The 12-team playoff? Man, that’s been the talk of the town all year, with everyone weighing in on the pros and cons. We’re finally here, with 12 of the best teams battling it out for the ultimate prize: that coveted CFP National Championship trophy. It all culminates on January 20th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the excitement is electric. But here’s the thing, while some fans are totally hyped, others are still scratching their heads. The 12-team format? It’s definitely shaking things up, and the college football world is still trying to figure out if it’s a touchdown or a fumble.

Yeah, there are two groups—some like the 12-team format, while others are not happy at all with the new CFP era. For those who don’t know, at Notre Dame Stadium, the Fighting Irish played the Hoosiers on Friday to begin the CFB Playoffs first-round game. On Saturday, it goes on with a triple-header that begins at Beaver Stadium with PSU visiting SMU. Next up is the nightcap matchup between OSU and the Vols, followed by Texas hosting Clemson.

As of now, the winners of the first-round matches will face the top four ranked teams in the CFP quarterfinals in four New Year’s Six bowls. Then, the quarterfinal winners will go on to the semifinals of the Orange and Cotton Bowls. And at last, this will precede the 2025 CFP national title game. So, you get the gist of this new 12-team playoff thing, right? But you’re probably wondering why some folks are still not happy about it.

More teams are in the mix now, and the road to the title is longer. But you still hear people griping about the byes and how some conferences seem to have an edge. Honestly, knowing what other CFB fans are saying can really help you understand why they either love or hate this new playoff format.

The 12-team playoff: is it a game-changer or a game-breaker?

First, priority will be given to individuals who enjoy the 12-team playoff structure. In order to guarantee that the winners are genuinely worthy of the title of National Champions, this format was introduced in the 2024 season. According to the rationale given above, the modifications made to the new format are all intended to provide a more equitable and dynamic playoff system in which teams have several routes to contend for the national title. Therefore, we can deem winners emerging from this structure worthy based on a thorough assessment of their season and crucial playoff performances.

A Syracuse alumnus made the following observation while keeping everything in mind: “The team that wins the College Football Playoff will deserve to be the National Champions. The 12-team format ensures that happening, whether or not teams eliminated in Round 1 have great showings.”

For instance, based on their overall record and performance during the season, Indiana is still in the running for the CFB playoff national title even after loosing to Notre Dame. They are currently regarded as a serious candidate for an at-large candidacy. Another fan wrote in the comments that followed, “Dude. The New College Football playoff format is so good.” Another X user added, “This college football playoff is awesome. So glad this exists. End of tweet.”

Now, let’s proceed to the people who dislike this new format. But why? There has been a lot of discussion about the new 12-team CFP format, with many detractors calling it a “money grab.” Originally designed to increase college football’s excitement and diversity, the concept has drawn criticism since it was introduced. A number of issues have been brought up by analysts and fans. It included player impact, selection disputes, competitive balance, financial motivation, and longer seasons.

A disgruntled fan then said, “The perfect college football playoff bracket is 8 teams with no byes. Like you said, Jason, this new format is a money grab.” An 8-team model without byes guarantees that every participating team competes in every round. It can increase the playoffs’ competitiveness, as per this fan’s statement. Any possible advantages granted to higher seeds are eliminated since every group must earn their way across the bracket.

Another irritated fan stated, “This college football playoff format su-ks and the buy teams are a joke 6 of the teams wouldn’t have a winning record in the SEC.” Well, in a challenging league like the SEC, some of the teams in the playoff bracket would find it difficult to score victories. Lower-seeded teams’ struggles against higher-ranked rivals in the first round of games confirmed this belief. The game between Indiana and Notre Dame, for instance, brought this problem to light. Now, let’s see who comes out on top!