Clemson Football: How would an expanded CFB playoff affect the Tigers?
How would an expanded CFB Playoff affect the Clemson football program? The answer is different comparing the short-term and the long-term.
There has been a lot of talk about expanding the CFB Playoff to six or eight teams in the not-so-distant future.
Despite the fact that the current contract for the CFB Playoff is still several years away from expiring, there are still plenty of people talking about the need to expand to be more inclusive.
Many argue that the Power Five conference winners should receive an automatic berth into the playoff. Others say that expanding to eight teams would give other programs a chance to compete and would create more excitement around the world of College Football.
No matter where you stand on the matter, it’s clear that expansion will happen at some point in the future- whether that be two years from now, or 20 years from now.
How will CFB Playoff expansion affect the Clemson football program? Well, the answer is two-fold, depending on if you’re talking about the short-term or the long-term.
Short-Term:
It should be pointed out that with expansion, you’re probably going to get rid of one regular season game or the conference championships.
But, in the short-term, I think Clemson football fans wouldn’t be in favor of expansion. Why? The Tigers are consistently in the field of four and are absolutely dominating the nation.
Why would Clemson want to have to play an extra game to get back to the National Title? In most cases, it doesn’t make much sense right now.
It’s clear that Clemson and Alabama are the two best teams. Neither the Tigers nor the Tide want to have to risk injury and play an extra game to get back to the title again.
Long-Term:
Though short-term, it wouldn’t be favorable for Clemson, it’s the long-term that makes it worthwhile.
At some point, programs like Florida State, Virginia Tech, NC State, Miami and others are going to emerge as contenders in the ACC.
When that happens, getting through a season unscathed will be extremely difficult to do. However, with an eight-team playoff, you’re still guaranteed to get in as long as you win the conference. Even if you don’t win the conference, you’ll have a chance at an at-large bid.
It gives a little more room for error, until you get to the playoff. It also helps to include all parts of the country, which gets more viewers and makes the product better.
Honestly, though, a lot can happen between now and the next decade. With the ever-changing landscape of College Football, anything could be possible.