Clemson football: Expanded CFB Playoff could benefit Tigers in long-run

An expanded CFB Playoff could benefit Clemson football in the long-term

There are two different beliefs on the spectrum of an expanded CFB Playoff and they are about as different as they can come, even when looking at the opinions of Clemson football fans.

Either you believe the CFB Playoff should be expanded to provide more inclusion and give teams a greater chance at competing in the postseason or you believe the current system has proven that four teams is just right or, perhaps, even too many.

You can look at the current CFB Playoff and understand the sentiment that the system is just fine. After all, there has yet to be a year where the best team didn’t ultimately compete for the National Championship and that’s the goal, isn’t it? While that may be true, there is still something to be said about how the system is broken.

Why does a committee get to determine if a one-loss team is better than another based off the ‘eye test?’ Why had the No. 1 seed never won the playoff up until this year? Why do conferences like the SEC and Big Ten get preferential treatment over the ACC and Big 12 when we all know that they’re not really all that much better?

It’s easy to sit back and be fine with the current system, but what about when it finally screws Clemson football?

What happens when Clemson loses a game it shouldn’t and the Tigers are left with a weak strength of schedule (based off human metrics and the eye test) and they’re left out of the playoff for another team with one loss?

Then, will Clemson football nation want a change? You can believe it.

The truth is that Clemson- and the entire nation- would benefit in the long-term from an expanded CFB Playoff. If you go to eight teams, you take the human element out of the determination.

You’ve got five Power-5 conference winners that are determined by results on the field. Then, you’ve got three wild-cards that can be discussed by humans- perhaps giving one of those spots to a Group of 5 team if they meet certain requirements.

It’s easy to look at the here-and-now and think how it might hurt Clemson to play an extra game in a playoff where the Tigers would already be in either way. But what about the future? What about for years to come?

Would you rather have a larger chance at making the playoff without any human getting to make that decision- making the conference championships mean something, by the way- or would you rather continue to lean on a committee that may or may not like you just depending on the year, rotation and whatever metrics they use to support their narrative?

It may not seem like it currently, but an expanded CFB Playoff would benefit the Clemson football program in the long-run because- for the first time ever- the Tigers would truly control their destiny from start-to-finish and would still have room for error.