Nick Saban breaks silence on 12-team college football playoff as FSU's recent snub sends shockwaves online: "No different than NFL playoffs"

Alabama's HC, Nick Saban, has weighed in on the matter as the College Football Playoff (CFP) gears up for expansion from 4 to 12 teams in the 2024 season.

Amidst discussions surrounding the Crimson Tide's inclusion and Florida State's surprising omission from the 2023 playoff, Saban offered insights into how the expanded format might impact the landscape of college football.

Nick Saban shared his thoughts on the upcoming expansion of the College Football Playoff to twelve teams. Emphasizing that,

"The big games are going to be the big games, and there's always going to be speculation of who the best 12 teams are just like there's speculation now who the best four teams are"

In drawing parallels to other sports, he likened the expanded playoff scenario to the NFL playoffs, emphasizing the significance of winning divisions and securing home-field advantage.

Saban's stance suggests that, in his view, the increased number of college football playoff spots won't diminish the importance of key matchups in college football,

"I don't see how it's going to minimize the importance of big games. No different than the NFL playoffs. People want to win the division. They don't want to be the wildcard team. Everybody is fighting for home field advantage. I think all those things will exist in college football, as well”

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The impact on non-college football playoff games and bowl traditions

Orange Bowl Football

While Nick Saban acknowledged the inevitable debates over playoff team selections, he did express concerns about the collateral damage on non-CFP games, particularly the impact on traditional bowl games.

He argued that the growing emphasis on the playoff format has already led to a devaluation of bowl games.

"I think the bigger the playoff gets, the more it minimizes bowl games," Saban said.

He reminisced about the historical significance of bowl games, where successful teams were rewarded with postseason appearances, providing positive reinforcement for players and delighting fan bases,

"One of the great traditions of college football for many years was if you had a great season, you got to go to a bowl game. It's great for the players. Maybe you didn't win a championship but you had a good team. It was great for the fan base"

The coach pointed out a trend where potential NFL prospects, anticipating their draft journey, opt out of non CFP games, a phenomenon that has already affected the competitiveness of these matchups.