‘Monumental day’: In expanded College Football Playoff, Mountain West champ has a chance
The College Football Playoff will expand after all.
The Board of Managers, a group of university presidents and chancellors that oversees the playoff, voted unanimously Friday to expand the field to 12 teams, beginning as early as 2024. The board earmarked 2026 as the year to implement the new format, but also tasked the College Football Management Committee with looking into ‘24 or ‘25 as possibilities.
No matter when it starts, an expanded playoff is a dream come true for Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson.
“I don’t want to be melodramatic, but I had goosebumps when I found out,” Thompson told the Idaho Statesman on Friday. “I’m thrilled to death that football coaches will soon be able to get their players in a meeting room, welcome them to camp and say, ‘Fellas, if you win the Mountain West Conference, you have a real chance to play in the playoff.’
“They haven’t been able to say that realistically very often.”
Thompson has been stumping for an expanded playoff for more than a decade. In 2009, he testified in front of Congress about the need to include more teams. In 2011, he was part of a committee that recommended a 16-team playoff that would provide equal access to all conference champions.
Last year, Thompson was part of a four-person subcommittee that proposed the format that the Board of Managers ultimately approved.
Under the new format, the playoff field will consist of the six highest-ranked conference champions, as determined by the CFP selection committee, and the next six highest-ranked teams.
The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded Nos. 1-4 and earn a first-round bye. The other eight teams will play in the first round, with the higher seed hosting.
“Life is about moving forward, not getting stuck on the past,” Thompson said. “But it’s hard not to think about all the opportunities that teams have missed because it took so long to get this done.”
Thompson said he couldn’t help but get a little nostalgic after hearing the news Friday. He immediately thought about former Boise State coach Chris Petersen, former TCU coach Gary Patterson and current Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. Utah left the Mountain West for the Pac-12 in 2011. TCU left to join the Big 12 the following year.
“How many playoffs would those guys have participated in?” Thompson asked. “It’s crazy to think about what could have been.”
Petersen coached the Broncos from 2006 to 2013, leading Boise State to five conference championships. Under his guidance, Boise State also ended the regular season ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 poll five times.
The Mountain West champion will not be guaranteed a spot in the expanded field. Last year’s champion, Utah State, would not have made the cut after the Aggies were ranked outside the Top 25 in the final CFP rankings. But teams outside of Power Five conferences at least have a chance now, Thompson said.
“I am thrilled that players, coaches and fans can say we have a shot,” Thompson said. “The opportunity is all you can ask for.”
Had the field been expanded last year, just one Group of Five team would have made it: American Athletic Conference champion Cincinnati, which was in the four-team playoff anyway. The Bearcats would have been joined by fellow conference champions Alabama (SEC), Michigan (Big 10), Baylor (Big 12), Utah (Pac-12) and Pittsburgh (ACC), while Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and Michigan State would have received at-large bids.
In 2020, two Group of Five teams would have made the expanded field: Cincinnati and Coastal Carolina.
Thompson said he has no idea what changed since league media days in July, when he said he was shocked the playoff hadn’t already expanded.
“I’m thrilled for college football student-athletes, coaches and fans, and for the betterment of college football overall as it provides potential better access for the Mountain West champion,” Thompson said in a statement released by the conference.
Thompson said he isn’t sure the new format will be in place by 2024 because of all the logistics that go into finding bowl sites and lodging for teams, not to mention the need to iron out all the TV revenue. Still, it’s a pretty big day for the sport, he said.
“It’s a monumental day for college football,” Thompson said.
BOISE STATE AT OREGON STATE
When: 8:30 p.m. Mountain time Saturday
Where: Reser Stadium, Corvallis, Oregon
TV: ESPN (Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, Stormy Buonantony)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Series: Boise State and Oregon State have played nine times, and the Beavers own a 5-4 advantage in the series. The Broncos won their last meeting, beating Oregon State on the road 38-24 in 2016.
Vegas line: Oregon State by 2
Weather: 73 degrees at kickoff, 18% chance of rain, 6 mph winds
