So what happens if CFP splits right down the middle?

[Goldbug]

The most important issue is not how many teams make a national playoff. The bigger issue is what happens if The Alliance (Big Ten, ACC and Pac 12) finally decides to go one way and the SEC and Big 12 go another way if they can't agree on a new structure for the college playoff. Who would you be pulling for?

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

I doubt that would happen. That would functionally ruin the sport. What's more likely to happen is those 5 splitting away from the rest.

 

[Goldbug]

I doubt that would happen. That would functionally ruin the sport. What's more likely to happen is those 5 splitting away from the rest.

I'd like to believe that too but I've seen some gnarly stuff coming out of The Alliance. And the SEC seems disgusted as hell with the whole thing. Other sports have had this happen to them. It's ugly.

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

I'd like to believe that too but I've seen some gnarly stuff coming out of The Alliance. And the SEC seems disgusted as hell with the whole thing. Other sports have had this happen to them. It's ugly.

I think "the alliance" is really only going to 1. limit the conferences from poaching teams from one another and 2. guarantee OOC games and maybe bowl matchups.

 

[Goldbug]

I think "the alliance" is really only going to 1. limit the conferences from poaching teams from one another and 2. guarantee OOC games and maybe bowl matchups.

The playoff games and how they mesh with the bowls is the biggest issue. Actually it's an issue about the size of Mt Everest.

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

I think "the alliance" is really only going to 1. limit the conferences from poaching teams from one another and 2. guarantee OOC games and maybe bowl matchups.

I would really like it if it did an annual match up challenge like they do in basketball. Align them based on how they finished the prior season. Meaning this year Michigan would play Pitt and Utah and so on down the line. Only thing is that the bottom two of the ACC and B1G would just have to play against each other since the PAC only has 12 teams.

That and the if the B1G would go to 3 annual games and the rotation. All that sounds sweet imo.

 

[HammerDown]

LOL @ the B1G.

 

[Illustrious Potentate]

Forming an alliance against the SEC is the ultimate white flag

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

I would really like it if it did an annual match up challenge like they do in basketball. Align them based on how they finished the prior season. Meaning this year Michigan would play Pitt and Utah and so on down the line. Only thing is that the bottom two of the ACC and B1G would just have to play against each other since the PAC only has 12 teams.

That and the if the B1G would go to 3 annual games and the rotation. All that sounds sweet imo.

It would be great. A scaled matchup rotation, matchups are set after the season is over. That would be so fun and guarantee some really good games the following year.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

I think "the alliance" is really only going to 1. limit the conferences from poaching teams from one another and 2. guarantee OOC games and maybe bowl matchups.

Well, the Alliance just cost all the conferences a half a billion dollars, so that would have to no. 3 on your list - 3. Be pussies because TX and OU joined the SEC so let's hold up the CFP expansion for no reason and lose a half billion dollars.

Also, with regard to no. 1 if USC, UCLA, Cal and Stanford called the B1G tomorrow and said, hey, we want to be the B1G West division, they would be in the B1G in a heartbeat. If the B1G could land Duke, UVa, UNC and say Wake no Alliance would keep that from happening.

 

[OlyDuck]

I would really like it if it did an annual match up challenge like they do in basketball. Align them based on how they finished the prior season. Meaning this year Michigan would play Pitt and Utah and so on down the line. Only thing is that the bottom two of the ACC and B1G would just have to play against each other since the PAC only has 12 teams.

That and the if the B1G would go to 3 annual games and the rotation. All that sounds sweet imo.

It would be great. A scaled matchup rotation, matchups are set after the season is over. That would be so fun and guarantee some really good games the following year.

conference standings or overall w-l ?

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

conference standings or overall w-l ?

conference standings.

 

[CoalTrain]

Without the SEC any and all others rot on the vine.

 

[TaikoTiger]

I would really like it if it did an annual match up challenge like they do in basketball. Align them based on how they finished the prior season. Meaning this year Michigan would play Pitt and Utah and so on down the line. Only thing is that the bottom two of the ACC and B1G would just have to play against each other since the PAC only has 12 teams.

That and the if the B1G would go to 3 annual games and the rotation. All that sounds sweet imo.

Yes, it would be sweet

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

The most important issue is not how many teams make a national playoff. The bigger issue is what happens if The Alliance (Big Ten, ACC and Pac 12) finally decides to go one way and the SEC and Big 12 go another way if they can't agree on a new structure for the college playoff. Who would you be pulling for?

I would suggest it's more of SEC v. The Alliance. For football, what's left of the B12 is really irrelevant. They might come along with the SEC, but they will be following, not leading, IMO.

From what I have read, the way the NCAA is currently configured, 3 of the P5 conferences have to agree to a rule change - in this case, how to configure the CFP. This comes from a 2014 change in Division I where the whole P5 G5 nomenclature came from. The P5 were given autonomy to make their own rules after they complained that the G5 teams/conferences had too much influence on things that didn't really relate to them, or affect them. Here is how I think this has to happen:

"There will be two ways to pass new rules: Get 60 percent of all the votes from 65 school representatives and 15 athletes plus a simple majority from three of the Power 5 conferences; or get 51 percent of the votes and a simple majority from four of the five Power 5 conferences."

