March Madness has its name for a reason. It gives us madness when we least expect it. Every single year. That narrative was driven even further with this year’s tournament. Some might even argue that this has been the best tournament in recent memory. Because where there is madness, there is excitement. What’s more exciting than having a 15 seed school from New Jersey that is one win away from reaching college basketball’s ultimate prize, the Final Four? That is exactly what Saint Peters gave us this March.

It didn’t stop there though. Tenth seeded Miami had a chance to knock number one seed Kansas off to reach the Final Four as well. It should also be noted, in this March that was truly mad, that Kansas was the only number one seed team to reach the Elite Eight this year.

Once all of the dust came to a rest and settled, the bluest of blue bloods in college basketball emerged and are on a crash course to give basketball fans a Final Four that could be one of the best of all times. Duke v.s. North Carolina. Villanova v.s. Kansas. You couldn’t have scripted a more fitting ending for a more fitting tournament if you tried. To have as many upsets and as many Cinderella stories as this tournament did and then to be rewarded with this ending is truly special. College football needs to be paying attention.

The problem that has emerged with the College Football Playoff in recent years is that it has become one big snooze fest. It’s boring. The same five to six teams have just been on this constant rotation to obtain the four spots that are available to them at the end of the year. March Madness is never boring. For this fact we can simply look at the numbers. The two college football playoff semifinal games this past season averaged about 12 million viewers per game at kickoff time. In the first and second rounds of this year’s March Madness tournament, viewership was around 18 million for the combined 4 days of basketball action, highest totals ever seen.

18 million people watching college basketball. I should add that the first round games are on a Thursday and Friday while people are at work too. The reason for low CFP numbers is that people know what they are going to get with the CFP now. Why should someone watch something when they know that the championship game is going to ultimately be Alabama v.s Georgia or Alabama v.s. Ohio State?

If the playoff were to be expanded however, who knows what could happen? For obvious reasons, college football can not do a 68 team tournament at the end of the season like basketball can. As epic as it would be, it just isn’t possible. While many expansion possibilities have come about, the two that are most popular are expanding to 8 teams or expanding to 12 teams. If the CFP wants to try and rival March Madness excitement, then 12 is the way to go.

Expanding the Playoff to 12 gives more teams a chance to make an improbable run to a national championship. Does that mean that we are going to have a Saint Peters Elite Eight run from the 11 or 12 seed in the Playoff every year? Probably not. But there’s also not a Saint Peters run to the Elite Eight every year in March Madness either. However, when it does happen, it is embraced by every single fan across the country and everyone tunes in to watch the next game.

The anti-Playoff expansionists will tell you that expanding the Playoff just lengthens the time of eventually reaching the same problem that the Playoff has right now. March Madness provides the counter claim to this point as well. While it can be said that the Final Four ultimately ends up being the best of the best, the road to get there certainly doesn’t tell that same story. But, when you have a team like Loyola Chicago make the Final Four in 2018 as an 11 seed, that makes everything more enjoyable and entertaining for sports fans all over.

At the end of the day though the cream will rise above the crop and the best teams will separate themselves. College football is lacking excitement in this separation right now. Expanding the Playoff would bring that back. It would bring back meaning to the college football post season and revive the dying breed that is bowl season. You don’t ever hear of college basketball players opting out of March Madness. Expanding the playoff would help the opt-out dilemma and keep players engaged longer.

The Playoff is a good system. It is a much better system than the old computer generated BCS system. However, the system is in dire need of a software update. Users have grown tired and bored and need something new and exciting to draw them back in.

March Madness will continue to be the guiding light that the CFP needs. It is now up to Playoff commissioners and leaders to follow the light to a brighter horizon.