The College football playoffs and Championship wrapped up a few weeks ago. This was the first year of the 12-team playoff compared to the four-team playoff of previous years. Many games this year resulted in many people complaining about the 12-team playoff and how some teams who didn’t get it should’ve and others should’ve been left out.
For this season Oregon, Boise State, Georgia, and Arizona State all got a one-game bye, Boise State got it because they were the best non-Power 4 conference team and then Arizona State won the Big 12, Oregon won the Big Ten and Georgia won the SEC. One of my only complaints is that regardless of whether you win your conference or not, I don’t think you should get an automatic bye. I believe you should have an automatic spot in the playoffs, but the teams who get a bye should be the best regardless if they won their conference.
The biggest problem in my opinion of the former four-team playoff is the fact that depending on your schedule if you lose one game your season could be over. The committee also was very heavy on the strength of the schedule. While your strength of schedule is important, you shouldn’t be able nor write off a team just because their schedule isn’t the hardest especially if they win the games they are supposed to win.
In an article by AthlonSports published on Feb. 1, 2025, “I was fairly underwhelmed as well,” Finebaum said when talking about the playoffs. “Finebaum has expressed strong criticism regarding the 2024 College Football Playoff. He referred to the first-round games as ‘unwatchable,’ noting that none of those games were decided by a margin of single digits, with most resulting in blowouts.” While I do agree that the first-round games weren’t the best, if you look at every other sports tournament the first-round games are never the best and usually sweeps.
Other people even tried to say that the four-team playoff is better than the 12-team playoff. Personally, I never really liked the four-team playoff because some teams could lose an early season game and then their season would be over. With the 12-team playoff, a team such as Notre Dame lost an early season game to Northern Illinois but bounced back and made the championship. This is why the 12 team in my opinion is much better because it allows teams to turn a bad loss around and not have it ruin their season.
In an article by Bellisario Student Media published on December 14, 2025 “some praised the expansions providing more opportunity and excitement in college football. When talking about the expansion of the playoffs.”
The expansion of the 12-team playoff also helps increase the chance of teams getting upset and like in the quote it gives teams another opportunity for teams to prove themselves and allows them to have teams such as SMU and Indiana this year have a chance at winning the title because in past years with the four-team playoff, both of those teams wouldn’t have made it.
One of the biggest reasons I support the 12-team playoff is because it allows a group of five teams to be able to compete in the playoffs. The only nonpower ⅘ team to be able to compete in the modern-day four-team playoff was Cincinnati and now with the 12-team playoff, it allows a team such as Boise State to have a chance to play in the playoffs.
In the end, The 12-team is significantly better than the four-team playoff because it allows small schools to have a chance to win a national title, allows for upsets makes teams earn it more, and can help teams develop after big losses.
