The Atlantic Athletic ($$) has a piece up about how “a number of influential voices in college football are calling for a serious look at [CFP] expansion.”
My favorite two parts are a quote…
In a statement to The Athletic on Tuesday, an ESPN spokesperson said, “We have no involvement in the competitive makeup of the CFP.”
… and a proposal to include a designated Group of 5 spot in an eight-team field in exchange for the end of conference championship games. I’m sure Greg Sankey is down with that trade-off.
Per Bob Bowlsby, “Then, there’s the matter of how you do it. The devil’s always in the details.”
There are a lot of devils in college football these days.
Get The Picture 
It just goes to show you how these clowns do not understand the SEC. The conference isn’t giving up that Championship Game. The fans love it, (the network loves it and the AD’S love it), because it is a BIG TIME money maker… Not to mention free advertising for the conference for 5 hours on a Saturday where the competiton is “wait for it”, the other conference championship games that nobody watched.
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It all comes down to the money. If the pot is great enough to abandon the conference championship games they’ll be gone in an instant. Money just means more.
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Yes but it has to be completely quantifiable and SUBSTANTIALLY more to give up such a great event with all its tangential benefits. UCF just screaming “the quarterfinal will make up for it !” isn’t enough.
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I (and most UGA fans) would have given it up in .75 seconds this season
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I’d oppose getting rid of it, but I might be ok with making it 3 quarters long.
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Yes, but think of this….
If there were an 8-team playoff this year with teams 1-8 playing each other during conference championship weekend, the SEC would have had TWO games that weekend, and not just one…. With Bama hosting No8 and Georgia hosting No5.
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Man, I hope we win one soon. I think I’ll be quitting CFB sooner rather than later.
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Agreed, haven’t watch a game since the SECCG and don’t plan on watching another until the Bowls with SEC teams starts.
Less reason to watch games outside of the SEC with the playoff in place.
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Army-Navy. Always Worth Watching the week after SECCG
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Turned it on late in the 4th, just can’t get into 2 option teams
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My thoughts exactly.
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We are witnessing the beginning of the downfall of college football as we know and love it. Sad!
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If the motivation really is being “Fed up with SEC favoritism and UCF’s treatment, ” the better remedy is ditching the silly committee and choosing another selection method, such as the BCS method.
The unintended consequence would be the committee puts 3 SEC teams in the top 8. Then I guess we go to 16.
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To these guys, that’s a feature, not a bug.
Then comes 32.
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Fewer and fewer games will matter making less money for everyone.
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With an 8 team,
Two SEC teams would be a constant.
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Which for them is a feature as it will include a built in failure to go to 16.
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Then you’d have 3-4 SEC teams, and end up in an all SEC semi final. Lol
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If they’re “Fed up with SEC favoritism …” just stop sucking.
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^^This. Get rid of the committee.
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Right, the any rational playoff would have had the 3rd ranked FPI team in it. Hint: They wear red and black.
SEC bias is truer.
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No way is Sankey going to give up the SECCG. It is the spectacle that says, “It just means more.”
When this thing goes to 8, the NY6 bowl games that don’t host a semifinal are officially dead … they may still play them, but they are useless. We’re going to force the student-athletes to prepare for a game right in the middle of final exams. If you think those campus games are going to be priced like a normal regular season game, I have some oceanfront property in Hahira to sell you.
Bracket fever … catch it!
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Force them to prep for a game during finals or off to work on NFL combine drills?
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I don’t see guys in the playoff leaving to prepare for the draft. At Georgia, players are given time off between the championship game and bowl practices to prepare for finals. They will not get that time when the field expands to 8.
8 doesn’t work unless the conferences agree to end their championship games. I don’t see the SEC agreeing to that unless the check per school for an 8-team playoff exceeds that.
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You have a bit more faith than I do especially if the playoff goes past 8.
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to clarify in terms of players staying
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As for 8 teams and $$$ for the SECCG to br dropped you have to $$$ looking like the SEC makes the same $$$ they do now with a a team in the playoff and the SECCG and making more if they put 2 teams in the playoff. That is for the idea to be floated for serious discussion.
I see it going down as, the top 8 going with the P5 champs being automatic qualifiers, which keeps conf. championship games important as it is a default playoff even for Northwestern. Can you see the hype on the Cinderella story?
Top nonP5 champ getting a spot using qualifications in line with their requirements to make a NY6 bowl.
ND getting some clause if they’re in the top10.
Then the top ranked teams which have not qualified using the qualification above to fill out the field.
The rules above would have the unintended consequence of making out of conference games a risk with little upside. McGarity would be free to fill up the schedule with home game cupcakes and the strategy of win the SEC and you’re in as would UF, FSU, etc etc. If you put in some limitation on scheduling FCS teams, then the price goes up on FBS cupcakes.
