The Vanderbilt Commodores found themselves as the odd man out in the SEC, being the only team in the conference to win ten games and not make the 2025-26 College Football Playoff.
This year’s CFP field has sparked a significant amount of criticism. Some have been upset about two teams outside the Power 5 conferences getting into the playoff. Others were critical of Notre Dame being leapfrogged in favor of Miami in the final CFP rankings despite neither team taking part in a conference championship game.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia has an alteration to the current CFP format to avoid this scenario moving forward. During an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” on Friday, Pavia pitched the idea of a 16-team format with a four team play-in round to better determine who the best 12 teams in the country truly are.
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“I would move it to a 16 (team Playoff) and then put play in (games),” said Pavia. “So you’d have those four teams on the bubble and you’d do play-in (games), like how the NBA does it. I would do something around those lines to make sure you’re getting the best teams in the College Football Playoff. That’s what the people want to see. They don’t want to see these teams get beat by 25-30 points.
“They want to see those close games come down to the last drive of the game. I think it’s better for the NFL to see ‘Is this guy clutch in clutch moments?’ Or ‘Can he play at this level?’ And I think eventually we’re going to move to a spot where that does it for them.”
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In this scenario laid out by Pavia, Vanderbilt would have been the final team in the proposed 16-team format, joined by the likes of Notre Dame, Texas, and BYU.
As Pavia alluded to, we have seen play-in games be featured in both the NBA Playoffs and the NCAA Tournament in college basketball for years now. On paper, it sure seems like a very good way to make sure that all of the National Championship contenders get into the CFP.
Regardless of whether Pavia’s pitch gets any consideration or not, Vanderbilt will pivot its attention to the upcoming matchup with Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
With a win, Vanderbilt would secure its first 11-win season in the history of the program. So clearly, even if Pavia won’t be competing for a National Championship in his final collegiate season, he will put forward his best effort to put a stamp on what has truly been a special run with the Commodores.
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