The College Football Playoff is a hotly discussed topic each and every season since it’s initial birth in 2014.
Debates surrounding the balance of which teams are the most deserving based on resume to who is the unequivocally best teams based on eye test have captivated audiences around the country and have provided entertaining discussion.
But now, just like the BCS system was faced, the College Football Playoff is seeing criticism over the impact it has had across the sport.
This season more than ever, there has been major criticism from fans and analysts alike about the committee’s decisions to give the benefit of the doubt to the Power Five schools and not allowing avenues for other teams to get in.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban was even asked for his take on the playoff and its influence on college football, and the six-time national champion shared his own critique of the current format.
“Well, I’ve always been a guy that, when we started the playoffs, when we started picking through teams to play in a championship game, my biggest fear was — you know, college football had a great venue,” Saban said. “It was the only thing that everybody — a lot of people got rewarded for having a great season by going to a bowl game or whatever.
“And my concern was as soon as we started to have playoffs that all the focus would be on the teams in the playoff and there would be a minimal amount of interest in some of the other games.
“I don’t think it’s healthy for college football players when players opt out, don’t play in bowl games and all those things, but it is what it is because most of the emphasis is on the playoffs. And in some ways that’s unfair to the other teams. And I don’t really know what the solution is.
“I know this is the system that we have. And we work really hard to try to make our program work in this system in a positive way. So I do think it’s great for the players to have a chance to be in a competitive venue like this and play against some great teams and some great venues.
“So there’s good and bad in both. And I don’t really know what the perfect solution might be.”
Saban has always been critical of how a majority of players who play in these now consolation bowl games decide to opt-out rather than play in the game. Not only will it be the last time a student-athlete puts on the uniform, but Saban has always championed that the game will increase the value of the player who is looking to enter the NFL Draft.
Opt-outs are still seen all throughout college football with Florida being the most recent team to bear the losses.
The Gators will be playing its bowl game against Oklahoma without its top four pass-catchers in Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Towney, Trevon Grimes and Jacob Copeland. It will also be playing without two key members of the secondary in Marco Wilson and Shawn Davis.
Playing without so many important pieces significantly impacts a team’s chances of winning the bowl game, and creates an element of an uneven playing field of sorts.
In terms of competition, it’s not what the sport wants.
But with the integration of the playoff, it has provided one goal for all of the major schools to strive for but creates a bit of an all or nothing mentality. If a team doesn’t make the playoff the season may be viewed as a familiar right then and there which takes away from the importance of the major bowl games.
It’s an issue that will continue to be addressed, but it’s unclear if there’s a good solution at the moment.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
