The College Football Playoff (CFP) was supposed to be the ultimate solution to decades of controversy, a definitive bracket designed to crown a true national champion. However, according to outspoken personalities Coach JB and Matt McChesney, the current 12-team expansion has transformed the sport into something unrecognizable—and not in a good way. In a recent, high-octane episode of The Coach JB Show with Big Smitty, the duo dismantled the current state of college football, labeling the inclusion of teams like James Madison University (JMU) and Tulane as a “mockery” that prioritizes drama over quality.
The debate kicked off with a scathing comparison attributed to legendary coach Nick Saban. The sentiment? That JMU qualifying for the CFP over a powerhouse like Notre Dame is the equivalent of allowing a Triple-A baseball team to compete in the MLB World Series. It’s a harsh assessment that Coach JB and McChesney didn’t just agree with—they amplified it with the kind of raw, unfiltered passion that has made their show a staple for disgruntled fans across the country.
The “Participation Trophy” Generation of Football
For Coach JB, the expansion of the playoff isn’t about finding the best team; it’s about a cultural shift toward “everyone gets a trophy.” He argued that by moving beyond a small, elite pool of teams, the NCAA has effectively “watered down” the product. “More means less,” JB lamented, insisting that the sweet spot for a playoff was actually six teams—four playing for the right to face the top two seeds who earned a bye.
The core of their frustration lies in the perceived disparity between the “blue bloods” and the mid-major programs that have benefited from the new rules. McChesney was particularly vocal about the inclusion of JMU and Tulane, teams he referred to as “weaklings” compared to the programs sitting on the outside looking in. “I would rather have Texas and USC than James Madison and Tulane,” McChesney stated, arguing that the committee is intentionally manufacturing drama rather than selecting the 12 best teams in America.
The Death of Regional Rivalries and the Rise of Greed
One of the most poignant moments of the discussion centered on the death of the Pac-12 and the “unbelievably sickening feeling” of seeing West Coast icons like USC and UCLA wearing Big 10 stickers. McChesney and JB, both products of the West Coast football scene, mourned the loss of the traditional Rose Bowl era—a time when the Big 10 and Pac-12 champions met in a meaningful, high-stakes rivalry.
“By cutting the West Coast dick off… you’ve created a bad, watered-down everything,” McChesney argued. He described the current landscape as a “freight train to hell,” driven by corporate greed and a total disregard for the history and geography that made college football unique. The duo agreed that seeing Stanford and Cal in the ACC is “the dumbest shit” they’ve ever seen, a sentiment echoed by thousands of fans who feel the soul of the sport is being sold to the highest bidder.
Hypocrisy in the Committee Room
The conversation took an even sharper turn when discussing the NCAA’s inconsistency. Coach JB pointed out the hypocrisy of the committee telling programs like BYU and Notre Dame to join or align with conferences to prove their worth, only to “fuck them anyway” when the rankings come out. He highlighted the absurdity of head-to-head matchups seemingly mattering for some teams but being ignored for others, specifically citing the ranking drama between Miami and Notre Dame.
“This is a mockery, Matt,” JB shouted. “You can’t have these teams in it if you really want a true national title.” He pointed to the fact that several teams entering the playoff weekend were 20-point underdogs, questioning if that truly represents the “best” the sport has to offer. The consensus between the two was clear: the 12-team playoff isn’t a search for a champion; it’s a televised spectacle designed to generate “anger and drama” to keep the news cycle spinning.
A Look Back at the “Fucked Over” Era
McChesney reminded listeners that being “fucked by the BCS” is an old tradition in college football. He recalled his own experience in 2001 when Nebraska qualified for the national title despite McChesney’s Colorado team beating them by 30 points and winning the Big 12. He also cited the 2004 Auburn team that went undefeated in the SEC and still didn’t get a chance to play for the title.
While some might argue that the 12-team playoff prevents these snubs, McChesney and JB argue it has simply created a new kind of injustice—one where the regular season is devalued, and “repeat-delete” games (like Bama vs. Oklahoma) are prioritized over fresh, compelling matchups. They believe the committee is doing this on purpose. “They don’t actually want the 12 best teams; they want people yelling at each other,” McChesney concluded.
Life Beyond the Gridiron
Despite the heavy, often angry debate, the episode ended on a lighter (if not more bizarre) note. The duo discussed taking their show on the road to Birmingham to cover the UFL and the Birmingham Stallions, led by AJ McCarron. In a hilarious exchange, both JB and McChesney revealed they are on “no-fly lists”—JB due to a very public feud with United Airlines—leading to a plan to drive a “ghetto” tour bus from Colorado to Alabama.
“I love driving,” JB admitted, while McChesney shared his own legendary story of driving from Birmingham to Denver in a single day fueled by Red Bull after his father had a heart attack. It was a classic “Coach JB” ending—shifting from a sophisticated critique of national sports policy to a chaotic plan for a cross-country road trip.
As the College Football Playoff kicks off, the voices of Coach JB and Matt McChesney serve as a loud, necessary reminder that for many fans, the “more is more” philosophy is failing. While the NCAA celebrates its new bracket, a significant portion of the football world is looking at the Big 10 stickers on USC helmets and the JMU logo in the playoff bracket and wondering: where did our sport go?
