LSU and OU prove why college football does not need an 8-team Playoff

The Peach Bowl College Football Playoff, semi-final mismatch between LSU and Oklahoma proved why the field should never have more than four teams.

The college football world had seen it before. In the BCS Championships following the 2011 and 2012 seasons, Alabama football dominated the title games. Those memories may have evaporated for all but Alabama Crimson Tide fans. A quick refresher is in order.

In the 2011 National Championship game, the Alabama football defense was so dominating, it took LSU three quarters to cross midfield. The 21-0 final score did not accurately reflect how much better was the Crimson Tide than LSU.

In the 2012 National Championship game, the Alabama Crimson Tide embarrassed Notre Dame. That game could be encapsulated by saying no ‘Fighting Irish’ played. Brent Musberger had a better line, stating if the game had been a prize fight, the referee would have stopped it.

Did other teams than LSU or Notre Dame deserve to play Alabama in those two championship games? Not in 2011 when LSU was ranked No. 1. The only debate then was over the Crimson Tide deserving to be in the National Championship game. In 2012, Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 going into the game. Instead of the Irish, perhaps it should have been, also undefeated, Ohio State that faced the Crimson Tide.

A main Playoff argument was making sure the top two teams had a chance to play for the National Championship. In its five-year history, the four-team field has accomplished that goal. Diluting the pool of Playoff teams by making the field six or eight teams will do nothing to further ensure the top two teams can play for the Championship.

As was the case last season with Notre Dame and this season with Oklahoma, college football did not have four deserving Playoff teams.

The worst idea tied to expanding the field is tying Conference Championships to Playoff berths. Nearly as bad is automatically adding the ‘top’ Group of Five team to the Playoff field. The Power Five conferences are not equal. This season, leaving out both the Pac 12 and the Big 12 would have been legitimate. Oklahoma was not good enough to compete in the Playoff field. Perhaps no other team deserved to replace them. Alabama and Georgia did not deserve to replace the Sooners but both would have given LSU a more competitive semi-final.

The tweets below soundly make our closing argument.

Going to an eight team Playoff, with five automatically qualifying, Power Five conference champions will result in more blowouts like LSU and Oklahoma. How can that be better for college football?