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I’m against 8, but it all works fine if you just start the regular season a week or two earlier. Round of 8 can be at the home fields of 1-4 the week of Army/Navy (gasp!) and the 4 losers can still go to bowl games. That way finishing #1-4 is much more valuable than finishing #5-8.
I think it would be reasonable at that point to expand eligibility to five full seasons in order to give teams as much depth as possible to b/c of the expanded season.
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I read that this morning and it pissed me off. They just glossed over the little detail of how you determine conference champions without a conference championship game…
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In a perfect world, you have a 10-team conference with a 9-game conference schedule where everybody plays everybody for the championship.
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And if a conference has a tie for its champion (A beat B, B beat C, C beat A, and all have one loss), then those teams combine forces to form a super-team for the playoff.
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If Alabama steamrolls everyone this year, I’m curious as to what they would say like “Oh we should expand so that UCF has a chance to get steamrolled too!!”
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One thing Leach is in favor of that’s right—reduce the number of regular season games.
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Not to be THAT GUY, but you cited “the Atlantic” again when linking to “the Athletic.” I will take a donation if you need an editor, though. 🙂
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“Fed up with SEC favoritism…”
Yeah, it’s not like the SEC has beaten all comers in the playoffs recently or anything.
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They JUST snubbed a second SEC team who was clearly better than the #4 they picked instead. Hot on the heels of the two SEC teams from last year’s playoff beating their first round opponents. If the SEC was repeatedly getting in over arguably better teams and then getting creamed in the first round, sure, there’s your favoritism. But this is nothing more than a straw man argument.
How about step up your damn game or sit down? Pac-12 and Big 10 didn’t get left out – they played like shit and earned a condolence prize berth in the Rose Bowl. They left themselves out by losing games. That’s how it goes. In a weaker year could Ohio State have earned a spot with the way they played this year? Sure, and it would have been a weaker playoff field. Could Washington have gotten in if there was an EVEN WEAKER field? Yes. The point is if you’re elite, you’re in. If you’re anything less than that, you’re hoping for a break which you may or may not get. There have been ZERO elite teams left out of the playoff so far because there will NEVER be more than 4 elite teams in a year. If you sneak in as a just OK #4, good for you but that doesn’t mean #’s 5-8 “deserved” to be there, too.
All they’re really asking for here is a system where every conference can send a team to the playoff, even when that team is just OK.
The only valid complaint I see is from mid-majors. Not the complaint that undefeated teams are left out, but the complaint that big teams refuse to schedule them in the regular season once they’ve shown themselves to be good. Find a way to fix that, so the committee can compare apples to apples with schedules.
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And i’m trying to find out who the constituents are in the G5 who are harmed by the current system, OTHER THAN COACHES AND ADMINS whose standing and job security (should be) irrelevant in non-profit amateur sports ?
The players ? Are NFL teams not capable of viewing G5 teams ? No, The NFL has scouts mining every corner of football, including FCS and even lower. The American has over 100 albums on NFL active rosters. The only reason they don’t have more boils down to the one thing everybody wants to pretend doesn’t exist.
The fans ? If they had fans they wouldn’t need 30 million dollar subsidies to compete at the FBS level. The better question is why is it necessary for half of these PUBLIC MONEY SYPHONS to play in FBS. There’s a fun 16 team playoff waiting for them.
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The failure of other conferences to keep up doesn’t constitute an emergency for the SEC.
Since the BCS era began in 1997 schools not from the deep south that have won titles.are Ohio State twice (2014 and 2002) and SoCal (shared with LSU 2003, and 2004). Oklahoma won in 2000 and Texas in 2005 from the Southwest.
The problem for other conferences is that the playoff system took the champion out of the hands of the AP/UPI voters and made them win on the field which forced them to play at least one or two southern teams. Ohio St, Notre Dame, and Michigan can no longer go undefeated or one loss and win a title by beating some soft Pac 12 team in the Rose Bowl and now the make up of teams that are winning reflect the native talent pool that resides in the region. SEC teams aren’t going to win any Hockey Frozen Four tournaments and B1G teams are going to continue to find it exceedingly more difficult to win a football title because demographics have created a massive talent imbalance in the talent pool and its getting worse. Urban was the last coach that could recruit with the SEC and now he’s gone.
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“The failure of other conferences to keep up doesn’t constitute an emergency for the SEC.”
This!
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The SEC should just say we will declare our champ the national champ and skip the entire playoff and just play an exhibition against any taker on Jan 1. That way a BIG or PAC team can win a NC but there will be less $$$ without the SEC.
