This is the 3rd week in which we’re taking a look at what my proposed 16-team NCAA playoff would look like.
If you need a refresher, take a look at the 1st 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 week’s version is delayed because I used the College Football Playoff rankings instead of the AP Poll to rank the teams, which scrambled some things up.
What would the bracket currently look like under this system? This.
# 16 Buffalo (MAC) at # 1 Alabama (SEC)
# 9 Iowa State (Big 12) at #8 Georgia (at-large)
# 13 Marshall (CUSA) at # 4 Ohio State (Big 10)
# 12 Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt) at # 5 Texas A&M (at-large)
# 14 Washington (Pac 12) at # 3 Clemson (at-large)
# 11 Oklahoma (at-large) at # 6 Florida (at-large)
# 10 Miami (at-large) at # 7 Cincinnati (AAC)
# 15 San Jose State (MWC) at # 2 Notre Dame (ACC)
IN: Georgia, Oklahoma, San Jose State, Washington
OUT: BYU, Nevada, Northwestern, Oregon
All that teams that dropped out this week lost except for BYU, who gets penalized in switching from the AP to the CFP rankings since BYU is ranked #8 in the AP poll but only #13 in the CFP poll.
Oklahoma is the last at-large team in right now but even that is not secure; if Ohio State does not play six games they would lose their eligibility for the Big Ten title. If Ohio State maintained a high ranking, that would mean a different Big Ten team could qualify and Ohio State would be slotted as an at-large.