As the 2024 college football offseason begins, the NCAA will implement a new format for the playoffs. This new format should make the playoff experience more realistic and fair for teams.
Up to this point, the college football playoff has consisted of only four teams, two bowl games serving as semifinals and a national championship game between the winners. Though this is a straightforward concept, there has been significant controversy in recent years coming from teams that narrowly missed the cut.
For example, this year, the Florida State Seminoles ended their regular season with a 13-0 record, finishing as one of three undefeated teams along with the Michigan Wolverines and the Washington Huskies.
Unfortunately for Florida State, the injury of their quarterback, Jordan Travis, caused the selection committee to grant playoff bids to Alabama and Texas, two one-loss teams.
Going into 2024, a 12-team postseason format will be implemented.
The number one team in each top-four-ranked conference will get an automatic bye for the first round of play, meaning they will get to study their opponents for an extra week and prepare.
“A 12-team field allows for teams that had one bad game during the regular season to still compete for a chance at a national championship,” LHS teacher and former Auburn coach Brian Williams said.
The number five seed will play the number 12 seed, the number six seed will play the number 11 seed, the number seven seed will play the ten seed, and the number eight and nine seed will play each other.
It will be interesting to see what the new format offers for teams this year, especially with all of the opportunities it provides.