College Football Playoff: A New Game Plan

Robert Griffin III recently spoke out against the idea of automatic bids for the SEC and Big Ten in the College Football Playoff expansion. He believes this move would prioritize money over the spirit of the game. Griffin is concerned that allowing these conferences four automatic bids each would devalue the importance of winning and could lead to a monopoly. He thinks that the current direction of college football is problematic. Griffin's concern is that the focus on money is harming the sport. The current 12-team format has been a mixed bag. The SEC had three teams in the bracket this year, while the Big Ten had four. The remaining spots were filled by teams from the ACC, Big 12, Mountain West, and Notre Dame. Griffin believes that the College Football Playoff needs a different kind of change. He suggests that conference champions should have a home game in the quarterfinals after the first round bye. This would give them a better chance to advance and reward their fans. Griffin argues that the current system is unfair. Teams that earn a bye are then forced to play on a neutral site, which can be a disadvantage. He believes that if conference champions are going to be rewarded, they should be given a home game in the quarterfinals. This would make the playoff more exciting and fair. The executives of 10 FBS leagues and Notre Dame have signed a memorandum of understanding. This gives control over to the two power conferences. Now, they are planning to exercise that control. The SEC and Big Ten are pushing for an expansion to 14 or 16 teams. This would give them multiple automatic qualifiers per league, as many as four each. This change could bring in millions in additional revenue from TV partners. The proposed changes would also allow the SEC to finally make the long-discussed move to play nine regular-season conference games. This could trigger all four power leagues to overhaul their conference championship weekend. Griffin's concerns highlight the need for a balanced approach that values both the sport and the business of college football.