With College Football Playoff change looming, a 12-team model leads the way (Yahoo/Thamel)

[huskymedic]

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-> How would 12 teams work? The basic thought is automatic bids for the five major conferences — which also juices up their league title games as play-in games — and one for the highest ranked Group of Five champion. The other six spots would be at-large bids. That gives automatic bids to some of the have-nots and more potential spots for the more powerful leagues, and compromise is important in a vote where consensus is needed.

The details of how those 11 games in a 12-team system would unfold will still need to be worked out in upcoming months. But the thought is that the first four teams would get a bye and teams No. 5 to No. 8 would host teams No. 9 through 12 at home sites. (This could, of course, irk teams that finished higher and don’t get the big gate, memorable experience and home-field advantage of a playoff game.) <-

 

[Drew]

Yes yes yes yes yes

 

[Exit 4]

Gonna be 11 P5 and one G5 most years…. But yeah, I’ll take it….much better than the current format. Will they cap the number of schools per conf? Four SEC schools making it not out of the realm of possibility.

 

[DoctorWho85]

SHould be an auto bid for every conference champ. Any other model is complete trash.

 

[Exit 4]

SHould be an auto bid for every conference champ. Any other model is complete trash.

Each playoff game will be worth millions in tv and gate revenue….. so yeah, unfortunately that won’t happen because the big boys aren’t going to allow that money to fall down to the little guys. One team is what the little guys will get.

 

[metsfan2323]

SHould be an auto bid for every conference champ. Any other model is complete trash.

That would be a disaster for UCONN since we aren't in a conference. The last thing we want to see is the AAC getting an auto-bid, can't even imagine the angst on this board if that happened. Thankfully it seems very unlikely to happen.

 

[John Greene]

Most years 10 of the 12 would be P5 schools. A playoff of this size would incorporate the major bowls and thus make minor bowls more irrelevant than they are currently. It would also make most G5 and independent (X-ND) games irrelevant. Finally it would remove any incentive for P5 schools to play anyone outside of the P5 since strength of schedule would no doubt be a factor in at-large bids.

 

[BlueDogs]

That would be a disaster for UCONN since we aren't in a conference. The last thing we want to see is the AAC getting an auto-bid, can't even imagine the angst on this board if that happened. Thankfully it seems very unlikely to happen.

Look at this way. UConn as an Indy has exactly zero % of ever finishing in the top 4. In the proposed model they would have a 0.1% chance where they go undefeated, ND and BYU ranked lower, and there isn’t a better 6 2nd P5s or G5’s at the table. So, there is a snowball’s chance in hell.

 

[CL82]

SHould be an auto bid for every conference champ. Any other model is complete trash.

Or at least disenfranchises all but one G5 school. The problem is that the current ranking system defers to the existing P5 and it is tough for G5 teams to climb in the rankings. Likewise being in a P5 conference gives a boost to your SOS/RPI. I'm not sure how to "fix" that since there is some logic to it, but puts G5 schools in a hole at the start of the season.

Giving every conference a bid does correct that, but will certainly lead to the argument that better teams are losing slot to the G5 champs.

 

[Husky25]

SHould be an auto bid for every conference champ. Any other model is complete trash.

Amend this to read for the Power 5, and we're good to go. In a 12 team tournament, the G5 should get at least one autobid. Two would be closer to ideal, which leaves 5 at-larges for next 5 highest ranked teams.

Besides @billybud, who says no to this? The biggest consideration AFAIC is to limit the influence of the selection committee.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

SHould be an auto bid for every conference champ. Any other model is complete trash.

Disagree. Having more open slots is a good thing versus hardwiring in conference champions. Yes it will be harder for non P5 to get those slots, but at least they will have a chance.

 

[Husky25]

Gonna be 11 P5 and one G5 most years…. But yeah, I’ll take it….much better than the current format. Will they cap the number of schools per conf? Four SEC schools making it not out of the realm of possibility.

