The College Football Playoff (CFP) has had two rounds of games, and it’s clear that its design has major flaws. A system that should be refining the postseason process is instead highlighting its shortcomings. The biggest issue lies in how teams are rewarded for their regular-season performance. In Oregon’s case, being ranked No. 1 going into the Rose Bowl meant nothing, as they suffered a humiliating loss to Ohio State.
The CFP gives automatic byes to conference champions and teams that finish high in the rankings, but this creates an uneven playing field. Six of the first seven games have been one-sided duds, with double-digit margins. The top-seeded team received a 25-day layoff between games against Ohio State, which played a tune-up game at home a week earlier.
Coaches and teams are struggling to adapt to the system’s quirks. Oregon’s Dan Lanning didn’t make excuses for his team’s loss but acknowledged that it wasn’t a fair fight. The Ducks’ regular-season success feels empty after being outclassed in the Rose Bowl. This is an issue not just for Oregon but could become a problem for other top teams next year.
To fix this, eliminating automatic byes for conference champions and having them follow the CFP rankings would be a good start. Home games should still be awarded to top teams, and hosting sites could move to at least the quarterfinals. This change would disrupt the bowl system but is essential for creating a fairer playoff process. The expanded playoff’s benefits of giving more teams something meaningful to play for are lost due to this flawed design.
The CFP overhaul was supposed to enhance college football, but it has already set itself up for failure. Like Oregon vs. Ohio State, the system ends up looking ridiculous.
Source: https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2025/01/bill-oram-the-college-football-playoffs-flawed-system-failed-oregon-and-needs-to-be-fixed.html