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I’m pretty sure this was the old Alabama method.
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Well done, sir.
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It would be hilarious if things were expanded to 8, then the power 5 conferences moved to automy and shut out the group of 5 again.
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Call it an Invitational instead of a playoff and then the pressure is off for inclusion.
Oh wait…it’s about the money isn’t it.
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LOl at some of the comments above: giving up CFB if they do, not watching any more, then it goes to 32, use the BCS method (GT nerds celebrate this, their chance to be involved!), etc. Sure, the sport becomes more popular and exciting longer when games mean more nationally, and some here are quitting it. Right. Call me when this happens.
Admit I don’t understand the idea you have to drop the conference championships, as Jim stated, how do you know who your champion is? Crazy, it would make them all more meaningful. I expect there may be some conferences afraid to show they only have one team even remotely qualified. I mean, who would the ACC have? Skip that, everyone already knew they had only one decent team. As for the 4-5 loss champion scare tactic, just put in a provision that takes away the guaranteed spot if they have over 3 (or 2) losses, or not ranked in the Top 12ish. Take the next highest rated team and move on.
The argument that it would be two many games is false, we would only have 2 teams of the total 130 playing one more game than the current format provides for. Wussy argument. Let that concerned snowflake AD/Prez pull their team out. All the tired arguments have been trotted out, let’s get this improved ASAP. SEC fatigue be damned
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let’s get this improved ASAP
So we’re bringing back the BCS?
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“more exciting longer”— does this “length” mean uninterrupted ?
College basketball regular season ratings would like a word with you.
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Yep.
And Mac, you can have it, but I enjoy bowls and arguing about champions. The 4 team playoff has already watered down the bowls and sport where a trip to the Sugar Bowl against Texas is viewed by some as a disappointment. Expanding it more will just make it worse in my opinion.
I enjoy traditional rivals and the overall tradition of on-campus college football. If I liked playoffs, national competition and corporate settings, I’d be following the NFL.
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Bingo, and I didn’t watch the Super Bowl
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When the Falcons played in the Super Bowl in Houston (30 minutes from where I live), I had zero interest in going to the game. Never even thought about it. It’s an event, not a football game. The NCG last year seemed like the same thing. I was glad I went to the Rose Bowl instead.
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Apples and oranges. But all the deflection and misdirection used by the antis are failing. While I love hearing it is inevitable, all I hear is talk, no action. Let’s get this done, you will see, it will make you wonder why it took so long. Meanwhile I will enjoy what we have, and hope I get to see it finally get fixed.
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Dropping the conference championship games is counter intuitive to what they insist they want in a playoff: settling it on the field. You cant have 14 team conferences playing 12 games against conference opponents only, and even if you did, nobody is playing exactly the same schedule. IT AINT FAIR, PAWWWWLLLLL!
maybe they should go to the GHSA rules. 8 regions, top 2 or 4 teams in each region, or whatever, predetermined draw. You play in a region with too many good teams? Tough. You are the number 1 ranked team and you end up playing the 2 team in the second round? Tough. You’re a team that beat a team by 30+ which then barely makes the playoff and now you have to play them in the finals? Tough.
Or you could go to the NFL model. Division winners, no matter how bad, are in, plus a few wild cards. You’re in a tough division and you smoked the winner of a mediocre division, but you are out? Tough.
You want the best teams playing for the title? Pick 4 teams, where ever they come from. Let them play. The end. Your team isn’t good enough? Play better next year. That’s what UGA is going to do. Do I think we’re top 4? Of course. Did we have a shot to take out Alabama? Yep, life goes on. LIfe aint fair, all you can ask for is a shot to control your own destiny. Play a better schedule. Win more and bigger games. Don’t wet the bed and lose by 30 to someone else.
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“Did we have a shot to take out Alabama?” Yeah and we had an extra shot at Auburn and how did that turn out?
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It turned out that we had won our division and earned a shot against the winners of the SEC west for the title. Which we won, earning a playoff shot. It isn’t the same thing at all. Did Auburn get in last year? 2 loss championship game loser Auburn? We’re they a top 4 team? At that point, probably, but life ain’t always fair. Ask a barner. If we hadn’t wet the bed against LSU, we’d have been in this year. But we did, then we lost to Alabama. Sure, we are a top 4 team. Just win the game. We’d all scream bloody murder if another team got in under those circumstances.
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You aren’t going to convince any sycophants who haven’t reasoned it out yet, Mac. The “extra games” argument they had went out the window when Pick Two went to Pick Four(the first “extra game” was ok in their minds, but one more game just couldn’t be reasoned). And no one seems to see the fact that Georgia will be able to play the best in the land to show why they should have been there for years.
