I agree with Spider that the big conferences have been protected to a degree. Universities like UCF, Boise and others have forced them to create the playoff system. Hell ... even undefeated ACC Champion FSU was declined last year. I think the long lay-off hurt teams but overall it proves that the Championship is up for grabs and that's really what's best for college football fans.
Yep. It's not easy to take a month off and then be expected to play some of your best football. With this new format, they need to start the playoffs earlier. Perhaps the week after the conference championships, and end it on New Years weekend. Or maybe the week after. Perhaps the NFL could play all of it's week 18 games on Sunday and let the CFP have it's national championship game that Saturday night.
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