Dan Lanning Says What Everyone Is Thinking About The Dragged-Out CFP Schedule
The Oregon head coach is tired of NFL games stealing the Saturday spotlight in December.
If you feel like this year's College Football Playoff has already dragged out for far too long, you're not alone. And Dan Lanning has some ideas on how to fix it.
The Oregon Ducks head coach didn't mince words this week when asked about the current CFP calendar, which has left several top teams sitting idle for weeks while they wait for their turn to play. Lanning believes the problem is entirely fixable.
"Every playoff game should be played every single weekend until you finish the season," Lanning said. "Even if it means we start Week 0 or you eliminate a bye, the season ends Jan. 1, and then the portal opens, then coaches that have to move on to their next opportunities get to move to their next opportunities."
That sentiment resonates with a lot of college football fans, players and coaches, especially when you consider how long some teams have gone without playing. First-round bye teams have been dormant for nearly a month. Last season, every team that received a first-round bye lost its first playoff game — a stat that's hard to ignore.
In fact, Lanning thinks Oregon's CFP game against James Madison on Dec. 20 may have given them an advantage moving forward.
"Playing in the first round helped us stay in rhythm," he said previously, even while acknowledging the Ducks "didn't meet a standard of performance" in that 51-34 win.
Dan Lanning Blasts College Football Playoff Schedule
But it's not just the CFP games themselves that are affected by the long gaps. Lanning also mentioned how the current schedule clashes with the transfer portal, coaching changes and academic calendars.
"Our national championship game this year is Jan. 19, and that's really hard to envision as a coach that's going out and trying to join a new program and start a staff," Lanning said. "It's hard for players to understand what continuity looks like and where they're going to be at and to manage that with visits, the portal, everything else that exists."
Finally, he also took aim at how college football has ceded December Saturdays to the NFL, arguing the sport has sacrificed too much of its identity in the process.
"I've got a ton of respect for the NFL," Lanning said. "But we're a prep league for the NFL. We do a lot of favors for the NFL. … There's no money paid from the NFL to take care of college football. We've given up some of our days to the NFL…
"Saturday should be sacred for college football. Every Saturday through the month of December should belong to college football, in my opinion."
Dan Lanning wants college football to take back December Saturdays.
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Whether the CFP actually adopts any of Lanning's suggestions remains to be seen. But as the postseason continues to sprawl deeper and deeper into January, it's becoming harder to argue that the current system makes much sense.
The Ducks will play the No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders on Thursday in the Orange Bowl. The winner will advance to the CFP Semifinal at the Peach Bowl to face either No. 1 Indiana or No. 9 Alabama on Jan. 9.