A bad college football idea from the Aubies that should not surprise

Auburn University Athletic Director John Cohen wants the CFB Playoffs to be more like college basketball's March Madness. Cohen played 'Captain Obvious' when he said, "I think one of the things you notice about football versus other tournament sports (is) the percentage of teams that get to participate in a postseason tournament type of play is much lower in football than other sports."

Cohen elaborated by saying "partipcating in postseason is an incredible experience. You want as many kids to experience that as possible." The idea is comparable to 'everybody gets a trophy' in children's sports. That philosophy is appropriate for kids, but in no way, should it be applied to college competition.

John Cohen was the Mississippi State AD who hired Mike Leach. Leach once proposed the CFB Playoff field should be 64 teams and suggested 128 teams would not be a bad idea. Mike Leach was an innovator and he brought much to college football. But Leach then and Cohen now are wrong.

Cohen did not recommend a specific number for Playoff expansion. He said 12 or 14 was not enough, and some higher number of teams should be included. Cohen did say that a 64-team field was not practical.

As any AD would Cohen is trying to accomplish what is best for his employer. When Auburn misses out on the 2024 CFB Playoffs ( and probably the 2025 Playoffs as well) Cohen will be consistent in lobbying for a 16 to 32-team field. What will be the magic number for the Aubies? The magic number of Playoff spots for the Tigers (and other teams) is whatever is needed to make a Playoff field. For Auburn that could easily be 20-24 teams.

As was seen last season with Florida State, any omission from a Playoff field can become grounds for acrimony and even litigation. The state of Florida's Attorney General, Ashley Moody challenged the decision-making of the Playoff Selection Committee (and the Playoff business partners, including ESPN) by seeking to uncover "any anticompetitive conduct" that might be a violation of anti-trust law.

Short of making every FBS team Playoff-eligible, every season, there is no guarantee to protect the CFB Playoff group from legal challenges of its selection decisions.