This basically means that the Alliance has the ability to veto any and all legislation about the CFP if they want to. So, on one hand you have this odd alliance where the B1G just doesn't fit. Then you have the SEC which is the big kid on the block. I can't see any scenario where the SEC will compromise on anything that is important.

Per OP's reference to The Athletic, they have an article that talks about the SEC either (1) doing it's own 8 team playoff and then having an SEC champ on Jan 1, and telling the Alliance that we will be in Indy (or wherever) on January 10, send your champ to play us. or (2) having tournament with the SEC, B1G, and the G5 and maybe ND.

 

[OlyDuck]

conference standings.

at random discretion or paired divisions?

 

[Wild Turkey]

I'd like to believe that too but I've seen some gnarly stuff coming out of The Alliance. And the SEC seems disgusted as hell with the whole thing. Other sports have had this happen to them. It's ugly.

You're reading the tea leaves wrong.

1. Nothing wrong with the Alliance and it's good for CFB overall and should produce some higher quality games. The SEC (which you soon will be part of has nothing to worry about because we don't need those games for ratings but those other conferences need us for theirs).

2. The playoff holdup is really the ACC and the main agenda there is they want to find an angle that will convince ND to join as a full member. It may be their last shot.

3. The conferences just want to make sure it won't be 6 SEC teams in the playoff and the final won't be SEC vs SEC every year. I'm betting they are trying to limit it to three teams from a single conference in the 12 team field. They aren't advertising that but my guess is that is what they are trying to do.

Politics are screwing this thing up but one more year of two SEC teams getting in and they will throw in the towel.

 

[OlyDuck]

conference standings.

i only ask because of times like 2019 pac standings. ACC also that year. 2018 Big Ten West.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

You're reading the tea leaves wrong.

1. Nothing wrong with the Alliance and it's good for CFB overall and should produce some higher quality games. The SEC (which you soon will be part of has nothing to worry about because we don't need those games for ratings but those other conferences need us for theirs).

2. The playoff holdup is really the ACC and the main agenda there is they want to find an angle that will convince ND to join as a full member. It may be their last shot.

3. The conferences just want to make sure it won't be 6 SEC teams in the playoff and the final won't be SEC vs SEC every year. I'm betting they are trying to limit it to three teams from a single conference in the 12 team field. They aren't advertising that but my guess is that is what they are trying to do.

Politics are screwing this thing up but one more year of two SEC teams getting in and they will throw in the towel.

1. OP is correct that there will be an SEC v. Alliance showdown. Your no. 3 proves that.

2. The ACC's leverage disappeared when they no longer required unanimity to make the decision. As I pointed out above, the Alliance can veto new rules with their 3 conference votes. But, ND appears to be aligned with the SEC on CFP, so that isn't going to work.

3. The SEC will not agree to any of what you typed. They won't agree on limiting how many get in the playoffs, or how many get to the NC game. If one does not want more than 3 SEC teams to get into the CFP, put out a better product. They are getting P5 AQs ... trying to further limit the SEC won't work. The initial CFP concentrated on the "4 best" so lets hope that the conferences can agree that it needs to be the 6 best at-large, regardless of conference.

Having said all that, you can't go back in history and ever find 6 SEC teams in the top 12. 3 often, 4 occasionally. But it isn't a true threat. Here are the numbers, with an * where OU would have also been in. As we know, UT never would have gotten in.

2014 - 3
2015 - 2*
2016 - 1*
2017 - 3*
2018 - 4*
2019 - 4*
2020 - 4*
2021 - 3

While that looks like 3 years where it would get 5 in, when the SEC adds OU and TX, and we go to 9 conference games there is a chance that one of the lower qualifying teams comes in at 13-16 instead of 10-12.

 

[Goldbug]

You're reading the tea leaves wrong.

1. Nothing wrong with the Alliance and it's good for CFB overall and should produce some higher quality games. The SEC (which you soon will be part of has nothing to worry about because we don't need those games for ratings but those other conferences need us for theirs).

2. The playoff holdup is really the ACC and the main agenda there is they want to find an angle that will convince ND to join as a full member. It may be their last shot.

3. The conferences just want to make sure it won't be 6 SEC teams in the playoff and the final won't be SEC vs SEC every year. I'm betting they are trying to limit it to three teams from a single conference in the 12 team field. They aren't advertising that but my guess is that is what they are trying to do.

Politics are screwing this thing up but one more year of two SEC teams getting in and they will throw in the towel.

You could be right. But I'm not a big fan of affirmative action. In my world you need to earn the spot on your own merit. Making room for people out of "fairness" always ignores the fact that someone more deserving just got the shaft. And we all know trying to legislate equality fails 99% of the time. Maybe I'm wrong (we'll see) but I'm predicting that within 10 years CFB will unrecognizable and it will start suffering the same problems as NASCAR. Older fans will be turned off by all the "improvements' and younger fans will not attend games in large enough numbers to keep things going the way they are now. NIL, portal chaos, bickering about the playoff, etc. will erode a lot of the goodwill we have in the sport. And if the economy really ends up in the dumper, it will be a disaster for a lot of schools. But the leaders in CFB can't seem to look past the nose on their face. Let's see if the fans keep staying home instead of going to the stadiums. That will be a good barometer of what the future holds.