Steve Spurrier was as much as an entertainer as he was a head coach during his college football career, so he certainly knows what it means to give the fans what they want. Not only was he extremely successful over the course of 26 seasons as a head coach, but he was also one of the loudest personalities in the game — known for what he said just as much as what he did on the sideline.
With that in mind, when Spurrier speaks, people tend to listen so it will be interesting to see how his most recent comments on the College Football Playoffs go over with the people that ultimately make the decisions.
Speaking with Paul Finebaum, the former coach suggested that the CFP needs to be eight teams instead of the current four-team format:
It's worth noting that this is far from a controversial opinion. The current four-team playoff is a huge improvement over the BCS system, but there are times where it certainly feels like it could be expanded. After all, the NCAA has a tremendous draw in the March Madness tournament of 64 and Division-II football has a very entertaining playoff system as well — something the Division-I level could easily replicate.
The thing is you want to make the playoffs exclusive and something worth fighting for. If 16-20 teams make it every season it loses its luster.
With eight teams, though, you still have to be great to get into it and it allows more teams and fanbases to look forward to the CFP, but it's not so open that any old team can somehow find itself in the national championship — kind of like a "Cinderella" situation in the NCAA Tournament.
Perhaps Spurrier has a point. In fact, of course, he does.
