sports / fix the cfp

updated January 06, 2026

Fix the CFP is a static site proposing fixes to the College Football Playoff.

The proposal

On the site, I propose a few fixes:

1. Expand to 16 teams with no byes: doubles on-campus playoff games, eliminates rust from extended layoffs
2. Eliminate automatic qualifiers: select the top 16 teams, no conference champion guarantees
3. Replace the selection committee with the AP poll: 62 independent sportswriters instead of conflicted stakeholders
4. Eliminate conference championship games: crown champions by regular season record, reduce injury risk
5. Assign bowl locations by proximity to top seeds: reward top seeds with reduced travel
6. Move recruiting window after the championship: let teams focus on winning, not roster-building
7. Move non-playoff bowls to Week 1: give them a fresh identity as season openers with full rosters

Architecture

The site uses the same pattern as my blog. It is a Go static site generator with HTML templates and CSS fingerprinting hosted on Cloudflare Pages.

However, this site is a single main.go (~200 lines) with one HTML template. Unlike the blog, it does not need Markdown parsing, an articles directory, or syntax highlighting.

CSS inlining

CSS is inlined directly into the HTML, reducing the page to a single HTTP request. The template renders a <style> block:

<style>
  {{.InlineCSS}}
</style>

Pure CSS bracket

The bracket visualization uses flexbox with no JavaScript:

.bracket {
  display: flex;
  gap: 1rem;
  min-width: 900px;
  padding: 1rem 0;
}

.round {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  min-width: 180px;
}

Spacing between games creates visual groupings that show bracket regions. The 12-team and 16-team brackets use different spacing rules to align games with their corresponding matchups in later rounds.

No JavaScript FAQs

The FAQ sections use native <details> and <summary> HTML elements:

<details class="faq">
  <summary>Why not 12 or 24 teams?</summary>
  <p>A 12-team field leaves too much to chance...</p>
</details>

No JavaScript required. The browser handles open/close state natively.

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