The first season of the 12-team College Football Playoff marks a new era for college football. In some ways it was difficult to realize everything that would be different and challenging about this format and this process. Not every problem could be solved at once. The process must unfold to be understood. We can make reforms now for the future. However, some parts of this process should and could have been carried out in real time. Some components of this 12-team playoff shouldn’t be difficult to understand. One obvious part: The No. 1 seed and only undefeated team in the playoffs should get an easier draw than other teams. Instead, the No. 1 and undefeated Oregon football team lost to No. 8 seed Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. USC football fans love Oregon’s loss. The Trojans don’t want to be overshadowed by Dan Lanning in recruiting, so any loss of Lanning is good for USC. But as great as it is that Oregon lost, we can still be honest and truthful about it. We can admit – we’re adults – that Oregon shouldn’t have played Ohio State in the quarterfinals.

We’ve already addressed another flaw of the 12-team playoffs, namely the loss of importance of the conference championship games. Oregon was part of that story. There were certain aspects of a college football season that required adjustments in structure and rules, but no one seemed to understand the need for changes before the season began. No one seemed to think ahead or prepare in advance. Basic things like receiving the No. 1 pick’s top draw – as a reward for being No. 1 and having the best regular season – shouldn’t be neglected. And yet it was clearly so. Let’s talk more about how the 12-team College Football Playoff needs to change so that what happened to Oregon doesn’t happen to the next No. 1 seed. We can enjoy that Oregon lost, but we are adults and we realize that it was unfair to the Ducks to let them play what most football experts consider to be the most talented team in the country : the Buckeyes.

Let’s examine the real reform in the College Football Playoff:

BRACKET 101

It’s a fundamental part of building a multi-round tournament in any sport: the higher the seed, the easier the bracket path should be. Teams are rewarded for being higher seeds – i.e. having better regular seasons or better overall rankings – and therefore should compete in tougher groups if they are lower seeds. It’s very simple. Oregon was the top seed, the only undefeated team in the regular season, and yet the Ducks clearly faced the toughest and most difficult quarterfinal opponent. This should never have happened.

PENN STATE VS OREGON

Penn State was the No. 6 seed in these College Football Playoffs. Oregon was No. 1.

Penn State played SMU and Boise State. Oregon played Ohio State. We can all see the problem here.

PENN STATE PART TWO

Penn State lost the Big Ten Championship Game to Oregon. We know it’s important not to punish teams for losing the conference title game, but the committee overreacted. We also need to reward the teams that win the conference championship games. Oregon was not rewarded. Oregon had to play Ohio State.

SEEDING AND BRACKETING JUST WERE NOT GOOD IN THE 2024-2025 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

Similar to the NCAA Tournament, the College Football Playoff didn’t pay much attention to seeding and bracketing. One obvious area of ​​reform is to stop granting conference champions automatic first-round byes. Simply arrange the 12 teams in order and then create the bracket.

How do I create the mount? This is what comes next:

MADE FOR THE TV COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SPECIAL

Here’s the best idea on how to create the group: The top four seeds (determined by the committee) get to select the 5-12 seeds they want to face in the quarterfinals. So Oregon – a No. 1 seed – would get the first pick of any eight 5-12 seeds it wants to play. The No. 2 seed receives the second pick, the No. 3 seed receives the third pick, and the No. 4 seed receives the fourth pick. Then the top four seeds pick the remaining four seeds. The number 1 seed gets to choose their preferred opponents, and the other top seeds get secondary options.

Imagine if this was a television special on the first or second Sunday in December. It would be incredible television.

NCAA TOURNAMENT FLAVOR

American sports fans are very excited about the unveiling of the NCAA tournament series on the selection show in March. If teams were to select their opponents in the College Football Playoff, the sport of college football would add new excitement around the selection show. This is definitely something that would increase the popularity of college football nationwide. It would be the ultimate discussion point.

Big advantage of this plan

The obvious advantage to having teams pick their College Football Playoff opponents and create their own bracket — in addition to rewarding the No. 1 seed (e.g., Oregon Football) for the best regular season — is that it eliminates the possibility ESPN is pulling the strings and creating a conspiracy theory. This means that everything is in the hands of the teams themselves once the 12 teams are in places 1-12.

ESPN may have an influence on how the rankings are determined, but it cannot influence what choice a team – the coach and the players (perhaps with some input from the athletic director) – ultimately makes.

That would have been fair to the Oregon Ducks. In future editions of the College Football Playoff, it will be fair to the future No. 1 seeds.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC fans love Oregon loss, but Ducks never should have played Ohio State