Eli Drinkwitz Proposes Mindblowing College Football Playoff Format

ATLANTA -- Eli Drinkwitz is an enigma. The Missouri iTigers addressed everything from his team's offseason mission trip to Jamaica to the Epstein files and the JFK assassination in his opening statement at SEC Media Days.

But the highlight from his time at the podium came in his unique proposal for how to fix the College Football Playoff.

Drinkwitz does not concern himself with matters as trivial as an expansion to 14 or 16 teams like most fans and analysts are debating. Instead, he has a far more robust idea: a 30-team playoff.

Yes, you read that right.

Thirty teams.

So, how would this proposed format work? Firstly, all ten FBS conference champions would get an automatic bid to the playoff, just like in March Madness. The Southeastern Conference and Big 10 would each be guaranteed seven at-large bids, while the ACC and Big 12 would get two, bringing the total to 28 teams. The field would presumably be rounded out with the two best at-large teams from other conferences under this system.

"Now we're talking about an opportunity for 30 teams, 30 fan bases to be excited and engaged, giving revenue to 30 teams with players who have access to compete for a championship," Drinkwitz said in his press conferences. "So, for me, I think that makes a lot more sense."

Drinkwitz's reasoning for this format is simple. It boils down to the idea that players and teams want to compete for national championships and deserve the opportunity to do so. He also loves the way the home College Football Playoff games worked out last December.

"I think we all would agree that the four College Football Playoff games at home campuses were a huge win for college football," Drinkwitz said. "We need to expand that opportunity, energy, and excitement."

Unfortunately for Drinkwitz, his players did not quite share his same enthusiasm for the idea.

"Man, that's crazy," Tigers' defensive end Zion Young said. "It don't sound bad but thirty teams? That's a long playoff. We'll be in season until about March, end of March. That's about nine months of football, eight months of football, would y'all want to do that for that long? Yeah, exactly. Nah, man."

Is a thirty-team playoff going to happen anytime soon? Logic would say probably not. But when looking at just how absurdly different the state of college football is right now compared to where it was five years ago, is it really that crazy to think that maybe we could one day see something like this implemented? Drinkwitz certainly doesn't think so. And if it potentially brings a home playoff game to Columbia, Tigers fans will surely at least entertain the idea.

"When you're at the University of Missouri, you say you just have to finish in the top eight to have a chance to play in the Playoffs, that's a win every day," Drinkwitz said. "I'm all for that. I think that's awesome."