r/CFB • u/defensecowboy Texas Longhorns • 8h ago

Opinion The 24-team Playoff isn’t the death of college football. But something will be lost forever

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7694446/2026/10/16/college-football-playoff-something-lost/?unlocked_article_code=1.JVE.z0B2.UmY3VBKxSmJC&source=user_shared_article&smid=ta-ios-share
164 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

331 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

13

u/fadingthought Oklahoma Sooners • /r/CFB Poll Veteran 8h ago

I’ve never understood that claim. Far more regular season games matter in a larger playoff.

11

u/chrispymcreme 7h ago

Yeah this take is objectively false. Now the regular season matters for like 50 teams instead of 5

5

u/superworriedspursfan Missouri Tigers • WashU Bears 7h ago

which imo is actually more fun. i just would have preferred to stay at 16.

0

u/GarboMcStevens 6h ago

even if there was no postseason at all the regular season would still matter.

1

u/superworriedspursfan Missouri Tigers • WashU Bears 6h ago

true.

3

u/SucculentCrablegMeal Florida State Seminoles • USF Bulls 6h ago

More games matter, but they all matter a lot less. The stakes are a lot lower.

0

u/mynameisevan Nebraska Cornhuskers • Big 8 7h ago

I guess I’m mostly thinking of like big games between two top-5 teams. Under the old system as a neutral observer I would absolutely watch that game because it would probably have a massive impact on who’s likely to win a nation championship. Under the new system it’s not going to have much of an impact on anything so why should I care. Like I’m sure the teams and their fans would care, but I don’t know if I care. Maybe a late season game against #20 and #21 would be more interesting, but I don’t know if I really care who gets the last few spots if it’s not my team. They’re probably not going to make a run the playoffs anyway.