The College Football Playoff's first round was, in every sense, imperfect. Certainly, the television ratings spoke to that, with a massive decline in viewership from last year's, the first of a 12-team CFP field.
USA Today's Matt Hayes believes the simple answer to fixing the CFP would've been including big brands like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Texas Longhorns in the field instead of the two Group of 5 teams that were on the wrong end of blowouts, the Tulane Green Wave and James Madison Dukes.
No. 11 Tulane lost 41-10 to the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford, Mississippi, while No. 12 James Madison lost 51-33 to the No. 5 Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium in games many felt were undeserving of the CFP.
"Fixing the CFP bracket format isn't hard. Here's what you do. First, get rid of participation ribbons," Hayes prefaced before saying, "Decide your number — 12 or 16 teams, I don't much care — and then pick the best teams, period. No charity cases. If the Group of Five produces a team that proved itself worthy of selection (see 2024 Boise State), then, by all means, it should be included in the bracket. But, we don't need guaranteed spots for any conference.
"You know what else we don't need? Athletic directors involved in the selection process. Fire the ADs off the CFP selection committee. What business do they have choosing the playoff field? Have a combination of former coaches and media members select the field. No automatic bids. All at-large bids. Play your way in.
"Imagine if Notre Dame and Texas had been in this playoff bracket instead of Tulane and James Madison. Right there, that's how you improve the playoff. Not so hard, is it?"
Hayes' proposal wouldn't have fixed the CFP, though. It would've angered everyone even more.
CFP proved it's not dominated by big brands this year
Had Hayes' proposal been reality, it would've been obvious that big brands were being shoehorned into the field. Texas and Notre Dame are two of the six top revenue producers in the sport, but at most, the Fighting Irish deserved a spot in the field.
Here's the thing, though. Everyone is focused on the Green Wave and the Dukes instead of focusing on the real undeserving culprit in the field: the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Alabama was the team undeserving of a spot. Not Tulane. Not James Madison.
And if you wanted to exclude the Green Wave and/or Dukes, where is the mention of the BYU Cougars?
Clearly, some just want the biggest brands that get the most attention. Ultimately, the sport is better off telling its fanbase that Group of 5 football matters than serving the big-money programs that will always be contributing to the pot, regardless of whether they're robbed of a CFP spot or not.