This past Saturday, it was no shocker that the NFL games played in the afternoon outperformed their college football counterparts by a substantial margin. What is surprising, however, is just how close the numbers were.

The Texans versus Chiefs matchup at 1:00 p.m. ET aired on NBC and drew in a whopping 15.5 million viewers. Following closely was the Steelers versus Ravens game, which kicked off at 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox and nabbed 15.4 million viewers. In stark contrast, the highly-anticipated college football playoff games struggled to engage audiences. The SMU-Penn State clash that began at noon managed to attract only 6.4 million viewers, while Clemson faced off against Texas at 4:00 p.m. ET, garnering a mere 8.6 million viewers.

What made these college games even less appealing was their lack of competition. The first four playoff matchups were hardly riveting contests, with no nail-biting moments or underdog stories to spark interest—offering little suspense or drama for fans. The reality is, in college football, there's a significant talent gulf that leaves many games feeling lop-sided. There simply aren't enough evenly matched teams in the current playoff format to deliver thrilling contests consistently.

While it's true that the NFL postseason can also feature unbalanced games, they rarely reach the level of being a total mismatch. For instance, during last year's wild-card round, although several games ended with clear victories, three underdogs triumphed. This unpredictability keeps fans on the edge of their seats.

The present structure of college football playoffs isn't designed for upsets; more often than not, it parallels an old CFL franchise playing against a well-established NFL team—an outcome that fails to excite viewers. While we aren't in a position to overhaul the college playoff system, it’s essential to acknowledge this growing disparity.

Amid the disheartening results of the college games, it’s somewhat impressive that the viewership gap wasn't wider. However, looking ahead to next year, we might see a considerable shift. Fans may ultimately choose to forgo the first round of the college football playoffs, favoring more competitive NFL action instead. As the gap between the two leagues continues to widen, the question looms: Is it time for college football to rethink its playoff system altogether? Stay tuned for more updates!