I actually like the College Football Playoff. I think the bowls lost any claim on tradition once they started pushing past January first and the Fiesta Bowl was elevated to a superior status. And, of course, once the conferences began mutating, the purpose of the bowls was pretty much irrelevant; what is the Rose Bowl when Michigan and USC or Ohio State and UCLA are all in the Big Ten?
I think 8 would be the optimal number. Twelve was all right; there was still some genuine doubt about some decent teams not making it in. But 24, which is now official, is just too many. 24 is virtually akin to the NBA; no one cares about the first round of the playoffs and there won’t be many, if any, upsets.
Personally, I think all of the playoffs are too broad. In the NFL, you ought to win your division or stay home. In college football, if you’re not in the top 8, go play in a bowl instead.
And don’t even get me started on the morons who want to turn every sport into the Premier League and “seed the playoffs” based on overall records. If you’re going to do that, then just go full European soccer, throw out the playoffs, and hand the title to the team with the best record.