On Saturday, December 20, 2025, Tulane and James Madison performed an inadvertent national service by stepping onto the field as decided underdogs in the first round of the College Football Playoff—and promptly getting overwhelmed. Tulane fell 41-10 to Ole Miss in Oxford in the afternoon slot, while James Madison was routed 51-34 by Oregon in Eugene that evening (a scoreline that flattered the Dukes after trailing by 35 midway through the third quarter). These lopsided affairs laid bare for millions of viewers the fundamental mismatch baked into the expanded playoff format: Group of Five champions, rewarded with automatic bids for conference titles earned against lesser competition, thrust against loaded Power conference rosters built on deeper recruiting and unlimited transfer/NIL resources.

What a favor these two programs did for the sport’s traditionalists. By absorbing decisive beatdowns on national television, they illustrated how the treasured pageantry of New Year’s bowl games—once featuring proud champions from coherent, regional conferences clashing for school pride, state glory, and historic rivalries—has been supplanted by a December prelude of predictable blowouts. Gone are the days when the Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Cotton Bowls stood as the crowning spectacles on January 1, pitting evenly matched conference kings in celebratory showdowns. Instead, we’ve traded that romance for early-round mismatches that serve mostly to pad stats for blue-blood programs and generate television inventory.

The entire enterprise now reeks of a money pit fueled by NIL greed and semi-professional squads masquerading as amateur college athletics. The playoff’s expansion, sold as inclusivity, has only accelerated the professionalization of the game while diluting its soul. Tulane and James Madison’s valiant but futile efforts exposed this truth in stark relief: the concept of a single national champion, enforced through this bloated bracket, should be scrapped entirely. Abandon the playoffs, restore the bowl system to its rightful prominence, and let college football reclaim the regional pride and unpredictable charm that once made it America’s most beloved pastime.