CFP 128: Because Apparently 12 Teams Aren't Enough
Seriously. Teams played their schedules, won their bowl games, and a bunch of sportswriters and coaches voted on who was number one. Sometimes everybody agreed. Other times, two schools claimed the national championship and spent the next thirty years arguing about it.
Eventually, somebody had the revolutionary idea that maybe the two best teams should actually play each other.
And so we got the BCS.
Naturally, that just changed the argument from "Who's number one?" to "Who the hell decided those were the two best teams?"
Then came the four-team playoff. Surely that would settle everything.
Nope.
Four became twelve. Now they're talking about sixteen, twenty-four, and whatever other number the television networks can squeeze a few more dollars out of.
Which got us thinking.
Why the hell are we still screwing around?
If four wasn't enough, and twelve isn't enough, and twenty-four might not be enough, why don't we just quit pretending there's some magical number that will make everybody happy?
To hell with it. Let's throw everybody in and see what happens.
Welcome to the CFP 128.
Every powerhouse. Every pretender. Every overlooked underdog. Even those poor bastards who spent the season getting beaten like a rented mule.
Everybody gets a shot.
How We Put This Monster Together
We started with our own college football power rankings, using those rankings to seed the field. The heavyweights drew the lower-ranked teams, and everybody was placed into a traditional single-elimination bracket.
Of course, we ran into one little problem. There were 138 teams in our rankings, and the last time we checked, 138 doesn't make for a particularly cooperative tournament bracket. And we sure as hell weren't about to spend an afternoon figuring out how to make an uneven bracket work.
So, borrowing a page from the NCAA basketball tournament, we created our own version of the First Four.
Except ours was the First Twenty.
The bottom 20 teams battled it out in 10 play-in games, with the winners earning the final spots in our 128-team field. The losers? Well, at least they got to say they made the postseason. Sort of.
We also kept everyone's original ranking numbers, which explains why you'll occasionally see a seed higher than 128. No, we didn't forget how to count.
From there, it's simple. Win and advance. Lose and go home. No reseeding, no second chances, and no committee sitting around deciding who deserves what.
The games themselves are fictional, of course. We're playing out a hypothetical tournament using the teams' relative strengths, our own analysis, and a healthy appreciation for the fact that college football occasionally makes absolutely no sense.
We'll follow the tournament from the opening round all the way to the national championship, complete with game results, recaps, and updated brackets. We played out every game using several AI's.
Will the traditional powers dominate? Will some little school nobody gave a chance make a miraculous run? Will a national championship contender get embarrassed by a team whose entire athletic budget wouldn't cover its opponent's locker room renovations?
That's what we're here to find out.
For decades, college football has argued about who deserves a chance to play for a national championship.
We decided everybody does.
Now let's see what happens when they actually have to earn it.
Step One: The Play-In Games
#119 Kennesaw State 31 #138 Charlotte 17
Charlotte entered the tournament at 0–6, and unfortunately, the change of scenery didn't change much. Kennesaw State established control early, leaned on its running game and gradually pulled away. The Owls advance, while the 49ers become the first team eliminated from CFP 128.
#120 UAB 38 #137 Sacramento State 13
Sacramento State hung around early, but UAB simply had too much offensive firepower. The Blazers found their rhythm before halftime and turned a competitive opening quarter into a comfortable victory. Sacramento State's inaugural FBS season gets one more disappointment.
#121 Central Michigan 27 #136 Sam Houston 20
Neither team arrived playing particularly inspiring football, and for much of the afternoon, it showed. Sam Houston kept things close, but Central Michigan found enough offensive consistency to build a late advantage. The Bearkats had one final opportunity, but the Chippewas held on.
#122 San Jose State 24 #135 Ball State 21
Ball State nearly pulled off the first upset of the tournament. The Cardinals kept San Jose State uncomfortable throughout, eventually forcing a tie late in the fourth quarter. But the Spartans put together one final drive, kicked the winning field goal and escaped with a victory that was considerably more difficult than expected.
#123 Utah State 34 #134 ULM 13
ULM entered winless and struggled to generate much offense against an Aggies team that had just beaten Washington State. Utah State took control early, forced the Warhawks to chase points and never really looked threatened. The Aggies advance without much drama.
#124 Bowling Green 35 #133 Missouri State 17
Bowling Green had just handled Sacramento State 38–10, and the Falcons carried that momentum into the play-in round. Missouri State showed occasional flashes but couldn't consistently finish drives. Bowling Green steadily expanded its advantage and punched its ticket to the main bracket.
#132 Southern Miss 30 #125 UTEP 27
Our first upset! Southern Miss entered having surrendered 55 points to Troy, so defensive excellence wasn't exactly expected. Fortunately, UTEP wasn't bringing an offensive juggernaut either. The Golden Eagles survived a sloppy, back-and-forth contest with a late field goal, becoming the first team seeded outside the top 128 to advance.
#126 Rice 24 #131 Northern Illinois 16
Northern Illinois arrived winless and desperately needed something positive. Unfortunately, the Huskies' offensive struggles followed them into the tournament. Rice wasn't spectacular, but the Owls controlled field position, avoided costly mistakes and did enough to advance. Sometimes merely being competent is sufficient.
#130 Middle Tennessee 28 #127 New Mexico St 24
Another upset, although calling anything involving these two teams an upset might be generous. Middle Tennessee's inconsistent offense suddenly discovered some life, building a lead that New Mexico State spent most of the second half trying to erase. The Aggies got close, but the Blue Raiders held on to steal a spot in the main bracket.
#129 Kent State 27 #128 Akron 23
Of course it came down to Akron and Kent State. Two struggling MAC programs, one tournament berth, and absolutely nobody confusing this with the national championship game. Akron led entering the fourth quarter, but Kent State rallied for the winning touchdown and survived one final Zips possession. The Golden Flashes sneak into CFP 128, where their reward is a date with #1 Ohio State.
And with that, the preliminaries are out of the way. The mythical beast has been formed. Click the button below to move on to round one, or scroll down to see what the beast looks like!
