It seems as though there is always hunger among some fans, particularly of teams who narrowly missed out on it, for the College Football Playoff to expand. That’s particularly true this year, with a pair of Power Five conference champions as well as an unbeaten Group of Five team being omitted from the field.
The CFP’s executive director, Bill Hancock, said Sunday that those in charge of the event don’t feel the same way.
CFP exec director Bill Hancock:
"We are confident that four is the right number. No, I don't anticipate any discussion about expanding."— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) December 4, 2016
One popular solution is to expand the field to eight, give the champions of the Power Five conferences automatic bids, and then allow for three at-large bids, with one of those possibly being allocated to the highest-ranked Group of Five member. It’s not coming anytime soon. Adding another week to the college football season isn’t really on anyone’s agenda, and if the playoff is even going to entertain expansion, the TV ratings are going to have to improve and stay high after last year’s disappointment. It’ll probably take several years before the powers that be even consider the thought.
