A Deeper Look Into The Heels' Take On An Expanded Playoff

Perhaps the topic most discussed topic by national media regarding North Carolina football over the last few weeks has centered on the Tar Heels’ players not favoring a 12-team playoff format. It generated quite the debate, though most points of a view skewed toward criticizing UNC's players.

Carolina Coach Mack Brown told the media during his July 8 press conference the staff asked its players to vote on whether or not they favored an expanded College Football Playoff to 12 teams, and the players said they would not.

A position often advanced by national talking heads is that UNC, more than many other teams, should want a larger field to increase its chances of inclusion. A year ago, it would have been in the conversation to make a 12-team playoff, something a couple of Heels have acknowledged. But they are looking at this with a different lens than one might expect.

The premise of the national discourse is that UNC will never breakthrough and topple Clemson, so its only hope at getting into a national tournament is if the field is expanded. But in a way, that is exactly the point the players are trying to make.

Not that they don’t believe they will break through, quite the contrary, but it’s the notion that a team should be happy just getting in is part of why the players don’t favor the much larger field. There are other reasons, such as added games and wear and tear on their bodies, but the main reason is they do not believe Cinderellas exist in college football.

“Out of the years of the playoff, let’s be honest with ourselves, how many times has the four seed won it,” senior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel asked.

He noted Ohio State did it once, but then went on.

“That’s the only time a four seed has won the national championship. Like, if you’re not a top-six team, I don’t think you should be allowed to play for it,” Gemmel said.

As for Cinderellas, they are a huge part of college basketball, but not in football.

“Especially (not) in college football,” Gemmel said. “Even more than high school and the NFL. The NFL is more any-given-Sunday, but in college football, I believe if you’re that team you’re going… I feel the better team is going to win.”

The upper ring of FBS teams are just different from the next tier. Clemson, Alabama, and Ohio State have regular spots in the CFP with Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and someone else from the SEC (Georgia, LSU) hopping in from time to time. Very few programs have comprised the part with few crashers.

Yet, sticking with the national narrative, isn’t that why a North Carolina should want the expanded field?

“Why aren’t (we) voting for 12 teams,” Gemmel said. “We might be in that race, but we believe if we’re not in that (top tier) we’re not national championship caliber.”

Gemmel doesn’t lack for confidence in his team. He eagerly awaits the coming season of high expectations to see exactly where the Heels are on the national landscape. But if they are not among the upper ring, they aren’t national title worthy, as Gemmel said.

“If we’re falling back to 10 or 12, like we did this past year, like we finished at 13 or whatever it was, we believe like we’re not that team.”