What does CFP stand for in college football?

As the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines take on the No. 2 Washington Huskies in a clash of undefeated teams for a national title, we are again reminded of this one-of-a-kind acronym. Oh, you know which one I am talking about: The CFP. What is the CFP, why is it so important and what does it even stand for? It is pretty simple. CFP stands for College Football Playoff. It is how college crowns champions.

You may think that the College Football Playoff has been in existence for forever, but you have no idea... Prior to the advent of the CFP, we used to use newfangled computers and other widgets or gizmos to give us the first and second best team in college football. No. 1 would play No. 2 in something known as the Bowl Championship Series, better known as the BCS. Oh, wait. There's more!

Prior to even the BCS, we used to have people just vote on who the national champion was. Was bias a problem? Oh, you betcha! We would have one poll voting one team national champions, and another could vote for another. It is why Colorado and Georgia Tech claim a national championship in 1990, as well as why Michigan and Nebraska claim a national championship in 1997. It was so silly...

But now that there is a College Football Playoff, the best team is always crowned a champion, right?

What does CFP stand for? Everything to know about College Football Playoff

The CFP came about after a few seasons in which the old BCS failed the consumer. Four of those seasons stand out in particular: 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2012. The 2004 season saw Auburn go undefeated, but not play for a national title. 2007 gave us a two-loss champion in LSU. 2011 was all about Oklahoma State and Stanford not having a chance. And don't even get me started on 2012...

The thought is in some years that maybe more than just two teams are good enough heading into bowl season to win a national championship. Four had usually been the right number, but even this current season ruined that notion completely. All four teams that made the playoff were good enough to win it, as were the No. 5 and No. 6 teams in the country in Florida State and Georgia, respectively.

Thus, next year the College Football Playoff will expand from four teams to 12. In this current format, a panel of individuals known as the Selection Committee pick "the four best teams", or some variation of that. Beginning next season, the five best conference champions will get in, as will the seven best teams in the country who did not win their league. The 12-team playoff cannot get here soon enough.

So if you don't know what the CFP stands for or what it is about, now you know. You are so welcome!