Penn State coach James Franklin is in favor of the college football playoff expansion which was approved and announced last week. The new format is scheduled for a 2026 implementation, with the possibility of beginning the expanded playoff in either the 2024 or 2025 regular season if certain logistical obstacles are resolved. The 12 teams will include the six conference champions ranked by the selection committee plus the six highest-ranked teams not included among the six highest-ranked conference champions.
“In season I haven’t really spent a whole lot of time on this,” Franklin said on Tuesday. “This obviously came out in season. But obviously the playoff model has obviously changed college football. I would say that’s really starting with the BCS, now our current model. But I do think if you look at most of the sports in college football or sports in general, more opportunities for more teams to get in without going too far I think is important.”
While Penn State’s chances of winning a national title only theoretically change with the expansion of the playoffs, it would certainly change the complexion of a program that has been left on the outside looking in since the start of the playoff era. The Nittany Lions were left out of the picture in 2016 in favor of Ohio State in spite of beating the Buckeyes and winning the Big Ten Championship over Wisconsin. Penn State also would have found itself in contention near the end of the 2017 season ranked No. 12 heading into a final week regular season meeting with Maryland. The Nittany Lions would win that game and go on to beat Washington in the Fiesta Bowl ranked No. 9 in the nation.
Penn State also finished the 2019 season ranked No. 10 before going on to beat Memphis in the Cotton Bowl.
“There’s obviously always the discussion about teams maybe that aren’t Power Five schools that had great years but are left out, or a situation like us where we won the Big Ten championship, arguably top two conferences if not the best conference in all of college football, and be left out,” Franklin added. “I think it helps resolve and solve some of those issues.”
Additionally the overall extended length the college football season will almost certainly bring about larger issues for players facing NFL futures and additional health and safety considerations that come with increasing the length of the season. Penn State saw a swath of players forgo participation in the Nittany Lions’ eventual loss to Arkansas in the Outback Bowl last season and that trend could very well continue – especially with high profile draft prospects.
While this issue is not unique to Penn State, it certainly is a variable, in no small part an influencing factor in top seeded teams getting a bye in the first weekend of the new playoff format.
“We obviously in our sport also have to look at the length of the season from an academic calendar perspective but also just from a physicality perspective,” Franklin said. “There’s a lot of things that go into it, but I think in general it’s a positive. I think it’s something that was needed. I’m also a believer that I don’t think the answer, not just in this but in everything, I don’t think the answer’s always more is better. We got to find the sweet spot for college football, for the fans, and most importantly for the student-athletes.”
