The end of the four team playoff era was capped off with a 27-13 Michigan Wolverine victory over the Washington Huskies. Michigan capped off a perfect 15-0 season, a feat only captured by five other teams. The top performers of the game were Michigan running back Blake Corum and Washington receiver Rome Odunze. Corum had 134 yards with two touchdowns and Odunzed finished the night with five catches for 87 yards. Michigan totalled the highest rushing total they had all season long with 303 yards. Michigan sealed the game with a pick by DB Mike Sanstrill returned all the way back to the 7 yard line. Michigan’s two MVPs were running back Blake Corum and cornerback Will Johnson. Both of these players were also an integral part of Michigan’s 27-20 Rose bowl victory over Alabama in the semifinal game.
On the other side of the game, the Washington Huskies fell one game short of a perfect 15-0 season. While they stayed in the game well into the fourth quarter, poor offensive play ruined their hopes going 2-14 on third down plays and 2-5 on fourth down. Micheal Penix Jr had an uncharacteristically shaky game throwing two interceptions. Penix was the Heisman runner up this year and had arguably his best game in the CFP semifinal vs Texas. He threw for 430 yards and two touchdowns.
This game did not only mark the end of the 2024 college football season but the end of an era in college football. The new era contains conference realignment and a new 12 team playoff. Conference realignment has affected college football in a way no one has ever seen, with the biggest brands in college football going to some of the biggest conferences in football. Conference realignment also has affected the way the playoff will work. It will cause many changes in how the College Football Playoff will operate. The playoff will be in 6-6 format, with the conference champions and the best team from the group of five getting an automatic bid into the playoff.
In result of realignment, there will be a team that played in the national championship making a move. Washington will be leaving the PAC-12 with USC, UCLA and Oregon making the move to the BIG 10. The BIG 10 is also home to many big names in college football like Michigan and Ohio State. Washington is not the only team moving conferences this year as other major programs will be finding themselves into new conferences.
The 12 team playoff is to hopefully promote less opt-outs and more competitive games. A positive to the college football expanded playoff is that it offers a lot more teams that can qualify for the playoff, which provides more reason to be competitive in the CFB landscape.
In the past when professional teams have expanded their playoffs, the lower ranked teams always get the benefit. Most widely shown in the MLB where ever since the playoffs expanded to more wildcard teams, there have been four wild card teams that have won the world series. The most recent being this year’s champion, the Texas Rangers, who happened to have played another wild card team in the World Series.
The 12 team playoff will no doubt boost ratings and interest for the college football bowl season. It also will eliminate the mentality in the regular season that if you lose a game, then your season is over. Opt outs have been the main gripe about bowl season in college football because if you aren’t playing in a playoff game, most players show how they don’t think the game matters. The playoff adds more meaningful bowl games and should add more reason for players to play in these meaningful bowl games. In result, it will bring in more viewers to watch the players they love.
A new feature of the 12 team playoff is that all the first round games will be played on the higher seeds home campus. This is a new feature that is great for the game as the crowds for every game will be better than at any neutral site could be. It is seen how big home field advantage is for the NFL and it might just be even more important at the college level.
To tie the playoff in with conference realignment, this would mean that conference championships would mean even more to the winner. If you win your power five conference then you achieve an automatic bid and an automatic bye. This will make races to be first in the conference even more entertaining and competitive. In the past, we have seen teams seem to give up after they collect their second conference. With the new way the playoff works, these teams will still have hope to make the playoffs.
Another feature that the 12 team playoff provides is now there will not be any teams that can deservingly say that they were snubbed. This past year, Florida State went 13-0 with a conference championship and still did not make the playoff. This event led to an official lawsuit and investigation of the College Football Playoff Committee. With the 12 team playoff, there is no reason that you should be in the playoff if you are not in the top 12 or do not meet criteria. This also helps a lot with ratings as this year, fans of some teams that weren’t in the playoff boycott watching the playoff games completely.
The new era of college football which includes a new 12 team playoff and conference realignment is a big change for college football. However, there is no doubt that this is a good change for college football. For college football to improve, there has to be change and this is the change that I think could spark a new golden age in college football. This golden age will bring more competitiveness, glamour, and exposure to the college football world. It brings new opportunities for other teams that before could never even get the opportunity of being in contention for the playoff. This is no doubt the best way for college football to move for the foreseeable future.
