As the landscape of college football continues to shift, so does the College Football Playoff (CFP). Last season, the CFP expanded to 12 teams for the first time, and it had mixed results.
With more teams came more excitement throughout the playoffs, but the biggest failing of last year's model was the automatic byes.
After the regular season concluded, all the conference champions were given automatic byes, regardless of where the committee placed them in their final rankings, leading to an unbalanced bracket.
The CFP committee saw the flaw in the design and decided to remove automatic byes from next year's CFP format in favor of a straight-seeding model.
In the straight-seeding model, the four highest teams in the final rankings will receive an automatic bye.
Following the changes, some conferences and conference commissioners are seeking to further expand the playoff, potentially to 16 teams or more, with guaranteed bids.
These proposals are primarily coming from the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference (SEC), because they are the two powerhouses in college football.
The Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti has long been an outspoken proponent of expanding the playoff to 16 or more teams, with the Big Ten and SEC receiving four automatic bids, the Big 12 and ACC receiving two each, one to another Group of Five team, and three at-large bids.
Petitti's proposals have been met with mixed opinions, but he received some reassurance from the longest tenured head coach in college football.
In a recent discussion with some members of the media, partially posted by Hawk Central, Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz was asked about Petitti's proposals and if he had any strong feelings about them.
Ferentz began by stating the Petitti is an "impressive person" and represents the conference tremendously. Ferentz also added that Petitti does his homework and is one of the best thinkers he has met.
Ferentz went on to say that Petitti's proposals sounded great, and they make a lot of sense for the conference. He noted they are a very positive step in the right direction.
Ferentz also stated that "the more teams that are involved, the better."
Fernetz is not a person who butters people up for no reason, and his words regarding Petitti seem to be heartfelt and genuine.
The future of the College Football Playoff remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that the format will continue to evolve and change.