I do think the conference championship games should be eliminated. But they won't be, at least not until the current media deals expire, because they generate big bucks for the conferences and media wants those games for their own revenue generation
the CFP problem is the imbalance of schedules. Oregon, without playing in a conference championship game, had 3 weeks off between their Wasington Game and the JMU game. TT had 4 weeks off between their Big-12 title game and yesterday. But the Ducks were able to shake the rust off in that 1st round game. And the 10 days off between that game and yesterday allowed Oregon to maintain rhythm and timing.
it's too long a layoff for the bye teams and they are at a distinct disadvantage when they face a team that just played 8-10 days prior. In the old bowl system, there were almost always two teams that were playing with the same number of days off
up until the Indiana game yesterday, the bye teams were 0-6. More than that though is that those 6 games totaled 480 minutes. Teams with byes held a lead for less than 5 of those 480 minutes. That's not coincidence. Indiana sure appears to be on a different level than anybody else. They are a senior-heavy team and by far the most experienced team in the playoffs. A perfect storm of great coaching, execution efficiency, and no weaknesses
but yeah, the conference championship games are an issue. Another big issue is trying to hold onto the bowl games in the old formats and old schedules
ESPN supposedly has set a Jan. 23rd deadline for the CFP to come up with a new format (like a 16-team schedule). But if the SEC and Big-10 demand more time to iron out their differences, ESPN will bend. But their appears to be growing momentum to change. Those bye games are not a reward; they are a big disadvantage
and making everything even more chaotic is that today is the first day of the transfer portal
