The 12-team College Football Playoff is already a success before the field has even been selected.

That doesn’t mean the system doesn’t need optimization. The group will almost certainly be a mess if ultimately selected by committee, and an expansion to 16 teams to include all conference champions is desperately needed.

But admit it, this season has been incredible and the tournament is shaping up to be a fascinating experience from start to finish.

Can you believe that for years there have been vocal voices in the world of college sports opposing it and getting in the way of what is sure to be a post-holiday treat for fans across the country?

Someone asked at a Thanksgiving gathering why this took so long, which triggered a trip down a Google rabbit hole of old hot opinions about why a playoff would be bad for the sport.

If you find yourself bored in the next few days, do a search on the internet and social media. There are some wild opinions out there.

Old arguments ridiculous

That’s too many games to ask these kids to play and they’ll miss too many lessons. People love bowling games and these would become much less important. The pressure on elite programs and coaches would be far too great. (Seriously, that was a Barry Switzer gem.)

Of course, a lot of this was just propaganda from those who benefit from the bowl system, and you can’t really blame people for trying to preserve their golden goose.

But among other things, one of the most popular arguments was that a playoff would render college football’s regular season meaningless.

LOL.

It would have been fun to invite some of those who had this opinion to join my extended family of casual sports fans in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving this week.

Some new college football fans were won among people who were hanging on to every play of a November game between Tulane and Memphis because of the playoff implications for a certain football power in Las Vegas.

The next evening, some of the same family members were fascinated by an eight-overtime game between Georgia and Georgia Tech, asking questions about the playoff implications while also getting a lesson in college overtime rules.

Sure, the four-team playoffs provided the same intrigue. Sometimes. But that was largely limited to many of the same teams year after year.

A 12-team bracket, especially with automatic bids for conference champions, significantly increases the number of teams involved in the whole drama.

It leaves fans of non-traditional powers a lot more room to dream.

Like UNLV supporters.

Rebels are relevant

What a wild ride this has been for a school that has previously been associated with possible divisional elimination more often than mentioned in any kind of national championship context.

The program has certainly chosen the right time to become relevant.

Regardless of how the rest of the season unfolds, the Rebels have been important to the national conversation. That could never have happened under the old system, but it always should have happened.

It may not be UNLV next season. Maybe it will be James Madison or Florida Atlantic.

Or even UNR (OK, that’ll probably never happen).

But the point is that many fan bases now have a reason to dream that really never existed before.

And some of the arguments made against it now look downright silly.

Can you believe that one of sports’ top power brokers once suggested that a playoff would be a big problem because band members and cheerleaders wouldn’t be able to make vacation plans if they waited for their school’s possible inclusion in a squad?

Somehow I think they’ll figure it out.

College football has finally done it.

Contact Adam Hill at [email protected]. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.