Last year’s College Football Playoff expansion created the longest season in the sport’s history, and the new format could require teams to play as many as 17 games on their path to the national championship. The title game also moved deeper into January with last season’s contest landing on the 20th. Not everyone is on board with the grueling demands of college football’s new schedule, and that includes Oregon coach Dan Lanning, who called for changes to the calendar and for the season to end on New Year’s Day.
Lanning was one of four coaches with a first-round bye in the inaugural 12-team playoff, which created a three-week lull between the Big Ten Championship Game and the CFP quarterfinal bout against Ohio State.
“I’d be in favor of creating our playoff system to mirror every other playoff system in sports,” Lanning said to ESPN. “The season’s over, and the playoffs start shortly after. The long break is something I’m not crazy about. I wish we played every single Saturday in college football. I wish college football ended Jan. 1.”
In summary, Lanning seeks fewer bye weeks (teams will again have two this season), a shorter break between the regular season and playoff and an earlier title game. He also said the regular seasons should start in Week 0, which would aid in moving the rest of the calendar up a week.
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How large of an impact Oregon’s layoff had on its flat performance in a 41-21 drubbing at the hands of the Buckeyes is not fully quantifiable, but it may not have helped the Ducks’ cause. It was a double-edged sword that allowed them to rest and recover from a 13-game season but also may have contributed to their rustiness in a game that got away from them early.
“We lost,” Lanning said of the Rose Bowl. “It is what it is, right? But we were a healthy team coming in. … It’s almost a month. That’s a long time.”
In the CFP’s next iteration this upcoming season, the regular season’s four best teams will have the longest break before they embark on playoff action. That is a change from the first year of the expanded field, in which the four highest-ranked conference champions earned byes. The straight-seeding model, in which the top four teams in the final CFP rankings secure byes regardless of conference title status, was a priority among decision-makers.
Lanning’s beef with the playoff calendar also stems from its impact on recruiting efforts. January is a key month in player acquisition as it marks the final stages of the winter transfer portal window and is a paramount period in finalizing the recruitments of those high school prospects who did not sign during the early period.
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