Potential issues with the 12-team CFP

[volfan102455]

There is really no way to compare the top teams in the conferences other than what folks perceive to be true. As of today, if I did this correctly here are the results of direct play between the conferences:

SEC vs B12 ==> 2 -2
SEC vs ACC ==> 5-2 (There are enough games here to possibly draw a conclusion. Maybe we'll have a better idea after the last game of the season when UGA plays Tech and SC plays Clemson)
SEC vs B10 ==> 2-1 (LSU lose to a USC team that is now 3-4 and Texas beat a Michigan team that is 4-3).

 

[RDU VOL#14]

Unfortunately they will be in at 11-1…regardless of them or not…ACC will be rewarded with two teams in…Pitt and SMU are also alive there…4 teams (Miami, Clemson, Pitt, Smu) to get two spots

Unless Clemson drops one to Virginia Tech, Pitt or USCjr. If they lose 2 they are out w/o winning the ACC IMO. If they lose to South Carolina I don’t see how they get an at large bid over us if we come in at 10-2 .

 

[stonesk]

There is so much football left to be played, its not worth "what if's" at this point. If you've been a fan a while, you know, College football is always wild. Hell, Vandy could win out.....ok, maybe not THAT wild, but still...

 

[volplaya8]

Unless Clemson drops one to Virginia Tech, Pitt or USCjr. If they lose 2 they are out w/o winning the ACC IMO. If they lose to South Carolina I don’t see how they get an at large bid over us if we come in at 10-2 .

I’m not talking over the Vols…we should get a higher seed than whoever the #2 ACC school is…Im just saying there is high probability of two ACC getting in…

 

[sami]

They are now getting paid....and some of them are getting paid quite well. My sympathy for more games went out the window with NIL

No sympathy here, just the hypocrisy of the "player safety" garbage.

 

[rev_vol]

Isn’t it an incredible thought that we are discussing the playoffs when just a few years ago we were looking at the back end of the schedule hoping to squeeze out a couple of wins just to be bowl eligible…

 

[volplaya8]

There is so much football left to be played, its not worth "what if's" at this point. If you've been a fan a while, you know, College football is always wild. Hell, Vandy could win out.....ok, maybe not THAT wild, but still...

The fun is the talking…having a team in the thick of things…9 times out of 10 it will all be worked out on the field…but the fun is the scenario talking point!!!

 

[hUTch2002]

Those losses, just like Notre Dame losing AT HOME to NIU, will continue to fade away. ND will weasel its way into the post season because they dropped their terrible loss early.

We will be heavily penalized for our loss to Arkansas than they will for their loss to NIU. I cannot help but think we have to beat UGA to get to the post season as if we don't, even with a 10-2 finish, we will be the lowest or second lowest on the totem pole resume wise.

You might be right given how many teams could end up 1 loss or less. With these conferences expanding so much the schedules seem to be getting more out of balance. I think Miami could actually run the table and not even play for the ACC title. That’s insane.

 

[volplaya8]

You might be right given how many teams could end up 1 loss or less. With these conferences expanding so much the schedules seem to be getting more out of balance. I think Miami could actually run the table and not even play for the ACC title. That’s insane.

Again do away with title games and make every conference play 9 conference games and 13 regular season…..or 12 with 9 conference games but one more still has to be against another power conference…that’s the only logical fix

 

[hUTch2002]

Again do away with title games and make every conference play 9 conference games and 13 regular season…..or 12 with 9 conference games but one more still has to be against another power conference…that’s the only logical fix

I agree with you that the ACC could get 2. Pitt actually has to play the other top teams and will lose somewhere, likely twice. The problem is Miami, Clemson and SMU somehow don’t play each other. The championship should remedy that but whoever gets left out of that game will be in great position to make the playoff unless they already have 2 losses.

 

[Orange_Vol1321]

It's the same as it ever was. Do you put the actual 12 best teams in or do you go with participation awards and put in a Iowa St. even with their schedule? We all know what would happen to Iowa St if they played anyone in the SEC besides maybe Auburn or Miss St.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

It's the same as it ever was. Do you put the actual 12 best teams in or do you go with participation awards and put in an Iowa St. even with their schedule? We all know what would happen to Iowa St if they played anyone in the SEC besides maybe Auburn or Miss St.

That’s the problem w/ the AQ’s and the G5. This is also why Sankey and the B1G commissioner are flexing a little bit, saying that in 2026 they both want 4 guaranteed bids for both the SEC and B1G.

 

[CDB]

We are obviously not going to be able to pass judgment on this new playoff format and the selection process until we see how it plays out, but I'd like to raise a couple of potential issues. I'm clearly coming from a Tennessee and SEC perspective, but I'd like to hear some other opinions on this new format.

1. It annoys the hell out of me to hear the SEC and Big 10 linked together and described as equals. The only elite teams in the Big 10 are OSU and maybe Oregon. Penn State is good but far from elite, Indiana and Illinois are pretenders, and the rest are middling to dreck. The SEC has maybe 3-4 teams that aren't really competitive right now, and that's including underachieving Kentucky and Oklahoma teams. Hell, Vandy is a handful now.

But we're possibly going to see Big 10 teams that play 1-2 tough games winning 10-11 games and getting at large spots over 2-3 loss SEC teams that go through a week-to-week meat grinder because the leagues are seen as equals. Anyone who watches average Big 10 games and SEC games knows there is a huge difference in the level of play and the intensity of the leagues, and yet I believe we're going to see better SEC teams that played brutal schedules left out for a team like Indiana or Illinois.

