Is the College Football Playoff working?

I think so.

It is hard to say it is not when the two best teams have played for the national championship every year. That is the goal of the CFP, correct?

By beating Alabama and then Oregon in the 2015 CFP National Championship, I think Ohio State proved it deserved to be in the championship game.

Clemson was the No. 1 seed in 2016 and Alabama was the No. 2 seed and that championship game was one of the best we have ever seen. The following year in 2017, No. 2 Clemson avenged the loss to Alabama in a championship game that was even better.

The next year Alabama, the fourth seed, was clearly the best in the county after it beat No. 1 Clemson and then No. 3 Georgia in the championship game.

The last two championships game have not been as competitive as the previous three title games, but Clemson and Alabama were clearly the two best teams in the country in the 2019 CFP and last year Clemson proved it deserved to be in the championship for a fourth time in five years by beating an Ohio State team many called the Buckeyes’ greatest team ever. LSU went on to beat Clemson, as we all know, with what could be called the greatest offense college football has even seen in one season.

So, it’s hard for me to get why the pundits would think the CFP would be better if it was expanded. The point of it is to get the two best teams in the championship game, something the old BSC system did not always do.

Granted Clemson or Alabama have played in every championship game since 2015, including three times going head-to-head, but that is not the CFP’s fault. Yes, it seems like the same four teams make the playoff every year. But whose fault is that?

Eleven teams have filled the 24 slots so for in the six CFPs. The championship game has featured just six different programs out of those 12 spots, and as I mentioned, Alabama and Clemson have filled eight of those 12, with LSU, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon filling the other four.

I know some people look at that and think it is an issue to have pretty much the same teams in the playoff every year. But again, is that the CFPs fault?

Right now, with the way college football has gone over the last decade, nothing is going to change, in my opinion, even if they expand the playoff field.

In the last 10 years, just four teams have dominated the sport – Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma. It is no coincidence those same four teams represent 17 of the 24 playoff spots over the last six years. Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State have won five of those six championships.

Yes, it can get boring seeing the same teams making and winning the playoff every year. However, the answer isn’t to expand the playoff where Alabama and Clemson can destroy more teams in the playoff field like they already have.

My answer is other programs need to step up. When is Michigan going to step and challenge Ohio State in the Ben Ten? When is Penn State going to stop losing a game a it isn’t supposed to? How about Wisconsin? Are they ever going to beat Ohio State or Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game?

The Pac-12, for all of its complaining about its lack of participation in the CFP, can’t get out of its own way. And don’t get me started with other ACC programs outside of Clemson. The Big 12 is even a bigger joke. Oklahoma dominates that conference like Clemson does the ACC, yet no one brings up that fact.

There is also an argument the Group of 5 programs should have an opportunity too? Granted Central Florida has been on a good run and has beat some impressive teams in the last few years, but even their best team would not have stayed on the field with all the playoff teams I listed above.

The problem is not the CFP. The problem is the lack of Power 5 programs who are not willing to step up and commit the necessary resources to compete with Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

Until that happens, the College Football Playoff is doing its job. It is getting the right teams playing for the national championship. That is all we can ask for.

Clemson fans, now is the time to support the local businesses.

A great gift for any Tiger fan. Just one of many great items available from Clemson Variety & Frame