College Football Playoff expansion could reinvigorate postseason, Mario Cristobal says

College Football Playoff expansion came seemingly out of nowhere late last week, with the Board of Managers reaching a decision to expand the sport’s postseason to include 12 playoff teams right as Week 1 games were getting underway.

Naturally, administrators, coaches and players haven’t had a ton of time to react just yet. They’ve been focused on producing results on the gridiron. Even if they are all about the new changes, like Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, a big proponent of the expansion. Or Miami coach Mario Cristobal.

“I think it’s all good,” Cristobal said. “I mean, we don’t talk about it, what not. You know how we roll already, man. Our entire focus is on getting ready for this practice and making our team play and play really well.”

Bowls could get boost from College Football Playoff expansion

Miami, which is one of the 57 Power Five programs yet to make a College Football Playoff appearance in the current format, certainly has aspirations of getting there under Cristobal.

The Hurricanes haven’t produced a 10-win season since 2017, though. That was essentially the absolute bare minimum requirement to make the playoff in the four-team era. But as the playoff expands to 12 teams by 2026 at the latest — and quite possibly even sooner — programs putting themselves on the right path now will have a chance to reap the rewards going forward.

Under Cristobal’s direction, the Hurricanes currently boast a top-10 recruiting class according to the On3 2023 Consensus Football Team Recruiting Rankings.

“I think it’s awesome,” Cristobal said of the College Football Playoff expansion.

Whether it directly benefits Miami, expansion is something Cristobal thinks can be good for the health of the game in general. One of the growing complaints about college football’s postseason is the ever-increasing number of player opt-outs in bowl games, as well as the seeming lack of buzz for any games not in the current year’s playoff rotation.

Cristobal thinks the expansion will help mitigate some of those concerns.

“No. 1, I love the bowl system. I do,” he said. “I’ve always been a fan, I always will be a fan. I think the more you incentivize the postseason, it’s always good for college football. And the fact that at least some of these games will be played at home sites, as well, I mean that’s what the NFL does, right? I feel like college football always, eventually mirrors the NFL. So now I feel like this part is catching up as well.”