The Argument To Keep 12 Team Playoff

The Arizona State Sun Devils football program should have more influence in the ongoing College Football Playoff discussions.

That is a statement that would have been unheard of even 12 months ago - but it is now a reality.

The present discussion is based around expanding the yearly tournament from the current 12 team format to 16 teams - creating a tournament where not a single program sits out of a round.

This could be beneficial to the Big 12 as a whole in theory - as it could create an easier path for multiple programs to reach the Playoff compared to the chances at this moment, but it also could create even more of a power divide.

The SEC and Big 10 have different ideas when it comes to how the bid distribution should be handed out - both of which are more favorable to the two 'most powerful' conferences.

More below:

"The SEC wants a 16-team model but with, as is currently the case, automatic bids going to the champions in the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and the best of the so-called Group of 6. The rest of the field would be at-large selections."

"The Big Ten says it will not back such a proposal until the SEC agrees to play nine conference games (up from its current eight). Instead, it wants a 16-team system that gives four automatic bids apiece to the Big Ten and SEC, two each to the ACC and Big 12, one to the Group of 6 and then three at-large spots."

Long story short, the Sun Devils could be even more negatively impacted in this model - the SEC proposal would almost certainly shut out multiple Big 12 bids on a typical basis, while the Big 10 creates multiple bids, it still isn't favorable to Arizona State.

Kenny Dillingham's program has already been shorted heading into 2025 - as there is a strong chance that another CFP appearance would result in the team having to play a first-round road game in a hostile environment despite proving themselves against Texas just months ago.

The first round of the CFP proved to be largely non-competitive as well - the closest contest was a 38-24 Texas victory over Clemson. Adding four more teams would likely only predicate the gaps between competing teams in the opening round of play.

In conclusion - don't fix what isn't broken, and don't penalize a program such as Arizona State for arbitrary reasons.

Read more on projecting the 10 best players on Arizona State's roster going into the new season here, and on Sam Leavitt being selected as the Big-12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year here.

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