College Football Playoff Could Expand To 12 Teams: How Will It Impact The Game And Betting?

Since the College Football Playoff system started in 2014, support has grown for expansion. The current four-team system has resulted in a growing divide between the “have’s” and “have-nots” of college football’s highest level. The best teams have only gotten better with each passing season while the rest of the field has fallen behind.

For this reason, momentum is shifting toward expanding the CFP to 12 teams, a drastic increase from the current four. In seven years of the current system, only 11 teams have made an appearance. Alabama and Clemson have made six playoffs while Oklahoma and Ohio State have made four each. The repetitiveness of what was once thought to be a revolutionary idea in college football has taken the luster off of it.

The other discrepancy that's leading to this change is the lack of representation for all of the Power Five and best Group of Five teams. The Pac 12 has only made two CFPs while a G5 team has never reached the playoff, despite having several undefeated teams over the past seven years.

Details Of The New Proposal: First off, expanding the playoff will not even the playing field overnight, however, the increased exposure will gradually even things out. Only six teams have ever won a playoff game, so adding teams will increase interest in the postseason and keep fans invested down the stretch of the regular season.

According to ESPN, the proposal would give automatic bids to the six highest-ranked conference champions plus the six highest-ranked teams as selected by the CFP committee. The four byes would go to conference champions, presumably the winners of the SEC, ACC, BIG 10, and BIG 12 based on recent performance.

The top four seeds would receive round-one byes while seeds five through12 would play games on campuses. The final eight would then play in bowl games all the way to the National Championship game.

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Impact On College Football: Allowing 12 teams in the College Football Playoff would begin to even out the recruiting scene, which is the biggest contributor to continued dominance for the likes of Alabama and Clemson. Recruits want to and gain national exposure, and the playoff system is the best way to do that.

A major criticism of the playoff is the number of blowouts that have happened. Nine out of the 12 semifinal games have been decided by double-digits, with five by 27 points or more. The semis have not been competitive anyway, so that's a non-factor in expansion. With more spots available, it would give teams a better opportunity to reach the national spotlight. Any team would be able to play their way in, regardless of conference or national perception. Good teams that lose a game or two would still have a shot, increasing the competitiveness.

Winning a playoff game would be cause for celebration, just like reaching the Elite 8 or Final 4 is in college basketball. Recruits will see they have chances to shine in the national spotlight outside of the powerhouse teams. Teams like Michigan, Texas A&M, and Florida would become playoff contenders and shrink the gap to Ohio State and Alabama in their respective conferences, creating a more competitive environment.

Impact On Betting: An increase in the number of teams in the CFP creates more games to bet on, but also gives betters a wider selection of teams to wager on. As previously mentioned, four teams have combined to take 20 of 18 total playoff spots, making betting on who will reach the playoff fairly easy. Now, it will become more of a challenge to pick the higher seeds and conference champions.

With the additional game, it makes the prospect of betting on the favorites less attractive. While they're the best teams for a reason, upsets are commonplace in college football. The road to a championship would become that much more difficult, especially having to face a team fresh off of winning a playoff game and riding positive energy and momentum.

It would also make the prospect of betting on a long shot more enticing. Take a team that maybe lost a game early in the season but has turned things around and is playing well. In the current format, that team might be left out of the playoff, but now they would become a trendy pick.

Futures betting would also expand to more categories. Making the playoff would be one bet, but reaching the final four, championship, or winning the title would become other common options. A 12-team College Football Playoff would make for a more fun season and offer a wider variety of exciting bets. Time will only tell if the proposal passes, but it looks like expansion is a real possibility right now.

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