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The expanded College Football Playoff is creating some serious headaches for coaches, and Oregon’s Dan Lanning isn’t shy about voicing his frustrations. With the new 12-team format potentially forcing teams to play up to 17 games and pushing the championship into late January, Lanning is calling for a major overhaul.
“I’d be in favor of creating our playoff system to mirror every other playoff system in sports,” Lanning told 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.”
Last season’s format left Lanning’s Ducks sitting idle for three weeks between winning the Big Ten Championship and their quarterfinal matchup with Ohio State — a game that didn’t exactly go as planned.
The results speak for themselves.
Oregon looked flat and rusty in their 41-21 loss to the Buckeyes, raising questions about whether the extended layoff hurt more than it helped. While Lanning acknowledged the break allowed his team to get healthy, he questioned the wisdom of such a long pause in momentum.
“We lost,” Lanning said bluntly about the Rose Bowl defeat. “It is what it is, right? But we were a healthy team coming in… It’s almost a month. That’s a long time.”
What Lanning wants is pretty straightforward — fewer bye weeks (teams currently have two), a shorter gap between regular season and playoffs, and wrapping everything up by New Year’s Day. He’s even suggested starting the regular season during Week 0 to help shift the entire calendar forward.
The playoff structure is changing again this season, with byes now going to the four highest-ranked teams regardless of conference championships — a shift from last year when the four top conference champions received byes. This means the best teams in the country could face even longer layoffs before their first playoff games.
Recruiting Complications
There’s another factor driving Lanning’s concerns — the playoff schedule is creating recruiting headaches. January represents a crucial period for finalizing high school prospect commitments who didn’t sign during the early period, while also being the final stretch of the winter transfer portal window.
For playoff teams — especially those making deep runs — coaches are forced to divide their attention between preparing for crucial postseason games and securing their program’s future talent. It’s a balancing act that becomes increasingly difficult the deeper into January the season stretches.
The extended playoff format has undeniably created more excitement and opportunities for teams to compete for a national title, but these logistical challenges suggest the system still needs refinement. As college football continues evolving, finding the right balance between an exciting playoff structure and a reasonable calendar will remain a priority for coaches like Lanning who are living with the consequences of these decisions.
