The 2025 college football season has come to an end, completing one of the craziest seasons in recent history. 

Tons of changes took place this year. Nick Saban, the greatest coach of all time, retired, many teams switched conferences, and most important, the college football playoffs were reworked.

2025 marked the first season using a 12-team playoff format. This change tripled the number of teams fighting for a national championship, jumping up from just 4 in previous years. 

While opinions are split, I believe this change was a step in the right direction for college football.

For starters, Ohio State won the national championship as an 8 seed. If the playoffs were still just 4 teams, Ohio State would not have had the chance to go on and win it all. A 12 team playoff allows more of the top teams to go on a run and win the title.

Another reason in favor of the expanded playoffs is on campus games. 

Allowing teams to host playoff games is great for the program hosting. It helps build interest and creates opportunities for fans to get rowdy.

For example, Penn State hosted SMU in the first round. Penn State was able to use its iconic “White Out” theme, leading to an amazing environment.

Finally, an expanded playoff will lead to more programs making it in.

There are 129 teams eligible to make the college football playoffs. Of those 129, only 21 have ever made it.

With an expanded playoff, there will be eight more chances each season for those 108 teams who have not made it. This can lead to more teams achieving their dream season of making it.

Some people argue that the expanded playoffs are bad for the game. They argue an increased playoff leads to more blowouts and is just a money grab from the NCAA. 

While those critiques may be true, the expanded college football playoff offers more good than not and is a great change for the game.