COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gene Smith feels expansion for the College Football Playoff is inevitable. Really, the Ohio State athletic director said he would be surprised if the tournament isn't expanded to 12 in the near future.
But there are still things to be worked and ironed out before any sweeping changes are made.
And for Ohio State and many other teams in the Big Ten, that conversation starts with weather.
Granting a bye for the top-four seeds, conversations about the higher-seeded first-round teams hosting College Football Playoff games instead of the traditional neutral-site bowl format of the current College Football Playoff semifinal and final layout.
Smith knows that's something Ohio State fans rally around, getting behind the possible chance of hosting a team like Alabama at Ohio Stadium in a postseason tournament.
However, the Ohio State athletic director said Wednesday that the reality of the Buckeyes hosting a College Football Playoff game at Ohio Stadium may not be feasible.
Smith said, depending on the calendar of the larger College Football Playoff tournament, he would probably recommend that Ohio State hosts its games in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium.
"I want a clean environment," Smith said. "I don’t want a hard surface for the players. I know fans would love it to have it in The Shoe, maybe it’s snowing and we’re playing whoever. That surface is a whole new ballgame. I would prefer to have the indoor elements and have a clean field. If it was this year, I would want C.J. to have good weather. It’s just that simple.
"The excitement in my view would be the same. We’ve been blessed to have experiences in (Lucas Oil Stadium) playing in the Big Ten Championship and I think our fans understand that environment. They love the hotels, they love the restaurants and all that. While it’s difficult to take it away from The Shoe, I still think it’s the right thing to do for the players in the game."
All Smith wants is the flexibility for the entire Big Ten conference when it comes to College Football Playoff environments, having the opportunity to host games at indoor venues like Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ford Field in Detroit and U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to protect players from inclement weather.
And it's only an option. Smith said it doesn't affect teams down south like Alabama or Texas to be forced to play on a neutral site in the first rounds of the College Football Playoff.
But to the Ohio State athletic director, it all comes down to the schedule: when the tournament would start, if it would affect conference championship games and the schedules surrounding final exams and the Christmas holiday, something Smith said he's incredibly sensitive too.
Smith also wasn't giving any promises that Ohio Stadium would never host a College Football Playoff game, saying there could be the possibility if the weather is historically good at that time of year.
Nothing was definite Wednesday morning when Smith was talking. Playoff expansion, he said, is coming, but it's still a few years away.
I" think we are going to get there. I don’t know when. But I do believe we are going to get there," Smith said. "I hope we get there because I think it’s a cool thing, I really do."
