Booger McFarland owns up to changing his mind about 12-team College Football Playoff

Booger McFarland was won over this postseason by the expanded format of the College Football Playoff.

McFarland gave credit to the new setup of the CFP while on ‘Andy & Ari On3’ on Wednesday. He admitted that he didn’t support it when it first went from four to a dozen but, after seeing it, he has rethought that.

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“I do think that the 12-team playoff – and let me first say this. I was against it. See, I don’t need to include everybody. I don’t think there’s 12 teams that can win a national championship in college football,” McFarland said. “What I will say is the College Football Playoff, this 12-team format, really made me change my mind because it’s been really, really good for college football.”

The inclusivity of it is what made McFarland change his mind. More programs and more fanbases were bought into the season for longer with there being games that impacted the playoff throughout the season, especially towards the end.

“I think the 12-team playoff was designed to include more people. It did that,” McFarland said. “It was designed to kind of galvanize college football. That way, there were more meaningful games throughout the season, longer in the season. We didn’t just get to the point where, if you weren’t in the top-four, you didn’t pay attention to college football.”

As for changes, though, McFarland wondered about the seeding of the playoff and how the byes were given. That can’t change for at least another season but, beyond that, it’s something he’d like to reconsider to set the field up better.

“There’s been a lot of talk about, you know, your conference champion getting byes. They should just get in the tournament and not get a bye. And I think the powers that be is going to have a hard time changing that because, from what I understand, from what I’ve heard, it’s got to be a unanimous decision for them to change it,” McFarland explained. “So, for ’25, it’s not changing because, if you’re the Big 12 and you’re the ACC? You’re not changing this. Like, it’s going to be this way in ’25. Now, ’26, they may change it, which they probably will.

“You would like to see the best four teams get the bye. And, to be honest with you, all four teams that had byes lost. So, like, the bye – was it rushed? Or was it the fact that we gave the wrong teams the byes? Like, that’ll be a debate.”

In turn, McFarland wants to see that replaced in favor of home games for the top seeds in the playoff. That would, in his opinion, be even more valuable than a bye for some teams if they’re in.

“I do like the aspect of hosting a home playoff game though. To me, there’s nothing like the college football atmosphere on your campus,” said McFarland. “If you told me my team would be healthy, I may not even want a bye. If you’re LSU or if you’re Oklahoma or if you’re Kansas State or whoever, Iowa State, and you can host a game, a playoff game on your campus, especially at night? Man, talk about the revenue, talk about the fanbase, talk about the pageantry and tradition on your campus. I think that’s something that’s been really, really neat about the playoffs.”

The College Football Playoff has been a big success with its new look in 2024. It’s been so much so that, although more changes need to be made, McFarland is more in on it now moving forward.