SEC Unfiltered: 12-team playoff would be fun, but the four-team field works for 2021

Blake Toppmeyer, Nashville Tennessean
·1 min read
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett (13) during the Bulldogs' game with Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020. (Photo by Skylar Lien)
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett (13) during the Bulldogs' game with Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020. (Photo by Skylar Lien)

Welcome to SEC Unfiltered, the USA TODAY NETWORK's daily newsletter on SEC football. Today, SEC columnist Blake Toppmeyer takes over:

I approve of the proposal under consideration to expand the College Football Playoff to 12 teams.

It's a perfect number. You can award automatic bids to the Power Five champions, plus the best Group of Five champion, and build intrigue with six at-large bids.

Plus, unlike a three-round, eight-team playoff, a 12-team playoff would preserve heightened value for the regular season by awarding first-round byes to the top four seeds.

In a 12-team playoff, No. 2 Alabama (11-1, 7-1) would not be facing possible elimination when it plays No. 1 Georgia (12-0, 8-0) in the SEC Championship (3 p.m. CT Saturday, CBS), but it would risk surrendering a first-round bye in a 12-team field with a loss to the Bulldogs.

While I don't think a 12-seed would win a national championship anytime soon, or even a 7-seed, I do think those first-round and quarterfinal matchups would offer some drama that had been missing from the four-team playoff.

That said, if the four-team playoff is to remain, the 2021 season offers a dream rendition of it. If you wanted variety, you stand to get some.

If Alabama loses to Georgia and favorites Michigan, Cincinnati and Oklahoma State win their conference championship games, then I think we're looking at a four-team field featuring Georgia, Michigan, Cincinnati and Oklahoma State.

That would offer three teams making their first playoff appearance, plus Georgia's first appearance since 2017 and second overall – a format that had grown stale stands to receive some new blood.

Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: SEC Unfiltered: 12-team playoff would be fun, but 4-team field works in '21