Four reasons why Auburn football will benefit from College Football Playoff expansion

The Tigers should be excited about an expanded field coming soon.

According to multiple reports, the College Football Playoff will officially be expanding as late as 2026.

More room for the SEC, I guess.

This move has been in the making for a while now, and no team should be more excited about this than the Auburn Tigers.

Auburn, a team that has found itself on the outside looking in since the creation of the playoff, should now feel better about their chances to make the field despite a rough SEC West schedule each season.

Here are four reasons why expansion favors Auburn in a positive way.

The Tigers will be a consistent player

© Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Tigers would have made the playoff twice since its creation if there was an expanded field. Moving forward, I think Auburn fans would be excited about a chance to compete in the playoff once every four years rather than never.

Any postseason opportunity is a good opportunity.

Expectations shift in a positive way... sort of

AP Photo/Vasha Hunt

The expectation for Auburn is to compete at the highest level, and win championships, right?

Now, Auburn could finish 9-3 and consistently make the postseason. Fans will likely still be disgruntled over losses to rivals Alabama and Georgia, the blow may be softened if the Tigers can meet them in the postseason once again and find a way to take them out.

It's not entirely exciting, considering some hold those rivalry games in extremely high regard, but its step in the right direction when it comes to expectations at Auburn.

Familiar opponents

© Gary Cosby / USA TODAY NETWORK

In the playoff's eight years of existence, once has only one SEC team finished the top 12 of the final CFP rankings (2016). Three SEC teams have finished in the top 12 three times, four teams twice, and a whopping five teams from the Southeastern Conference made the cut in 2019.

If the Tigers were to survive the first round, there is is more than a solid chance they would face a familiar conference opponent in the second round. Outside of matchups with Alabama or Georgia, the Tigers would have to feel pretty confident heading into those games, especially if they had already played and beaten them.

Familiarity with an opponent in a playoff setting should consistently be an advantage for Auburn.

Home matchups for first-round games...?

© Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

It has not been announced as to whether or not an expanded playoff will feature home games on college campuses for higher seeds during first-round contests, but let's say hypothetically Auburn found themselves inside Jordan-Hare for a playoff game against (insert random top 12 opponent here).

That home field advantage could prove to be huge.

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