Big Ten Commissioner Confirms Playoff or Bust Mentality in College Football

College Football has lost its lustre. Ever since the playoff was introduced to find a definitive winner, College Football has started to lose what made it great. There was something special about debating who the National Champion was.

But that is no longer the case, even though the sport was built on controversy and split National Champions. It made the sport exciting, and teams went out and played their best the following season to prove they deserved to be called National Champions.

But we live in a world that needs one champion. However, that doesn’t mean they are the best team. Thus, the college football playoff landscape could be changing even further.

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti, during Big Ten Basketball Media Days, said the quiet thing out loud: success in college football is determined by whether a team makes the playoff.

“The definition of success in college football is qualifying for the CFP,” Petitti said. “That is the clear definition. So what we’re focused on is giving more programs a chance to have that level of success.”

Remember when making a bowl game was important. That determined a team’s level of success. Making a bowl game mattered because it rewarded a good season. Now it is another money grab; there are 5-7 and 6-6 schools in these games, and half the players don’t participate.

That never used to be the case. All the games mattered. That was before the College Football Playoff.

Even before the initial 4-team playoff was implemented, before the sport went to a 12-team playoff, Full Press Media was told by renowned College Football analyst Dennis Buttaccavoli that the “Playoff would ruin college football.” He was absolutely right.

“The honest thing about the playoffs and all this other stuff, I think again, it’s gotten away from what college football is all about,” College Football Expert Dennis Buttaccavoli said. “I think this country has become so focused on having an outright winner, championship, etc.

Remember the AP Top 25 Poll and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) determined the national champion. That system wasn’t perfect, but usually the two best teams were there at the end, playing in one of seven bowl games on January 1st. 

But this focus on being the best and finding one true winner led to the original four-team College Football Playoff. The schedule was better, and regular-season games mattered. If you lost one game, it was very tough to get into the College Football Playoff. If a team lost two games, forget they were done.

But like with the BCS, when there is controversy, we need to expand and make sure everyone gets a seat at the table. When an unbeaten Florida State team did not qualify as one of the four best teams, the NCAA and its Selection Committee expanded the playoff to 12 teams.

That 12-team playoff is going under some adjustments, as the teams with the four best records, whether they are conference champions, will be ranked 1-4 and get a first-round bye. Though conference champions get an automatic bid, they may not get a home game.

Not to mention, after the College Football Selection fiasco that left out Notre Dame, a rule was put in place: if Notre Dame finished in the top 12 in the final rankings before selection Sunday, it got an automatic bid.

But again, the SEC and Big Ten want more playoff money and revenue, and they are looking to expand beyond the proposed 16-team field that could be coming down the line.

According to reports, the Big Ten remains in discussions about a 24-team College Football Playoff with seven automatic bids to the Big Ten and SEC. The idea is to eliminate Conference Championship Games. But don’t let Mr. Petitti comments fool you about a better schedule of non-conference opponents. The leagues themselves already control the schedule.

“The season is going to start way better than it does. We’re committed to that,” Petitti said. “We get the 24-team playoff, you’re going to see many more competitive games scheduled. We don’t need to say we’ll do it. We’ll actually commit to doing it and working.”

As Full Press Coverage has documented throughout this process, expanding the playoffs is a money grab. That’s all it is. It doesn’t put the best teams on the field. It is all about the dollars.

Now, with the new system, it will be the same thing. The best teams aren’t always necessarily going to get to go on this playoff system. It’s going to be subjective. It will be based a lot on, believe it or not, TV ratings.”

And whether the leaders of college football want to admit they don’t care what the fans think as long as they get paid. Sounds like something else everyone bickers about.

Again, people want to complain when coaches are fired. Well, college football has become the NFL, and it’s all about results, not the process. If the sole goal is to make the playoffs and a team falls short, then there will be change. Get used to it.

Good coaches had time to build a program. No longer, not with NIL and the Transfer Portal. Everyone is looking for the next Curt Cignetti. Recruiting used to matter. The process used to matter. Earning your spot at the top used to matter. Not anymore; it’s just about the dollars.

While the games are great on the field and we have great weekends of games where results matter, an expanded 24-team league takes those games and makes them meaningless.

Again, don’t be fooled by what the leaders of college football are saying; those who know understand the playoff has ruined the sport, and it will only get worse, not better.

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