College football season 2024 has been shouldering a lot of controversy. Most of it came around the new system of the CFP ranking and the team’s performance tracker as we officially stepped into the top 12 expansion. CFP committee chairman and the athletic director of the University of Michigan, Warde Manuel, has been vocal enough to address any grievances over the recent evolution. When people got mad about giving Alabama the vote of confidence instead of Miami and SMU, Ward blamed it on a weaker body of work. Just the next week, when reality took a drastic turn and Alabama left out of the bracket, Manuel said they found SMU a better fit as they remained undefeated in the conference. But wait, don’t just get overwhelmed with the top 12 aftermaths. They might be more complex in the coming years.

Top 12 has been a roller coaster ride for athletes, coaches, fans, and everyone involved. Fox analyst Joel Clatt often made it clear that he failed to understand how the top 12 is actually working. He even issued a red flag when he saw Indiana and BYU moving a better AP poll rank despite mounting some of the worst matchups in history. He fears that if a lower-ranked team can so easily improve its score, the higher-ranked teams can drastically fall from grace, too. Nothing is secure in the new apparatus.

While there is no chance to go back to the old top four format, on the contrary, don’t sleep on the chance of the top 12 getting further expanded with maybe, just maybe, a top 16 or top 32. Judging the odds, Manuel noted in the Rich Eisen show, ”I think the Commissioners should talk about it after we see the outcome of this season up and make the decision that they think is best as we move forward in college football.”

This year, the six highest-ranked conference champions were supposed to be awarded an automatic bid to the playoffs. The additional six highest-ranked teams will make it to the CFP. The four highest-ranked will bag the first-round byes emanating from either the high-ranked team’s home field or any other venue chosen by them.

The quarterfinals are arrayed in four New Year’s bowl games. Those who survived will find themselves competing for the semis and then the Bulls’ eye national championship. It might sound straight, but it involves a lot of layers. However, the CFP chair is focused on the good part. It, at least, brings out the beaming playoff hope to more teams than before. A massive motivation to strive for!

The Michigan AD explained, I’ve enjoyed hearing the excitement about the playoff and people having the potential to make the playoff more than just the top four, and so for m,e having been on the committee for the last, you know, two years prior to this to see the excitement of a 12 team playoff to see how the season end in everybody’s eyes on the ACC outcome and the Big 10 outcome. What happened in the Big 12 games was that they were way more intriguing to people because of the college playoff than just another championship game for those teams. So, I think it really is an exciting time.”

However, regardless of all the debates, Oregon and Dan Lanning stand on the victim’s side as a brutal effect of the top 12 complications.

Oregon deals with the ‘tougher’ side of the new top 12 system 

The Oregon Ducks maintained their No. 1 tag right from the beginning. Every team had their lulls, showcasing a huge fluctuation in their position. But Oregon remains an exception. They took care of their business every single game no matter who the opponent was, ranked or unranked. In the latest College Football Playoff rankings, they clinched a first-round bye after a Big Ten Championship win over Penn State Nittany Lions. But it seemed more of a curse than a blessing.

They eventually are paying the price of being the best. Lanning and his boys got one of the toughest paths to the national championship compared to any other team in the playoff.

As things look like currently, the Ducks will test their potential either against Ohio State or Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, while a semifinal might be pitched against Arizona State, Clemson, or Texas. So, the path to the national title is anything but easy for the nation’s top-seeded team. On the other hand, Georgia has an easier path to take to the title. They will face Indiana in the quarter and then face any teams between Penn State, Boise State, or SMU if they make it up to the semi.

But surprisingly, Lanning had no complaints about it. Like a seasoned professional and an ideal coach, he has immense confidence in his team’s potential as he knows, ”Winning a national championship isn’t supposed to be easy.”

It will be fun to see if we have another surprise format for the next year onwards.