The 12-Team College Football Playoff Can’t Get Here Soon Enough!
Check Out Our Top College Football Takeaways After the 2023-'24 Season
The college football season is officially over. The Michigan Wolverines have won the College Football Playoff National Championship over the Washington Huskies in a potential future Big Ten matchup.
Michigan’s head coach, Jim Harbaugh, was suspended twice this season with the Wolverines. His first suspension was school-imposed after an unrelated NCAA infraction case tied to recruiting.
He missed the first three games that weren’t even in the Big Ten.
After coaching in a handful of games, another scandal released that Harbaugh and the Wolverines were stealing signs and essentially cheating. Therefore, the Big Ten came down with a three-game suspension at the end of the year.
This allowed Harbaugh to coach in the Big Ten Championship and the NCAA Football playoffs.
Without Harbaugh, the Wolverines still won every game on the schedule and finished as the only undefeated team in the nation at 15-0.
We won’t spend the entire college football takeaways on Michigan and its scandals. However, the NCAA allowed Michigan every opportunity to win a National Championship despite evidence of cheating.
It’s easy to win games when you know what’s coming.
Defense Wins Championships!
One of our college football takeaways is that the Michigan Wolverines proved that defense still wins championships.
After being caught, it would be foolish to think that Michigan is still up to its old ways. So we’ve got to give them some credit for winning the College Football Playoff National Championship for the first time in 26 years.
The Wolverines had a lot of off-field issues with lots of controversy. But the defense never stopped working.
Michigan held one of the best offenses in the nation to 13 points in the Championship. They also held the No. 4 team in the country, Alabama, to 20 points in an overtime win that watched the defense get a major stop around the red zone.
The Wolverines play complimentary football. They rely on that defense to give them good field position and don’t need to be super aggressive knowing what the defense can do.
It’s ultimately the Big Ten way. That’s what the conference is all about. It’s built on defense, which was proved throughout all the Big Ten bowl games this season. It’ll be interesting to see how Washington and other teams in the Pac-12 adapt to their new conference, specifically the four teams that went to the Big Ten.
A good defense is still superior.
It’s Time For A 12-Team Playoff
Another of our college football takeaways is that the College Football Playoff always has some controversy surrounding its NCAAF rankings.
But the committee did this to themselves. They agreed to a four-team playoff with five power conferences. Every year since that four-team playoff was announced, at least one conference didn’t have a team in the Tournament.
Sometimes, two significant conferences didn’t have a team in the Playoff. That didn’t make much sense. It got so bad that the Pac-12 was torn apart heading into 2024.
Now we’ve got Washington and Oregon playing against Rutgers. It makes absolutely no sense except for the revenue that comes with it. It’s certainly not about the mental health of the student-athletes having to travel major distances. It’s also not about parents wanting to watch their kids play every game in person.
With that said, this year’s College Football Playoff was a success. But the selection portion of it was a disaster.
The Georgia Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 all season long, lost one game and didn’t get a chance to compete for a National Title. Meanwhile, Florida State, an undefeated ACC school, moved down the rankings despite winning every game and conference.
Those two NCAAF teams deserved to be in the College Football Playoff. With a 12-team tournament next season, they would be. So that’s at least a positive takeaway as we head into next season.
We Still Need Bowl Games!
Another major topic talked about a lot in college football is Bowl Games. Some believe we don’t need these games anymore because they’re pointless.
But after watching the bowl games play out, it’s clear how much joy these games bring to the student-athletes and their alumni. Many college football fans love to watch these games, too.
Yes, NCAAF players will opt out of these NCAAF matchups. Some will transfer early and not play with their team in the final game. But that gives opportunity to those patiently waiting for their chance.
>We need all the bowl games that we can get!
The Additions To The Power 4 Conferences
The Pac-12 is finished, and the Big 12 has lost some of its most prominent schools. However, when all is said and done, this will all be for the betterment of the sport.
It might not work out as well for college basketball or other sports. But in football, it’s going to be enjoyable for sports fans.
The SEC added Texas and Oklahoma. Both schools were ultimately in the top ten of college football throughout the season but will have a much more difficult schedule in the SEC in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Big Ten added former Pac-12 members Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC. These teams were mostly offensive powerhouses in the Pac-12. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out next college football season. After all, Washington couldn’t even get to 14 against Michigan in the College Football Playoff.
On the other hand, the Big 12 is now essentially the Big 16 with four new Pac-12 teams, including Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah. These are exciting fits for those football teams.
Finally, the ACC added Stanford, California, and SMU to their conference. It’s hard to imagine any of those three teams having significant success right away when looking at projected NCAAF scores in that conference.
But overall, the Pac-12 made it difficult to watch games and played way too late at night. Most fans will enjoy the impact of the Pac-12 being gone, even if it takes a while.
For NCAAF betting news, NCAAF odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
