This is the fourth time that Alabama will face off against Clemson in the CFP eraGETTY IMAGES
Ticket sales were "already underwhelming" for Monday's CFP National Championship, and now that the Alabama-Clemson matchup is set, they are "bottoming out," according to Ann Killion of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Although 50-yard-line seats at Levi's Stadium are still "commanding four figures -- for now -- seats in most of the other parts" of the venue could be had for "well below face value." This is the fourth time Clemson and Alabama will meet in the CFP era, and the excitement of the matchup has "worn off." Especially for a place that "doesn’t really care" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/3). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote the ticket market for the game is "cratering." In what may be the "ultimate embarrassment, the game could be played in front of empty seats at Levi Stadium." When it comes to gameday ticket prices, this is about "geography and familiarity," and with two teams from the Southeast facing each other for the fourth straight postseason, it makes for the "worst possible scenario." There "remains a clunkiness to the playoff that isn’t helping." The small nature of the field has "left vast swaths of the country left out in recent years." The "majority of the participants over the first five years have come from the Southeast." The result this year is a "combination of self-made problems and unavoidable ones, namely a too-familiar matchup in an unfamiliar location, driving ticket prices down" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/2).
WRONG SPOT: The AP's Josh Dubow notes the CFP picked Santa Clara as its site for this year in part out of hope of "broadening college football’s fan base." But the Bay Area is "much more of a pro sports region and it appears that not enough locals want to brave rush-hour traffic to attend the game Monday night." Games at Cal and Stanford "struggle to draw big crowds and the annual Pac-12 championship game needs tarps to cover unused sections at Levi’s Stadium" (AP, 1/3).
CHANGE ON THE HORIZON? CBSSPORTS.com's Dennis Dodd cited sources as making it "clear" that there is "little momentum for an immediate expansion of the current four-team bracket." That "doesn't mean that changes to the field and/or the process are off the table." The 11-person CFP Management Committee and its board of managers will meet Monday in Santa Clara in a "regularly-scheduled meeting ahead of the CFP National Championship." A source said, "I don't think anything is imminent, but I'm guessing we're going to start digging into it a little bit. If people are expecting us to walking about the door saying, 'Here we go,' it's not going to be that way." Dodd noted expanding from four to even six teams would have a "profound effect on the postseason." Adding more teams to the bracket would "inevitably -- at least some years -- take worthy teams away from the Rose and Sugar Bowls." The underlying foundation of how teams are selected and how many teams are selected from a single conference "could undergo some scrutiny" (CBSSPORTS.com, 1/2).
NOT SO FAST: The AP's Ralph Russo wrote what is "certain about playoff expansion is that it will not be a simple task." That alone suggests "later -- after the completion of the current media rights deal -- is a better bet than sooner." College football is currently a "one-semester sport and university presidents want to keep it that way." Keeping the same calendar would mean "playoff games in the middle of December, but that would conflict with final exams on many campuses." It has been "suggested the quarterfinals could replace conference championship games." Russo: "Good luck with that." Shortening the regular-season from 12 to 11 games also "comes with a cost to schools that make millions hosting or get big payouts for going on the road." With the long-term effects of football "more scrutinized than ever before, adding even one more game is not something done lightly." College football Saturdays are an "event for every campus community and the decision-makers want to keep it that way." The playoff has already "devalued the regular season in some ways and expansion would continue that trend" (AP, 1/2).
