The college football regular season was once the greatest spectacle in all of sports. Every game carried immense weight, making each Saturday feel like a high-stakes battle where there was little to no room for slip ups. When upsets happened, they de-railed seasons. They meant something.
But over the last few years, the regular season has been devalued more and more. In the 12-team College Football Playoff era, the days of high-pressure September games are gone. Two and three-loss teams can make the playoff. Now, the money-grabbing decision-makers leading college football continue to diminish what makes the sport so great.
A 24-team playoff diminishes the stakes of Indiana’s regular season even further
According to Pete Thamel, the College Football Playoff is on the verge of expanding to 24 teams. The expanded playoff field would feature each of the Power Four conference champions and the top Group of Six conference champion, as well as a whopping 19 at-large bids. The new format is expected to be implemented next season in 2027.
Simply put, 24 teams is far too many. In that case, several three-loss teams, most likely multiple four-loss teams, and maybe even some five-loss teams could qualify for the CFP. At that point, the regular season has been so devalued that teams can lose a third of their games and still get into the playoffs. What are we doing?
With the new 24-team field, conference championship games would also likely cease to exist. That isn't what college football is about.
For the Indiana Hoosiers, the regular season becomes increasing watered down. Look no further than this Saturday's matchup against the 5th-ranked Hoosiers and 4th-ranked Ohio state Buckeyes. In the old era, this game would have immense stakes that would see the loser's playoff hopes significantly drop. Now, and in the 24-team format, both teams don't have to sweat a loss.
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Furthermore, both teams likely don't need to sweat losing another game on their schedule. Ohio State already has a loss to then No. 4 Texas. Even if OSU loses to Indiana on Saturday, the Buckeyes are still viewed as a playoff team in the 12-team field. When the field expands to 24, two losses would mean nothing when it comes to making the CFP. The consequences are essentially non-existent.
Hoosier fans are loving the state of Indiana football right now, but it's going to be tough to get IU fans at a fever pitch for all 12 regular season games. All that matters now is the playoff.
The sad reality is that the people running college football don't care about preserving what makes college football so special. Instead, a vastly expanded playoff means more TV money and revenue sharing, which puts little to no emphasis on what fans want. Immense TV deals and corporate greed are taking over, while college football's finest traditions and pageantry fall by the wayside. It truly is a shame.
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