anymore, which makes all the bowl games even more pointless than they were before.
The college football season is great because it’s not bloated like professional leagues. Imagine how great the NBA regular season would be if there were about half as many games. Conversely, imagine 16+ regular-season college football games. A few too many.
I agree that a low margin for error gives impact for regular-season games, but that wouldn’t change much, if at all, with a playoff format. If the NFL had 3-4 fewer games, the perceived value of the regular season would go up accordingly, without a need to let .500 teams play in an exhibition game at the conclusion of the season.