As the College Football Playoff continues to evolve, the spotlight isn’t just on the teams vying for a national title - it’s increasingly on the format itself. Expanded fields and marquee matchups were supposed to elevate the postseason.
But instead, what we’re seeing is a growing chorus of voices pointing out the cracks in the foundation. This week, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning added his name to the list, and he didn’t hold back.
Lanning’s Ducks are set to face Texas Tech in the playoff, but it’s not the opponent that’s raising eyebrows - it’s the location. The two teams will square off in the Orange Bowl in Miami, a neutral site that, while prestigious, strips away one of college football’s most defining traits: the home-field advantage.
“In my opinion, this game should be played at Texas Tech,” Lanning said. “The higher-seeded team. There should be a home-field advantage for them.”
It’s a sentiment that’s gaining traction among coaches and fans alike. College football thrives on its campus environments - the packed student sections, the traditions, the noise.
Neutral-site games may offer a big stage, but they often come at the cost of authenticity. Lanning acknowledged the excitement of playing in Miami, but made it clear: the postseason should reflect what makes the sport special, not dilute it.
And it’s not just about where the games are played - it’s also about when they’re played. Lanning took aim at the disjointed nature of the playoff calendar, which often sees teams idle for weeks before being thrown into high-stakes elimination games. Unlike the NFL’s weekly playoff rhythm, college football’s postseason can feel like stop-and-go traffic - and that’s a problem.
“The next playoff game should be the next Saturday,” Lanning said. “And then the championship game. There should be a rhythm to it.”
That rhythm matters. For coaches trying to keep their players sharp, and for fans trying to stay engaged, long gaps between games can be a momentum killer. Lanning spoke candidly about the challenge of maintaining consistency in preparation when the schedule itself lacks consistency.
“The sequence of days in between each game and each playoff is just not really a rhythm,” he said. “And for us as coaches, it’s about how you create that rhythm… That’s tough when you have big gaps and big breaks.”
To be clear, Lanning wasn’t making excuses. He emphasized that the current structure doesn’t necessarily favor one team over another - it just creates a different set of challenges for everyone involved.
“I don’t know that it’s a sided advantage for one team or the other,” he said. “You’re dealing with different issues.”
On the other sideline, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire offered his own critique - not about timing or location, but about the selection process itself. McGuire zeroed in on the lack of uniformity in how teams are evaluated, especially when comparing conference teams to independents.
“When you have a criteria of where you’re going to select a team, everybody should be in that same criteria,” McGuire said.
It’s a fair point. If the playoff is going to expand - and it has - the framework for selecting teams needs to be airtight. Right now, it feels more like a patchwork than a blueprint.
McGuire also floated the idea of future changes that could further reshape the playoff landscape - including the possibility of true home-site playoff games. It’s a concept that’s gaining traction, and one that could inject both fairness and flavor into the postseason.
“As a fan, I would’ve loved to see Notre Dame playing Ole Miss in the Grove,” McGuire said. “Or BYU playing in Oregon. Those would’ve been great games and great TV.”
It’s hard to argue with that. Imagine the energy of a playoff game in Eugene or Lubbock - the kind of scenes that make college football feel larger than life. Instead, we get neutral-site bowls that, while historic, often feel sanitized by comparison.
Still, both coaches are locked in on the task at hand. Oregon will head to Miami with a chance to advance, and Lanning made it clear the Ducks are embracing the opportunity.
“We’re really excited to be playing the Orange Bowl,” he said. “Our fans will travel.”
But behind the excitement, there’s a growing realization that the playoff still hasn’t quite found its footing. Bigger doesn’t always mean better - and as the postseason continues to expand, the calls for a more balanced, more authentic format are only getting louder.
The College Football Playoff is still a work in progress. And if coaches like Lanning and McGuire have their way, the next version might look a whole lot different - and a whole lot more like the sport fans fell in love with in the first place.