Let's Have a Real Playoff, Week 11
Remember the last two years, when I was beating the drum for a 16-team College Football Playoff? Let’s do it again.
If you need a refresher, take a look at last year’s version. But the short version is this: In my playoff scenario, all ten conference champions automatically make the tournament. The field is then rounded out with six at-large teams. Independent schools would be eligible to make the field as an at-large selection.
This is the first time that I am doing this after the announcement of the anticipated 12-team playoff coming in 2024-ish. That playoff of course is still flawed because not every conference champion makes it. Which is what you really need to truly crown a champion.
Now that we have the CFP Playoff in place, we are using those rankings. Which of course *really* scrambled things at the top with Tennessee jumping to #1.
What would the bracket currently look like under this system? This.
# 16 Ohio (MAC) at # 1 Georgia (SEC)
# 9 Clemson (ACC) at #8 Alabama (At-Large)
# 13 Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt) at # 4 TCU (Big 12)
# 12 UCF (AAC) at # 5 Tennessee (At-Large)
# 14 UTSA (CUSA) at # 3 Michigan (At-Large)
# 11 Penn State (At-Large) at # 6 LSU (At-Large) Oregon (Pac-12)
# 10 Utah (At-Large) at # 7 USC (Pac-12)
# 15 Boise State (MWC) at #2 Ohio State (Big 10)
Somehow, these hypotheticals get even better this week. Clemson visiting Alabama in the 1st Round with a potential date with Georgia on the line? An all-Pac-12 matchup between Utah and USC? At least those matchups are possible in with the current 12-team proposal being bandied about for the future. But that’s still no reason that the Coastal Carolina’s and the UTSA’s of the world shouldn’t get a shot, too.