By Marc Lawrence — Only 12 teams have played in the College Football Playoff in its seven-year history. Only six teams have won a playoff game. Only four have won more than one. However, according to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, there hasn’t been a year when a team being left out has delegitimized the playoff. The playoff-or-bust mentality has impacted the quality of other bowl games with players increasingly opting out. Florida resembled a “scout team” in the Cotton Bowl, with numerous starters opting out for the NFL Draft and amid the impact of COVID-19. So what might work? One thought is a six-team playoff, expanding by two teams while adding two play-in games, with the top teams receiving byes. The financial “need” for an expanded bracket goes both ways. College athletics has taken a tremendous economic hit during the pandemic. There is some thought that a bigger, richer bracket would help ease than financial pain. Maybe. To read more on CFP expansion ideas, click here.
Trending Today
The University of Tennessee Vols is firing head football coach Jeremy Pruitt following a weeks-long investigation into potential recruiting violations within the program. Just prior to the 2020 season, Tennessee announced that it had rewarded Pruitt with an extension and raise, taking his contract through the 2025 season. Pruitt was set to earn $4.2 million annually starting in 2021. Former coach and current AD Philip Fulmer said at the time that they were close to finalizing the extension earlier last year before the coronavirus pandemic hit and that Pruitt elected not to accept the raise in the first year of the new deal. Bad decision. UT chancellor Donde Plowman said. “We’ve got a great future here. As disappointed as we are, we’re determined to get this right.” Where have we heard that story before?
Grinding Out The Profits
From this week’s Playbook Basketball Newsletter: Seton Hall is 6-1 ATS away versus .800 or greater conference foes. Villanova is 1-6 ATS as conference home chalk of 10 or fewer points. Connect the dots and give the Pirates a jolly long look tonight.
