By Miles Park ’16, Section Editor

Four is greater than two. This is true in math, but would it be the case for the number of teams vying for College Football’s National Championship? After years of protests and planning, the NCAA finally decided to shift from the outdated Bowl Championship Series (BCS) to the newly instated College Football Playoff (CFP). The BCS system was harshly criticized because it only allowed 2 teams the opportunity to play for the highly coveted National Title. Additionally, the one game National Title game did not build excitement in nearly the same way that the NCAA’s College Basketball tournament (March Madness) did. Under the new CFP system, the four highest ranked teams are placed in a bracket with #1 facing #4 and #2 playing against #3 and the winners facing off in the National Championship game. The new system was designed to improve upon and eliminate the flaws of the old BCS system, but how did it actually work in its first year?

It took just three games for Cardale Jones to etch his name into college football folklore. Prior to Ohio State’s thrashing of Wisconsin in the Big 10 Championship Game, few had ever even seen, or heard of Jones, a redshirt sophomore who started the season as the Buckeyes 3^rd string quarterback. Many thought Ohio State’s National Championship hopes were over when star quarterback Braxton Miller suffered a season long injury during the preseason and again when his replacement J.T. Barrett was also sidelined with a gruesome leg injury against rivals Michigan. Yet in the end none of that mattered as Jones’ performance against Wisconsin catapulted Ohio State into the CFP final four where the Buckeyes defeated #1 Alabama and #2 Oregon to claim the National Title. Ohio State’s magical run also proved to be entertaining television as Demarco Jones 16’ says that he “loved watching Ohio State in the CFP playoff” even though he only “sometimes watches College Football”. Many Americans shared Jones’ captivation with the new playoff as TV ratings were up across the board from the final year of the BCS and the CFP added two vital semifinal games in addition to the National Championship Game. Yet the CFP is still not without issues. During the BCS era, those around the sport constantly argued over which teams “deserved” to play for the National Championship and the same continued in the first year of the CFP. Many around the sport argued that Ohio State did not even deserve to make the CFP and that the Big 12’s Baylor and TCU were both more qualified candidates. In addition, others have argued that the CFP should be further expanded to 6 or 8 teams so that more teams would get a fair shot.

Yet even if it stands, one of the main appeals of the CFP is that it allows many more teams and their fans to believe they can qualify for the playoff. Just 12 weeks into the 2015-16 season, there are at least 10-12 teams that are in contention for a playoff spot. Rory Tell 16’, a Michigan fan, agrees, saying that, “the playoff made my season more interesting because even though Michigan lost early they could still qualify for the playoff”. This far into the season the playoff race is shaping up nicely for an intriguing finish. Surprise undefeated teams Clemson and Iowa sit at #1 and #3 respectively in the AP top 25 while powerhouse Alabama is nicely poised at #2 and Notre Dame rounds out the top 4. Oklahoma sits right on the bubble at #5 while Michigan State jumped up to #6 with a huge win over defending champion Ohio State who are now on the outside looking in at #8. Other contenders to watch for include Baylor, Florida, and Oklahoma State. Even now, the playoff picture is far from clear with massive games to come in the season’s final week and conference title games after that to help decide who’s in and who’s out. I predict that the College Football Playoff will be decided between Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State, and Oklahoma. Still, no matter who lifts the crystal ball at the end of the season it is clear that we, the fans, are the real winners of the CFP.