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A big topic of discussion in the college football world right now is the College Football Playoff and what the right number of teams is. From 2014-2023, it was four, but that number went up to 12 last season. Based on discussions that have been taking place in the sport, it doesn't seem like that number will be around for long. There is a chance that the playoff continues to expand in the coming years, and Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule is all for it.
“The more spots the better, man. Make that thing 40 and let’s go,” Matt Rhule said, according to an article from On3. “I think, again, you’re talking about a league that we play nine conference games where some others play eight. So I think that puts you at an automatic disadvantage.”
Perhaps Rhule wants to see the playoff expand to increase the Nebraska football team's chances of making it. The Cornhuskers have never made the CFP, and they haven't been close, either.
“You look at two years ago we were 5-7 and you think about the years with Scott (Frost) where he was 5-7, now you add in one more Group of Five team, you take out one more Big Ten, actually now you’re 6-6,” Rhule added. “This year you’re 6-6, now you’re 7-5. You’re just adding another win in.”
Rhule wants Nebraska to be playing meaninful games late in the season, and a big CFP would help make that happen. It gets cold in Lincoln toward the end of the season, and playing there won't be easy for some of these new Big Ten teams.
“I think the more spots, I think if they do go to where it’s guaranteed, hey, you get four at-large bids if you can play your way into those things, you just think about playing meaningful games in Memorial Stadium in November, December and January, where the weather starts to be a real factor,” Rhule said. “We play UCLA every year, the first thing I do is say where is it? When is it? I want it to be as cold as possible. Now they’re smart, (UCLA and USC), they play each other at the end of the year so they’re kind of protected from some cold-weather games.”
Not only will there be meaningful regular season games in the cold, but CFP games as well. We saw a few of them last year, and Big Ten teams going up against schools that were coming from warmer states did very well.
“As we start thinking about the College Football Playoff, yeah, I want to play those games in the midwest, in the northeast, in the north,” Rhule admitted. “I want to play them in cold areas to help the Big Ten.”
All in all, Matt Rhule is in favor of the playoff expanding as much as possible. It would help him in a lot of different areas.
“So the more spots, the better,” he said. “We’re playing in a really, really tough league. We’re playing really, really good teams. And you know what? If you play in this league you deserve a chance to get to the postseason and see what you can do.”
Matt Rhule might just get his wish as there has been a lot of chatter about the College Football Playoff expanding to 16 teams or more. It wouldn't be surprising at all to see this happen in the next year or two.
