College Football has seen a monumental shift in the last two years with the expansion to the 12-team playoff. It should come as a surprise to no one at this point that this change has completely redefined what it means for a team to have a successful season. Even in the four-team playoff era there was always a sense that a season could be marked successful by not reaching the playoff, as it was rather exclusive, and playing in a major bowl game could still cap off a good season and bring momentum into the off-season. Not anymore.
The 12-team playoff has absolutely murdered bowl season and, in truth, this isn’t entirely a bad thing, as bowl season had become bloated. The four-team playoff and the transfer portal opt-outs have become all too common for players leaving, the teams shells of their former selves — which is just not as fun to watch. Even our Mr. FishDuck took a pause from his gaming fun at Oregon online betting sites to share his frustration with how the bowl season evolved.
Now in the 12-team era bowl games are barely an afterthought, as players are not the only ones opting out, but whole teams. The playoff committee snubbed Notre Dame, whether it was right or wrong, but as a program they decided to opt out of a bowl game completely. And they weren’t the only ones, as Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas State, Rutgers, Florida State, Auburn, Temple, UCF and Kansas all decided to pass on bowl season.
For many programs, the standard has become playoff or bust.
But even for teams making the playoff, defining success has changed. Not all teams that make the playoff are realistic contenders. Some like JMU and Tulane were just happy to be invited, but between the transfer portal and NIL it’s clear that talent is dispersing across college football, and among the top teams there is more equity of talent than ever before. This does, however, start to shift expectations for many of the teams that reach the playoff, and Oregon is one of those teams.
The expectation has now become to reach the playoff and win it all.
Both Oregon and Texas Tech felt they had a shot at National Championship this year and both teams’ seasons ended in embarrassment.
(Photo By: Tom Corno)
I have tried not to buy into the natty or bust mentality, but with this expanded playoff and looking at the field, knowing that if Oregon brings their A-game they could win it all has changed how I have looked at the post-season, and not entirely by choice.
By extension the expanded playoff has changed expectations for the entire season, where now the post-season is the focus and not the reward for success.
Then the successful season-redefining moment that few are probably thinking about at this time is that the very nature of a playoff will leave only one winner. Every other team that reaches the playoff will end the season on a loss. The old bowl model would leave half the teams playing in bowl games ending their seasons on a high note and with a sense of optimism into the off-season.
This isn’t to say that the playoff is bad, but it does change how we as fans look at any given season. 2024 feels overly defined by Oregon’s loss to Ohio State and 2025 is defined by the losses to Indiana. However, in both seasons Oregon won 13 games! Those are successful seasons by any metric, but they no longer feel successful because of how the 12-team playoff has changed our expectations.
Moving forward, fans will have to re-learn what it means to have a successful season, and for consistent playoff contenders that will also mean the emotions of entering the off-season more frequently on a loss rather than a win. How do you view this season for the Ducks? Was it a success or failure, or something in between?
David Marsh
Portland, Oregon
Top Photo By: Scott Kelley
Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in financial technology in SLC, Utah.
Share your thoughts about this team in the only free, “polite and respectful” Oregon Sports message board, the Our Beloved Ducks forum!
David Marsh is a high school social studies teacher in Portland, Oregon. As a teacher he is known for telling puns to his students who sometimes laugh out of sympathy, and being both eccentric about history and the Ducks.
David graduated from the University of Oregon in 2012 with Majors in: Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, and Geography. David began following Ducks Football after being in a car accident in 2012; finding football something new and exciting to learn about during this difficult time in his life. Now, he cannot see life without Oregon football.