If they go to eight, college ballin’ get’s tougher and true champions like the Dawgs will rise to the top in a field where deserving teams like our Dawgs can show their stuff year after year. S&C will be the heroes when we get to eight and our Dawgs could run that gamut all day.
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Cojones, the extra game argument is a straw man. No one believes that 2 teams that play 1 more game is the problem. The problem for me is how you play the “quarterfinals” and their impact on academics, fan support and the bowl games.
The 13 game regular season was enough for me to determine that:
1) We got our shot and missed vs Bama and lost badly at LSU
2) Ohio State got blown out by a conference opponent barely bowl-eligible
3) Washington lost to a barely bowl eligible Auburn team
4) UCF plays in a weak league and has no wins that warrant their inclusion
4 works for me … I would just rather see a BCS-type of formula to select the 4.
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ee, I wasn’t using that as the excuse used by some(too many games are too tough on the players), only as one of the excuses. Your point is well taken concerning the problem with the qtr finals and would hope we can push forward to solve it without impacting academics. The fan support would come out in the woodwork as it has in the past and the bowl games would remain the same. The question that should be seized upon is the one of extension of one more game. Finals would have already occurred by the time the playoffs have begun, but I could see a problem with Jan classes.
The extra game would also exacerbate the bowl game opt out problem for those that are headed for the Pros since it would be an additional endangerment to their career, but that may take a back seat to team loyalty that got them to the playoffs in the first place. That’s a wait and see that doesn’t impact the final game or the playoffs as hard as the academics question. Your points 2) and 3) prove that strength of schedule wasn’t considered in the rankings of those teams and that Georgia’s sos should have been considered over Ok. The loss to LSU was perplexing and no one seems to have solved the reason, but UGA’s and Fromme’s comeback games place that game in a unique light. Think we can convince the Committee on Mulligans? We did last year.
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Wait. What? There is SEC bias because an undefeated Alabama team beat the #4 team in the country in the SEC Championship and secured their spot in the CFP with a 13-0 ranking? There is a SEC bias because the #3 ranked FPI team is excluded from the CFP?
This is everything wrong with the world today. Folks would rather selfishly destroy a system because it will benefit their own good. It’s in politics. It’s in our culture. Now it’s in our sports. Can we disinvite Texas and put UCF in their place? Because that’s a game I’d pay good money to watch Georgia absolutely dismantle their opposition and then call a timeout with 15 seconds left to consult with UCF’s AD about whether they still belong in the CFP.
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“We’d like to redesign the system so that the advantages enjoyed by a program like Georgia don’t weigh as much as they used to.”
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Folks you better pray like you never prayed before that LSU totally dismantles UCF. I win or even a close loss by UCF will only increase the drumbeats. The only drumbeat I want to hear is LSU beating them like a drum. This could have all been avoided if those idiots on the plains had taken care of them last year. Blame this mess (and many more) on the WarTigerPlainsmen.
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I’m afraid it ain’t happening. Their top players are already packing it in for the draft.
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That is what I am afraid of. Auburn 2.0
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Stop it! You almost make me want to pull for the wussy CF group. That ain’t happening but you keep leaving Delany out and he will get this playoff to it’s best size. More and more are realizing this was a half ass expansion. Four was a flawed model, but it was certainly better than 2, and the computer nerds.
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Tired of SEC bias? What will they do when the SEC gets 2 teams in every year, and those two teams play for the national title more often than not? They’ll probably have to make sure the seeds are such that the teams play before the championship game.
Doubt that the conferences give up those title games.
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“The Devil’s…in the Details”- a really good song from the album The Vulture by Marc Ford & the Neptune Blues Club. Check it. Go Dawgs.
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Can the SEC help it if they play the best football ? No talks about a 6 team playoff l Top 2 tea get first round buy.
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“..conference Commissioners fed up with their soft coaches not lining their pockets with enough cash…” this is pathetic.
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I would much rather have 1 more big time matchup in Athens then play in a Conference Championship game on neutral ground. SEC could do away with divisions and play a 9 game rotating conference schedule. 1 power 5 opponent from another conference (Tech) and 2 powder puffs. If we get in, we potentially get a HUGE home game. It would be awesome for the fans. This year under that scenario, Georgia would have had to play Alabama eventually anyway in order to go all the way. Why do you need a Conference Championship.
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They’ll pick the obvious compromise…5 Power 5 conference championship games plus 3 Invitational “play-in” games for the Group of 5 and ND (gives the Irish the extra game they need, but against a non-P5 opponent) is an immediate leap to a 16 team playoff using an existing weekend and structure. $$$$
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