ranking.

Iowa beat four power conference teams who finished with winning records, yet they spent most of the season out of the rankings.  Why?  Because of expectations and bias.  Iowa does not score like Tennessee usually scores.  Iowa is looked at as a mid-level Big Ten team.  Thus, the Hawkeyes are often overlooked on the national scene, a situation that is common to all of the "second tier" power conference teams outside the SEC.

I’m not saying that Iowa would do well in the SEC.  Nor am I saying that Tennessee (or Vanderbilt, or Missouri) would do well in the Big Ten.  What I am saying is that there is a strong SEC bias in the media, and even though there was legitimate reason for it not too long ago, it’s time to pull back on that narrative.  And if Ole Miss loses to Miami this week, it will just be an exclamation point to this argument.

I know we are a few weeks after Christmas, and honestly, it feels like a few months already.  But it's not too late to summon the the spirit of Festivus, and like Frank Costanza, I have some grievances to air.

First of all, what the heck is with these colorful mouth pieces dangling from facemasks during play? Why are they not in the mouth, guarding the teeth like they’re supposed to?  Isn't it a rule that players must actually use the mouth guard?

Apparently this trend is a style thing, but isn’t it distracting to play football with something flopping wildly under your chin?  To make matters worse, some individuals play with two dangling mouthguards. 

And knee pads, aren't they also required by rule?  I know I’m old, but I just don’t get it.

Next, why did the CFP send Miami and Ole Miss to the Fiesta Bowl when the other semifinal, the Peach Bowl, is within driving distance of both schools?  Even though Bloomington, Indiana is actually closer to Atlanta than Miami, Oregon is flying to whatever bowl destination they have, so why not try to maximize attendance?  Did the CFP officials not hear that Sugar Bowl crowd of loud Ole Miss and Georgia fans last week?

It’s expensive to fly to every game.  Oregon is out of luck there, but the CFP officials could have saved airfare for two fanbases by swapping bowls.  Instead, only one school, Indiana, is within driving distance of their game, and the other three fanbases have to stretch open their wallets.  Boo to the CFP.

And finally, I have a HUGE bone to pick with the ACC.  As part of its appeasement to Florida State last year, the ACC allows certain performance incentives, and one is that CFP teams keep all of the money they earn from the playoff.  The ACC is the only league that does this.

So Miami is keeping all of the $14 million it has already earned, and that number will grow if they keep winning.  Clemson and SMU kept their $4 million each last year.

I understand the league’s desire to reward teams.  And I do think the teams that make the playoff should reap significant benefits.  But I don’t agree with the 100% payout, especially since no other league does this.

As a Virginia Tech fan, this infuriates me because the ACC feels like a dead conference walking, so losing out on any revenue sharing hurts my university.  In a few years when the league will likely face challenges to keep its biggest brands, this move will look even worse, especially if Miami is one of the schools that leaves.

If anything, Miami should give the ACC most of the money, because without the league, the Hurricanes would have been left out of the playoff.  Remember, after the final regular season game, Miami was behind Notre Dame in the rankings.  However, one idle week later, Miami and Notre Dame flipped.

The ACC was going to be left out of the CFP.  It is very likely that the ACC brass was part of some closed door shenanigans that resulted in the re-ranking of teams after both were finish playing.

If anything, Miami should give some of that money back to the ACC with a thank you card.  Or maybe they can keep it, use the money to rebuild their roster, and try to actually win the league next season.  Or at least once before they ultimately bolt in the next round of realignment.

Indiana’s story is amazing. Anyone who is not watching this team with awe and respect obviously does not know ball. It was nothing short of remarkable for Cignetti to come over from James Madison with so many JMU players and make the playoff last year.

Then, despite a drop in the preseason rankings in 2025, Indiana has run the table and is one game from a national championship appearance this year.  They are the most complete team in the country.

I admit, I was not a fan of Cignetti when he started at Indiana and made the brazen, “I win, Google me” comment.  But after two years, I have nothing but respect for that coach and what he has done. Even better is the story of the quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, who left Cal to find a better system to develop him for the NFL, and he only went out and won the Heisman Trophy.  And the Big Ten.  And he is playing with his brother.  It is a made-for TV movie script.

Indiana is well coached, they are talented, and they execute at a high level. Their line is great, the receivers are phenomenal at catching the football, and their defense is dominant. This is a very cohesive and selfless team.  And they used to be the losingest team in college football history.

What’s not to like?

Another narrative to follow is that of the Rebels of Ole Miss. With the much publicized drama of the Lane Kiffin exit, this is a great story for America. How could one not root for this team to win after the way their coach left them? Kiffin bonus payouts notwithstanding, this is a bandwagon to join.

A subplot is the success of the quarterback. A year ago he was a Division II player, and now he is one game away from playing for a national championship.

Indiana and Ole Miss show us everything that is great about college football.

With four really good football teams remaining, I fully expect to watch two good games this week.  The College Football Playoff expansion has been great for fans of the sport, and if they grow to 16 teams next year, I think it will only get better!