Despite the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams just two years ago, the postseason is expanding yet again to 24 teams. After weeks of reports suggesting that the change was inevitable, ESPN and the CFP reportedly agreed to a "handshake deal" on Friday afternoon.
Nationally, the reaction to the change has been mostly negative, as critics point out that it will largely devalue the importance of the regular season, as now virtually all 24 teams ranked week in and week out will now make the postseason.
On SEC Nation in Knoxville ahead of Alabama-Tennessee in Week 7, SEC Network's Paul Finebaum and Tim Tebow discussed the new 24-team field and had differing opinions on the change.
MORE: What 24-team CFP would look like now and in 2025
Finebaum supports 24-team playoff, Tebow disagrees
Finebaum started his statements by saying instead of choosing violence, he is choosing to embrace the change.
"I understand the frustration of fans," Finebaum said. "I think a lot of us were not in favor of this going in. But I woke up yesterday and instead of choosing violence, I chose to embrace this new paradigm. I think it’s a good idea—you may boo you may not like where you are, but let me tell you something Tennessee fans, if you lose this game today (to Alabama)you're probably out of the playoffs, if you lose this game next year and that’s your second loss, you’re still in the playoffs.
A lot of schools are gonna be hanging around longer and longer it’s going to be chaotic," he said. "We'll probably see Lane Kiffin situations again because just getting in the playoff won’t be enough to keep you at a school, but I think overall a year from now fans are going to embrace it, especially those early season games instead of some of the garbage games that schools force fans to attend and buy tickets to. We’re going to see premier matchups and I think that’s a plus."
Tebow, on the other hand, largely disagreed with his colleague, and pointed out that unlike the rest of the major sports, college football's regular season is what set it apart. He added that while there will be more excitement and more access to teams is a positive, the expansion is just moving the goal posts.
Our thoughts on the 24-team playoff on
SEC Nation this morning. pic.twitter.com/oXLa1JSdMN
"I think it changes the goal post of what we’re asking teams, really, what this game of college football is about to me," said the former Heisman Trophy winner. "I think that one of the biggest reasons why I don’t like it is because when you’re looking at this game, there’s a few things that separate us, right? It’s the regular season from NFL, from NBA, from Major League Baseball, from college basketball, college baseball. It was the regular season—it’s so critical.
"It’s so important now you’re diluting something that was so special and it was one of the biggest differentiators from the rest of the country and all these other sports. You’re saying 'well it’s just like the rest just for the NFL', which is great game but now it’s becoming more like that where you just have to get in and get hot like the [New York] Giants multiple times and I just think it’s changing the course of this game and there will be some good things, but I think there’s some takeaways of some really special things."
It appears as though Finebaum is choosing to support his employer ESPN, which has been behind the scenes pushing for the change. It is willing to shell out a lot of cash to do so, too, as the network will reportedly pay the CFP $345 million to air it.
The change will result in a multitude of changes to the sport as we know it, among the most notable being the elimination of conference championship games. While the money made from the move to 24 teams is expected to make up for the loss in revenue from those games, it's unclear if those figures will line up.
Before we actually see the effects of the 24-team playoff, the debates are expected to rage on.
MORE: College Football Playoff expansion, explained: How a 24-team format would work starting in 2027
