It should be considered a proverb that there is no offseason in college football, with transfers, coaching hirings, firings, even the recruiting scene is still in full effect. However, some massive news hit Friday morning that the College Football Playoff would NOT be expanding until the conclusion of the 2025 season at the very minimum.

With loads of backlash coming from fans of the sport, it should be no surprise that there has been some heat over this topic, and it makes sense — fans want to see more games, longer seasons, potentially legitimate home field advantages in knockout games, playoff atmospheres, plus ESPN would love to have a few more extra highly-rated games to broadcast. But let’s be brutally honest, the talk surrounding a playoff expansion is what it is — fantasy. Fans and media talking about it is nothing more than just a casual hypothetical to make conversations and narratives more interesting. When the original agreement went into effect starting in 2014, the deal was to take place for twelve seasons, ending after 2025 which is exactly what we are getting. But should we be surprised? Are people aware of the legal circumstances that come with changing an agreement such as this? From having to get the majority of a committee on board with an amendment, to working on new TV deals, this is nowhere near an overnight process. 

Now, let’s attack one of the biggest reasons why people want expansion — the SEC. There’s a large group of people who are under the influence that the playoff is designed to be exclusively biased toward the SEC. That group is either upset that their own conference isn’t getting enough publicity, or they just haven’t had a come to Jesus moment yet. Should it also be a surprise that the best recruiting classes are usually SEC schools? The one season where neither Georgia nor Alabama finished the best recruiting class, another SEC school did. That of course being Texas A&M, having the greatest recruiting class of all time in 2022, according to 247 Sports. 

The point of the playoff is to get the four best teams in the country into a semifinal bracket to see who plays in a true national title game, and this is with no direct conference affiliation. Won the Pac-12 but had three losses? Sorry Utah, but that’s not getting you into a playoff. While Pitt and Wake Forest had very impressive seasons, big help to their electric passing attacks, their pass defenses costed them mightily in 2021 to the point where the ACC had no shot of representation. And while the Big 12 was very well-rounded in 2021, it did not feature one team with only one loss come selection time, as Oklahoma and Texas were both trainwrecks, and Lord knows what would have happened if Oklahoma State could have just moved the ball one yard further in the Big 12 title game. 

The one and only Power 5 conference in college football where it had only two teams with one loss? The SEC. Georgia steamrolling its schedule only until getting beat by familiar foe in Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, as well as Nick Saban’s crew stringing wins with an elite run defense and an explosive passing game with the Heisman winner Bryce Young, it should be no surprise why these two would meet again in the playoff final. And like in 2018, these two gave us a classic to remember, with Georgia prevailing to turn the tables. Also remember that if we still had the BCS system, we don’t even get this matchup again. 

But then people will blame the semifinals for being blowouts. Again, have you maybe considered it is because Michigan and Cincinnati played the two best teams in the country? Michigan was 12-1 before the Orange Bowl and blew out Iowa 42-3. Michigan was easily among the elite teams in the county. While Cincy’s offense was a consistent snoozefest, it still had among the strongest secondaries in the country that would completely neutralize opponents. Even All-American Jameson Williams only had 62 yards in the Cotton Bowl, which was among his lowest of the season. I can easily guarantee you that there was not a team in the FBS that would be better competition in the playoff. I mean have you seen Ohio State’s pass defense?

Here is a fact that might shock you; There have been 16 CFP semifinal games since the format came into fruition in 2014. Try to guess how many of those 16 games finished within single scores. Three. Only three semifinal games have finished within a touchdown. That is insanity, but here’s the thought process: did bad teams get in or were the great teams that much better? As far as I am concerned, nobody was stopping Joe Burrow’s LSU. Nobody was stopping Deshaun Watson’s Clemson. Nobody was able to stop Ezekiel Elliott and Ohio State. Remember that time Washington made the playoff and lost 24-7 to Alabama which got the Huskies called frauds by fans? That is actually tied for the fewest points Alabama have ever scored in a semifinal. 

We want more games, everyone does. We want more entertainment, sponsorships want the eyeballs and revenue, TV networks want the ratings, and maybe players want an extra game to spend with their teammates and boost their draft stock. Hell, we would love to sit in the stands and defend our home territory behind our team. But let’s just appreciate the product we have now and accept the fact that it is indeed the best system to give us a national champion, for now. In fact, if you are still not sold, just let the next four years fuel your argument more. We will see some controversial playoff selections, and this will boost the argument for expansion. Don’t take this news as a “no,” but rather as just a “not right now.”