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.
Since the College Football Playoff rankings won’t come out until November, I am currently using the AFCA Coaches Poll. Which I trust a lot more than the AP poll.
What would the bracket currently look like under this system? This.
# 16 Toledo (MAC) at # 1 Georgia (SEC)
# 9 Oregon (At-Large) at #8 TCU (Big 12)
# 13 South Alabama (Sun Belt) at # 4 Tennessee (At-Large)
# 12 Tulane (AAC) at # 5 Clemson (ACC)
# 14 UTSA (CUSA) at # 3 Michigan (Big 10)
# 11 Oklahoma State (At-Large) at # 6 Alabama (At-Large)
# 10 UCLA (Pac-12) at # 7 Ole Miss (At-Large)
# 15 Boise State (MWC) at #2 Ohio State (At-Large)
The crazy Saturday in College Football just messed with things on a grand scale. Compare this week to last week. Seven new teams replaced seven old teams. And yet still a quarter of the field are SEC teams.