SPORT NEWS: The 12-Team CFB Playoff’s Start Lacked Drama, But the Future of the CFP is Bright.giang

It was cold. The scores were largely lopsided. And the outcomes, if we’re being completely honest, were foretold by the Las Vegas oddsmakers who saw how this weekend would unfold well in advance.

In short, the games weren’t great. They weren’t supposed to be great, and the blowouts we were given were largely expected.

We’re not gonna sugarcoat it. For those in search of drama, the first round of the College Football Playoff, the debut voyage of this new format, didn’t provide much of it. The four games we watched between Friday and Saturday produced a grand total of zero games decided by single digits.

And despite these realities, the future couldn’t be brighter.

Yes, really.

Sure, the games were rough. Indiana was clobbered by Notre Dame, prompting many to question whether the Hoosiers deserved to be in the postseason altogether. The same can be said by SMU, which fell behind early against Penn State after a slew of turnovers and never rebounded.

Clemson showed life against Texas, although the Tigers couldn’t do enough to keep the game close. And Tennessee, despite sending a caravan of fans to Columbus, couldn’t rally after a slow start against Ohio State.

Four favorites playing at home delivered four resounding victories. The combined score of these four games was as such.

Home teams 145, away teams 68.

Just like that, the first round of CFB’s inaugural 12-team postseason came and went without much of a whimper. That is undeniable. Although discarding this new postseason for everything it was and wasn’t would be a huge mistake after one weekend.

For starters, let’s start with the alternative. The BCS wouldn’t have given us meaningful football for weeks, and that meaningful football would have provided us with just one game. The four-team playoff, while a welcomed advancement, still didn’t quite encapsulate the personality of a sport involving so many programs.

These playoffs lacked closure. They gave us limited chances for joy and, well, much of anything.

It was exclusive, and we got used to that.

For all of college football’s strengths, it has struggled when it has come to inclusion. It’s what made the enhancement of the postseason so polarizing.

The results of this weekend, however, do not paint a full picture. In fact, one could argue that home field, one of the greatest assets in college football, served as this weekend’s demise.

For the first time ever, postseason games were played on college campuses. Lost in the final scores were the environments that allowed them to take place.

Despite the frigid temperatures in many settings—along with the timing around the holidays—stadiums were full and vibes were immaculate. College football, more than any other sport, knows how to put on a show.

On the Saturday before Christmas, a day normally reserved for throwaway bowl games, it put on four shows on four campuses overflowing with both optimism and energy.

Those shows ultimately morphed into games that were largely blowouts (and we’ll get to that) although the impact of all four games was real and the energy, especially early on, was palpable.

Let’s be brutally honest. The format will change. It must change.

Boise State and Arizona State should not have been idle this weekend. For as good as the weekend these conference champions had, their absence was noteworthy. Under the current format, they were given a bye.

In the future, that should (and will) change. The way byes are distributed must be reassessed and given to the most deserving teams. While winning a conference should amount for something, it shouldn’t dictate how a bracket is decided.

This season, the only 12-team postseason we’ve ever known, showed us plenty. Homefield advantage must live in on—regardless of the number of teams and how these teams are ranked.

The greatest commodity in all of sports was the most valuable piece of a weekend that lacked moments. Those moments will come in time, with a format that will allow them to materialize.

Change is coming. It’s simply a matter of when. Whether it’s for viewership or structural improvement need not matter. The necessary changes to improve this weekend will be made over time, and it will include playoff games on college campuses.

As change hangs in the balance, there’s no need to look too deeply at this moment. The core of CFB’s postseason success should start at the venues that made it possible before blossoming into bowl venues and neutral sites.

We have this, even in lopsided results. The atmospheres, no matter the temperatures, delivered. We’ll figure out the rest, and the games will get better as the teams eliminate themselves, but this is a strong foundation to work with.

It’s the best foundation we have.

Next round, the fruits of this playoff will pay off. Ohio State and Oregon will meet, and Notre Dame and Georgia will clash. And yes, Boise State and Arizona State will take on the unlikely roles of spoiler against Penn State and Texas.

The playoffs are just getting started—this year and beyond. The bracket is just getting started, and we shouldn’t want it any other way.