Legendary coach Nick Saban recently voiced concerns about the new 12-team College Football Playoff structure during an appearance on the "Pat McAfee Show." He highlighted potential issues arising from automatic bids for the five highest-ranked conference champions, with the top four receiving first-round byes.

Saban argued that this system could create unfair paths to the championship. He believes the current format doesn't prioritize overall season performance enough, suggesting that the top-ranked team should have the smoothest journey to the title game. Granting byes to conference champions who aren't necessarily among the top four teams disrupts this ideal scenario.

Recent upsets in college football, including Alabama's loss to Oklahoma, Florida's victory over Ole Miss, and Auburn's defeat of Texas A&M, underscored Saban's point. These outcomes left Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M with three losses each entering the final week of the regular season.

Saban questioned the merit of rewarding three-loss teams with playoff spots, particularly citing losses by Alabama and Ole Miss to what he termed ".500 or average teams." He contrasted these teams with others who might not have faced the same level of competition but avoided losses to less formidable opponents.

In Saban's view, Georgia stands out as the only potential three-loss team deserving of playoff consideration. He argued that even if Georgia, currently with two losses, loses the SEC Championship game, their overall performance shouldn't disqualify them. He emphasized that a two-loss team that didn't participate in the conference championship shouldn't be ranked higher than a competitive three-loss Georgia that did.

The current playoff rankings have Oregon at the top, followed by Ohio State, Texas, Penn State, and Notre Dame.