There is much debate about whether or not College Football needs a playoff. Here are five reasons we don’t!

5) The Season is the Playoffs: It is a 12 game gauntlet, adding playoffs would only diminish the season and the excitement that each Saturday brings. Each Saturday can create a rising superstar or dethrone a fan favorite. Fair? Maybe not, but we watch because we know each game is crucial.

4) The Bowls: Yes, they are a money maker. But the bowls are a payoff to the players and fans as well as a monetary payoff to the schools and conferences. Young men get to enjoy a week of team and fan experiences in (usually) warm, fun locales. It is a way to reward them for a great season. It also creates great fan experiences. A week of lunches, dinners and parties allow alum and fans to interact with their team, and each other in a fun, unique environment.

3) It’s more than just about winning: Total bullshit right? Well, hear me out. One of the beauties of college football is that it is a great accomplishment and everyone’s goal to become “bowl eligible”. Sure there are more bowls than nations but programs can measure and tout success based more than just winning a national championship.  It’s about getting the privilege to play in a bowl and have that experience. Take that away and it becomes about just how many National Championships you have.

2) It’s a “mythical championship” anyway: Despite what many believe the college football championship is not an NCAA Championship. The NCAA does not actually crown a champion, so unless you move it under the governing body any sort of playoff is going to still be “mythical”.

1) There is always going to be someone left out: Many people are advocates of the “plus 1″ system. A system where you would play the major BCS bowls (Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, Orange) and then the winners then play for the National Championship.  However, there is still going to be controversy. Right now in the BCS standings the top 8 teams have either one or 0 losses. The number 9 team — 0 losses. Even worse 10 - 14 each have two losses and the 15th ranked team has 0 losses. So how do you choose the top 8 without leaving someone out? If you really want to have a playoff system you have to open it up to either a 32 or 64 team playoff like March Madness. Anything short of that, in any given year, you are going to leave out some very deserving teams, thus making any playoff not a “real” playoff. Once you do open it to 32 or 64 teams you have to lengthen the season thus creating less drama in the regular season (see point 1).