It’s Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State every year. Rotate between Oklahoma, Georgia, and a surprise P5 team for the 4th spot.
Although I do agree that 12 is too much. I would’ve been good with a 6 or 8 team playoff.
the only debate should be between 8 or 16 teams.
6 teams takes the same number of weeks as 8 teams, and 12 the same number of weeks as 16 teams.
there is no valid reason to do 6 or 12.
as for 8 vs 16, what exactly is the downside of 16 vs 8, if the powers that be have already deemed we have enough weeks to do 12, thus 16 as well.
and a lot of the discussion here has been distorted by Bama's unusual dominance recently.
that's not always going to be the case..
i remember when UCLA won the NCAA in bball 10 yrs out of 12, and when they were easily 30 points better than the next best team in the country if they played all out. (Alcindor).
those things don't last, and you don't see anyone touching UCLA's 10 in 12 yrs, or any team actually being 30 points better than the 2nd best..
and the new transfer rules will likely level the playing field some as well, as Bama and OSU stockpiling four 5 stars each at left tackle and DE is less likely with the new transfer rules.
don't be so sure an 8 or even a 12 seed being able to take down a 1 isn't in the near future, as past performance isn't always indicative of future performance.
the recent Bama dominance isn't the norm, and won't be in the future either, so don't make policy assuming it will be.