8 is a great number. The butthurt would not be the same as it is with 4. Every year there are about 5-6 teams that can make a claim that they are the best team. The 9th best team in the nation will probably be butthurt about being left out, but they can't really think they are the best team like the #5 and #6 teams can.
I think this is accurate. You'll still have complaining, just not legitimate complaining. Also, to any Power 5 rep the retort is easy: just win your conference and you wouldn't have had to leave it up to the pollsters.
Honestly did anyone expect this to stay a 4 team playoff? I always thought this was like a transitional thing to work out logistics and wean people off of the BCS en route to having a legitimate playoff.
It won't happen before the contract is up. This has been discussed by the talking heads on ESPN.
Why College Football Playoff Expansion Won't Be Happening Anytime Soon By Barrett Sallee , SEC Football Lead Writer
Dec 18, 2014
USA Today
ATLANTA — Proponents of College Football Playoff expansion are like kids on Christmas this holiday season.
They've ripped the wrapping paper off the gift, but before they open the packaging and play with the toy, they've moved on to unwrap the next present.
Here we are in mid-December, with the inaugural national semifinals and College Football Playoff National Championship Game looming, and calls for expanding the four-team playoff have already started.
ESPN.com polled 103 FBS coaches, and 44 percent of them were in favor of the postseason expanding to eight teams. That's not surprising, as bonus money would probably be owed to most or all of those in favor if they earned a playoff spot.
President Barack Obama even chimed in on the side of eight teams on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio earlier this month (via AL.com). "[Expanding to four] was the right thing to do," he said, "and I suspect it'll end up being eight teams, and that'll be just about right."
If you're hoping for the playoff to be expanded anytime soon, you're going to be disappointed this holiday season.
It's not happening. Not for this generation of college football players, anyway.
"It's a four-team tournament for 12 years," College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock told B/R. "There hasn't been any discussion in our group about expanding."