College Football Playoffs: Did TCU Deserve Spot In Semifinal Round?

The new college football playoff format finally is here. But that doesn’t mean everyone is happy.

New Year’s Day featured some interesting results in the national championship semifinals. It’s hard to argue that previously unbeaten Florida State should have been left out of the picture, but the Seminoles hardly looked like an elite team after being shellacked by Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Hours later, Ohio State made some question Alabama’s No. 1 seed with a 42-35 win over the Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl.

The Buckeyes and Ducks will play in the national championship as a result, but did the best teams get a crack at the title? Former NFL player Matt Chatham believes otherwise, which is why he views the current playoff system as flawed.

“If your championship bracket doesn’t include the country’s best teams, it’s not a championship bracket at all,” Chatham writes on FootballByFootball.com. “This year proved the tournament was one round short, four teams is simply not a big enough net to find anything more than a made-for-TV answer.”

Chatham advocates for an eight-team playoff, which could include elite one-loss teams such as TCU and Baylor who could have given the top dogs a run for their money and crowned a true champion.