Casagrande: The dirtiest word in college football

This is an opinion column.

Let’s talk about the word. It sounds like something cooked up in a corporate boardroom—a focus-grouped term designed to make a weak, hollow concept sound palatable to the public. It is a dirty word, scrubbed clean by those who want to pretend that mediocrity deserves a seat at the table. If George Carlin were around to hear how this word is being used in college football, he would cringe.

Six Letters. Two Vowels.

ACCESS.

It has become the flavor of the month for those pushing to expand the College Football Playoff from 12 teams to 24. To put it bluntly: it is nothing more than loser talk. It is a polished way of justifying a participation trophy culture, trying to convince us that more programs deserve to call themselves playoff teams. It threatens to erode the exclusivity that made the college football postseason special, turning a high-stakes steakhouse into just another drive-thru.

The Elko Lens

We should view every argument for expansion through the lens of Texas A&M coach Mike Elko, who provided a masterful takedown of the self-interest driving this debate. None of the voices advocating for a 24-team bracket are doing so for the greater good of the sport.

Take Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who told SI.com that he likes the 24-team concept because "more access is great" for his conference, as reported by SI.com. This is the same conference that holds a 1-8 record in playoff games, with their lone victory leading to the 65-7 disaster against Georgia in the championship. Similarly, Tennessee AD Danny White has argued that football needs more postseason access, ignoring that the Volunteers already secured a spot in the 12-team field only to be dismantled 42-17 by Ohio State.

Scarcity Matters

Scarcity is a feature, not a bug. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko put it best when he noted that it is perfectly fine for the playoff to be difficult. "We don’t have to find a number that lets everybody get in," Elko said. "All of a sudden, 68 isn’t enough because there are still some teams getting left out, so we have to go to 74. Like, it’s OK to make it hard to get into the playoff."

Texas A&M AD Trev Alberts echoed this sentiment, noting that the current 12-team format is working just fine. "Coaches would like to have 64 teams because it would be easier," Alberts said. While no postseason format will ever satisfy everyone, the beauty of college football is that the regular season has always functioned as a playoff in itself.

The Dilution of the Market

The argument that we need a specific percentage of teams to make the playoffs is a fallacy peddled by the access-seekers. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has rightfully pointed toward a tipping point where over-expansion begins to dilute the product. Georgia coach Kirby Smart hit the nail on the head regarding the motives of those pushing for more spots: "I’m going back to self-preservation because if you talk to enough people, they want the opportunity to be in the party. If they’re not at the party, they get fired."

When Illinois coach Bret Bielema says he wants as many teams included as humanly possible, it is a sad state of affairs for the sport. The SEC must hold the line. Do not let the access-merchants bloat the bracket to 24.