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Greetings from "Can't Wait For Saturday," your morning morsel of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini beat writer, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state rep Bob Asmussen. He'll give you his views each day on the game he loves.

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When the 12-team College Football Playoff was first discussed, I feared the worst. I figured the Big Two -- the Big Ten and SEC -- would use their clout to overwhelm the field.

And yes, four from the Big Ten and three from the SEC made it the first year, there was room for others.

Two from the ACC and one each from the Big 12, Mountain West and independent Notre Dame earned spots in the field.

Of course, there was some complaining about the way it worked. I'd ask the gripers to give it a minute, see how it all plays out.

The biggest beef seems to be with how the teams were seeded and the preference given to conference champions. Well, the system was approved by conference commissioners, so of course they leaned toward the leagues.

There is no system that would have made everyone happy. But by having 12 teams in the field instead of four, there are way fewer disappointments. And while you can argue that Alabama was capable of going on a national title run, the team's inconsistent performance during the season said otherwise.

The best part of the first year was that the selection committee valued how SMU played in the ACC title game. The Mustangs looked like a team capable of giving anybody a tussle. It's going to be fun to see how it goes in the next month.

Can't wait for the opening round at campus sites. The home teams are all solid favorites as they should be. But I am counting on an upset or two.