“Las Vegas Bowl would be perfect for a CFP game,” says John Saccenti | Ed Graney | sport

If changes are made, if 12 suddenly become 16 teams or more, if the structure of the College Football Playoff changes from what we know it, John Saccenti is confident his game will be ready.

That the Las Vegas Bowl could play a central role in the further development of the whole thing.

“If they want to change the format at all, I like the position we’re in,” said Saccenti, the game’s general manager. “If they leave it as it is, there will be no Vegas as part of this group. But if they decide to expand, we’ll be a West Coast game in a state-of-the-art $2 billion stadium and in a destination everyone wants to be.”

The last Las Vegas Bowl took place on Friday night when USC took on Texas A&M at Allegiant Stadium.

The 12-team playoffs will run until next season, after which officials will examine them using a two-year sample size. Saccenti is right. Should the powers that be decide that things can be improved by adding teams – and essentially more games – the Las Vegas Bowl should be a prime candidate for inclusion.

It has too much to offer.

Not if, but when

It’s similar to the praise the NFL heaped on Las Vegas after the Super Bowl. How smoothly everything went. How the infrastructure was there, the hotels were there, the meeting rooms were there. All points, be it on a smaller scale, that a CFP game would be interested in.

“When the (CFP) makes a decision about the next locations and destinations, I think we’re fooling ourselves if we just say, ‘If they come to Las Vegas,'” Saccenti said. “It’s ‘when they come to Vegas.’ You’ll see exactly how we do things, and no one does it better.”

One of Saccenti’s main concerns is the way teams are now selected for the bowl game. He wants the process to be examined more closely. He wants more flexibility rather than committing to a specific choice of conference.

He doesn’t like being assigned to a predetermined selection from the Big Ten.

“I think we should be able to dip into a bigger pool,” he said. “We should be able to slip a little bit. The matchup has to work with the goal. That will be my goal for the next cycle. At the end of the day, I want the best game for our game and for television.”

His job changes every year, and the CFP is no different now. Perhaps his biggest challenge will be finding a way to keep fans engaged during bowl season. What he doesn’t want, what no non-CFP bowl game wants, is for fans to be so disappointed that their team didn’t make the playoffs that it stops them and the community from caring.

The Kickoff Classic between USC and LSU in September set attendance records at Allegiant Stadium and featured a thrilling finish with the Trojans winning 27-20. It was the kind of springboard that Saccenti hopes can fuel another game every year.

“We need to make sure that the bowl is also a celebratory event that locals want to go to and participate in, but also that the fan base we invite is excited and engaged,” Saccenti said. “(Las Vegas) is now the venue for almost every major event in the world. We’re a little spoiled in this regard. The Las Vegas Bowl has to be a top-notch event, similar to what you saw at LSU-USC.”

A small window

The Las Vegas Bowl was created to attract tourists before Christmas. But the CFP is now scheduling games this Saturday, complicating things for the Saccentis Bowl.

The city wants it over before New Year’s Eve, and stadium availability needs to be coordinated with the Raiders. There is only a small time window. However, he is not overly concerned.

“We will always be in good shape and we will always be a place where people want to come,” Saccenti said. “I will compare our bowl week events to any in the country. Nobody does events like this. Nobody gives gifts to players like we do. That’s what it’s all about: making sure we take care of these teams.”

Who knows – maybe one day soon they’ll take care of those in a CFP game.

Ed Graney, winner of the Sigma Delta Chi Award for sports column writing, can be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on The Press Box, ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM. Follow @edgraney on X.