The College Football Playoff landscape is shifting once again, with talk of further expansion dominating headlines.
Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks recently offered a candid assessment of the process, emphasizing that no matter the format, controversy and frustration are here to stay.
The Reality of CFP Expansion: There’s No Perfect Solution
Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks didn’t mince words when discussing the ongoing debates about the CFP’s size and structure.
“No matter what you do, no matter if you’re talking about football, baseball, whatever. There’s always going to be a team that’s going to be frustrated with the process that says, ‘We were on the outside looking in,’” Brooks said on the Paul Finebaum Show.
His comments reflect a hard truth: expanding the playoff field may reduce some controversies, but it won’t eliminate them.
The 2023 and 2024 seasons serve as prime examples. In 2023, Florida State was left out of the four-team playoff despite a perfect record, sparking outrage. The move to a 12-team format aimed to fix such snubs, but in 2024, it was Alabama—a perennial powerhouse—that found itself just outside the cut, fueling fresh frustration.
As Brooks noted, “We were in the SEC Championship game and one loss, now we’re at five or six, not getting in. We’ve lived through what it’s like.”
Brooks’ perspective is rooted in experience. Georgia itself has felt both the benefit and sting of the selection process. The ever-changing criteria and seeding—sometimes rewarding, sometimes punishing—have left even top programs uncertain about their postseason fate.
Changing Formats, Persistent Controversy
Recent changes to the CFP format, such as seeding the 12-team bracket directly by the final selection committee rankings, were intended to address past inconsistencies.
Yet, the debate rages on about whether further expansion—to 16 teams or more—would actually solve the problem. Many, like Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt, worry that expansion risks devaluing conference championships and could introduce new inequities.
The power struggle among conferences has only intensified the debate. Proposals floated by the Big Ten and SEC aim to secure more guaranteed spots for their teams, while the ACC and Big 12 push for broader access.
This political jockeying underscores Brooks’ point: “People can play out models and say ‘What if you’re the 13th team or this?’ We’ve lived through that and we’ve been good stewards and we’ve respected the process.”
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Despite structural tweaks, the fundamental issue persists. As Brooks and others highlight, the playoff will always leave some teams—and their fans—feeling shortchanged.
“The committee has had some questions about the consistency of our team. I have some questions about the consistency of their rankings,” Brooks quipped, highlighting the subjective nature of the process.
Josh Brooks’ unfiltered take on CFP expansion cuts to the heart of college football’s postseason dilemma. While new formats may ease some frustrations, they can’t erase them entirely. As the playoff continues to evolve, one thing remains certain: controversy and debate are as much a part of the CFP as the games themselves.
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