Even before Knute Rockne began breaking out the forward pass as a secret weapon, college football's biggest advantage was its element of surprise. Its appeal is basic and wonderful -- built on the uncertainty of the outcome.

There has been just one season of the 12-team College Football Playoff, yet officials from the most powerful conferences are ready to expand the event.

Last spring, during intense and, at times, heated negotiations over the future of the College Football Playoff, leaders of the Big Ten and SEC threatened to create their own postseason system if they were not granted a majority of CFP revenue and full authority over the playoff format.