Oregon football could benefit from changes coming to College Football Playoff format
The college football postseason landscape is shifting and the changes could play in favor of the Oregon football program.
The College Football Playoff’s Board of Managers made a decision last week to expand the number of teams from four to twelve starting as soon as 2024. This is great for college football and especially for Oregon and the Pac-12.
The announcement broke down the format which has the first round games being played at the home of the higher seeds’ respective stadium, which will only add to the chaos of the college football season. The new format will see the six highest-rated conference champions and six at large teams, with the four highest ranked teams getting a first-round bye.
There are a lot of moving parts that still need to be worked out. As it currently stands, we could see several conferences with more than two, three, or even four teams in the revamped College Football Playoff.
This will also alleviate the issue of the month between the end of the season and the traditional start of bowl season in late December. The new format will start following the regular season extending the season.
Players that have decided to forgo their respective bowl game, may still do so, but the hope is that they will play adding to the excitement of the event. Of course, the matchups will be bigger, but it does take away from the traditional end-of-season games with high stakes.
Oregon football and Pac-12 stand a better chance of making playoff under new format
Ohio State and Michigan come to mind in recent years. A loss likely meant you were out with four teams in the playoff. With the new format with highly ranked teams, a loss would mean you may have to travel across the country for a road game rather than playing at home.
With the home stadium in the new format with the higher seeded team hosting, that is where the chaos will be in play. You could have big matchups in December. Alabama traveling to Oregon to play inside Autzen Stadium would be entertaining. A team with one loss will not be out of the picture, and you could see a three-loss team making it in as a road team.
Among the moving parts of this announcement is conference realignment. USC and UCLA have already departed for the Big Ten. Will there be more dominoes to fall in the Pac-12? What happens with Oregon and Washington? Will the remaining ten teams stay together or even add some other schools to replace the departures of the Bruins and Trojans? There is still plenty to be decided.
The 12-team college football playoff could start as soon as 2024.
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