Fine teams a billion dollars, that should force them to play... (Sarcasm) They can't fine their way out of the problem they created. Say a fine forces them to play, they'll show up and put the punter in as QB and make a mockery out of it. They can't force them to play with heart and determination, just to show up. If their reaction is to fine a school to force them to play then they've missed the entire point. The CFP spent too much time listing to the crying and complaining by fans of how their team didn't make it and how they deserved to be in, the SEC wins too much, and it's the same old teams. blah blah blah. The worst thing they did was put the decision in the hands of a human committee with bias, allegiances, and money objectives. The drama of whose in vs out still exists just as it did since the beginning of this harebrained playoff idea. This is evident by the current Miami / Alabama / ND complaining. A 4 team playoff wasn't the answer, a 12 team playoff isn't the answer.
The only thing the CFP has done is manage to create a money making machine while simultaniously destroy the tradition and importance of bowl games and crowning a true season champion. Now they're pissed that the money making machine they did have (Bowl games) are being eaten by the money making machine they created (CFP). They want their cake and to eat it too. Piss on em.
I agree, the fines don't do anything other than move large sums of money from one account to another. To these behemoth programs and conferences, the fines amount to nothing, yet I don't see tuition lowering at any of these institutions. College football has always been a business, even before playoffs even started to become a thing. At least back then, a major bowl game meant something. Now with the expanded 12-team playoff, plus NIL, the floodgates have opened and business is booming. Now, all the business is done out in the open rather then under the guise of tradition, behind the scenes through boosters, and under the cover of darkness with the understanding that it is not to be talked about.
At the end of every season there has always a team or two left out... players, coaches, and their fanbase left standing on the sidelines crying about fairness. Even undefeated teams that were not crowned National Champions when it was something voted on by multiple entities (AP/BCS, etc). Human committees and subjectivity will continue to screw things up and make decisions that piss somebody off. And college football will continue to make money regardless. Talking heads on tv, radio, podcasts, and social media will continue to babble on while making money too. With legalized sports gambling expanded to the majority of states now, Vegas will continue to make the most money of all. My grandpa used to tell me, "It's all fixed, the bookies run it all" and I would roll my eyes... now, I know he was right.
I'll continue to watch (for entertainment purposes) but won't let a game I'm not physically playing in determine whether I have a good day or a bad day based on a team's outcome. Eventually I think the NCAA will restructure the conferences and follow an NFL style approach to their regular season and playoffs. Maybe they keep names like SEC, Big 10, ACC etc. for their divisions within the two conferences but they will make an adjustment, realign everything and you'll have the minor league NFL (which is what college football really is for the chapmionship contender programs). When that finally happens the powers that be will have officially ruined college football. We're not there yet, but it's coming.
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…..other than a lot more teams and much bigger bracket?
It's an exhibition sport IMO, no different than synchronized swimming or a relay race where they have to throw a ball instead of pass a baton. Basketball doesn't have near the injury rate that football does. There are so many variables that that play into a team winning a football game. Two teams could play each other 100 times back to back until there aren't enough players left on the healthy roster and it would flip back and forth on who wins. I'm not a fan of a 4 team playoff, but anything past that introduces so many variables that it loses the real objective, which is crowning the best team for the whole season, not crowning the best team in a 12 team playoff bracket. 