2. The conferences will never get rid of the conference championship games because of revenue, but they are potentially going to cost a deserving team a playoff spot. If a 2-loss SEC team loses the title game, which is entirely possible, chances are they will be bounced from the playoff field, which would be grossly unfair for a team that finished second in the conference. It would be simple to decide the conference champ through tiebreakers if needed and avoid this, but they will never give up the payday, a potentially big problem.

Runner up should probably be automatic bid. That being said, if we lose to UGA twice, we shouldn’t go.

 

[Okie]

I don't care about conferences. I have a handful of teams that I care about. UT is one of them. If we want to win a championship, let's play all comers. Let the world know that a championship goes through us. We aren't afraid to play anyone, anywhere, and kick their a$$es.

 

[Firebirdparts]

Don't over-analyze it. There will be constant bitching about the 13th place team as if anybody cared [Take a drink every time somebody uses the word "deserving" the first week of December]. Then they'll play the games and have one winner. It's what we have, so we'll just have to enjoy it.

Honestly, ranking via the eye test was plenty good enough for the old Bowl alliance and the BCS. The BCS was good enough. 4 team CFP was gracious overkill. 12 teams is ridiculous. Nobody ever said, after 14 weeks, "Golly Gee, I thought this team was 13th best but now suddenly I realize they're the best team in the country"

 

[IndianaVol]

Don't over-analyze it. There will be constant bitching about the 13th place team as if anybody cared. Then they'll play the games and have one winner. It's what we have, so we'll just have to enjoy it.

13 is the new 5...just sayin'

It's why the Basketball people went to 68 teams and then they stiill grumble who should be in and out of that last spot.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

I’m going back and forth on this. On one hand, I think the SEC and ESPN will push to get as many SEC teams as possible because ratings will be better.

However, there is a real scenario where there are a few 10-2 SEC teams (LSU, A&M, Bama) including us, and our resume weaker compared to some. How many 10-2 SEC teams will they take?

Lots of tough games left

 

[VolPack22]

It’s going to be the same story, different verse. As long as biased human beings are allowed to decide who is “worthy” it will never be a good system. There will be a team left out that has a better résumé than the 11th seed and everyone will be scratching their head. The auto bids need to go away. Should be the 12 best teams in the country, no strings attached. If a Group of 5 team is deserving then so be it but they should not be gifted a spot, just as conference championship game winners should not be gifted first round byes. All conferences are not created equal.

 

[Halph66]

Wait until there is a three-way tie in one of the conferences. A loses to B, B loses to C, C loses to A. It's going to happen eventually.

 

[SEC__Headgear]

It’s a stupid system. All you need to see is the talent comp in the SEC vs all other leagues to realize how much harder this league is to win in. The bottom 2/3 of the B1G is nothing. Big 12 is bush league. ACC is completely outclassed.

Love to see them against Bama. Oh wait, Bama played a sissy B1G school and don’t even sweat.

Miami and Clemson get to sleepwalk through their schedules against cupcakes and are rewarded with post season berths.

We are right back we're we started. Bowl system being a beauty contest and now the playoff media control. BCS was the best, especially for the SEC. Enjoy.

 

[Nico ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va]

We are right back we're we started. Bowl system being a beauty contest and now the playoff media control. BCS was the best, especially for the SEC. Enjoy.

Bring me back to the BCS. The College Football Playoff and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race.

 

[Delmar]

It’s a stupid system. All you need to see is the talent comp in the SEC vs all other leagues to realize how much harder this league is to win in. The bottom 2/3 of the B1G is nothing. Big 12 is bush league. ACC is completely outclassed.

Love to see them against Bama. Oh wait, Bama played a sissy B1G school and don’t even sweat.

Miami and Clemson get to sleepwalk through their schedules against cupcakes and are rewarded with post season berths.

Miami and Clemson are way overrated. Clemson got the absolute beat out of them by Georgia and Miami has played nobody with a pulse.

 

[sami]

There is so much football left to be played, its not worth "what if's" at this point. If you've been a fan a while, you know, College football is always wild. Hell, Vandy could win out.....ok, maybe not THAT wild, but still...

But isn't that the whole fun of sports, especially if you have a team in the hunt?

 

[sami]

Again do away with title games and make every conference play 9 conference games and 13 regular season…..or 12 with 9 conference games but one more still has to be against another power conference…that’s the only logical fix

Something tells me that even if they go to nine games, they'll keep the superfluous conference championship games. The one absolute in sports is that no rule or policy change is ever made that will not somehow or in some way enhance revenue. Ever. I've yet to see an exception to that in pro or big time college sports.

 

[sami]

Honestly, ranking via the eye test was plenty good enough for the old Bowl alliance and the BCS. The BCS was good enough. 4 team CFP was gracious overkill. 12 teams is ridiculous. Nobody ever said, after 14 weeks, "Golly Gee, I thought this team was 13th best but now suddenly I realize they're the best team in the country"

It's obviously way past moot at this point, but I 100% agree. I always felt the BCS was just fine - the two best teams via a computer program (not by some guys with biases in a room) were determined, and it was always two of the only teams that would have won it anyway.

Even in the 4-team CFP, most years everyone knew it would be one of two teams that would win it. This idea that it will be like March Madness with crazy upsets and Cinderella teams are kidding themselves. If we ever get a single 12-seed that wins a game, or even a #4 seed with a bye winning more than maybe one game, it will be a shock. Even with the relative parity that is entering the sport.

But this is what it is, so might as well have some fun with it.