I say cap it at 3.

 

[CL82]

Amend this to read for the Power 5, and we're good to go. In a 12 team tournament, the G5 should get at least one autobid. Two would be closer to ideal, which leaves 5 at-larges for next 5 highest ranked teams.

Besides @billybud, who says no to this? The biggest consideration AFAIC is to limit the influence of the selection committee.

How do you pick which G5 champs get the auto bid? Best team rank? Does that take away the value of the winning the conference for a team that gets hot at the end of the season? Best conference rank? Does that penalize a good team from a weak conference?

 

[CL82]

I say cap it at 3.

Interesting. Would that incentivize more conference realignment? If you are good team consistently 4th in your P5 conference do you look for an easier path to the playoffs?

 

[metsfan2323]

Look at this way. UConn as an Indy has exactly zero % of ever finishing in the top 4. In the proposed model they would have a 0.1% chance where they go undefeated, ND and BYU ranked lower, and there isn’t a better 6 2nd P5s or G5’s at the table. So, there is a snowball’s chance in hell.

Liberty 2020 provides the blueprint for what UCONN football should be striving for and yes it's much better to have a snowball's chance than no chance.

 

[Husky25]

How do you pick which G5 champs get the auto bid? Best team rank? Does that take away the value of the winning the conference for a team that gets hot at the end of the season? Best conference rank? Does that penalize a good team from a weak conference?

What is the methodology currently in place for picking the NYD6 G5 bowl team? I'd think it would be similar. The answers to your other questions are Yes, but they don't and won't care.

As I said, the best the G5 can hope for is to be awarded two auto-bids, but I can't really see that happening, considering all the money at stake. Perhaps they can work in a stipulation that a potential G5 at large cannot serve as the auto-bid. (e.g #8 Cinci in 2020 or #6 UCF in 2017). 2019 would have been a heck of a case study, with #17 Memphis, #19 Boise State, #20 Appalachian State, #21 Cincinnati, #23 Navy.

 

[Husky25]

Interesting. Would that incentivize more conference realignment? If you are good team consistently 4th in your P5 conference do you look for an easier path to the playoffs?

I see it as spreading out the 5* recruit destinations.

 

[SubbaBub]

In the entire history of UCONN, Big East, AAC, D-1 level football going undefeated was a prerequisite to any championship level access. The same would have applied as an independent. Now, win all your games and you get a shot in the playoff. This hasn't been the case in the CFP. You'll get the last spot, but you'll be in.

Depending who this mythical UConn team plays and beats, 1 loss might also get you in.

The one thing it would do is eliminate most G5's from any preseason polling.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

SHould be an auto bid for every conference champ. Any other model is complete trash.

And Notre Dame doesn’t exist

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Palatine]

This model basically puts the winner of the American in the playoff most years.

 

[Guapo]

Maybe if it does indeed only expand to 8. But I fail to see how 12 enhances the regular season.

 

[Slasher]

It seems pretty obvious that the P5 conferences want an auto-bid. So that takes up five spots. Due to antitrust and other factors they almost have to throw the G5 a bone. In this scenario if you go with 8 that leaves only two at-large bids with one possibly eaten up by an independent (Notre Dame.) This is why the 12 team scenario is by far the most likely.

 

[hank970]

That would be a disaster for UCONN since we aren't in a conference. The last thing we want to see is the AAC getting an auto-bid, can't even imagine the angst on this board if that happened. Thankfully it seems very unlikely to happen.

Buyer's remorse and/or sour grapes? UConn wasn't pushed out of the AAC, it left of its own accord.

 

[huskymedic]

-> A 12-team playoff is a good idea. It could potentially be a great idea. To get to great, something would need to give. For the sake of the players, the powers that be would have to do something they are intrinsically opposed to doing—scaling back to go bigger. Downsize the pre-playoff in order to expand the playoff.

Specifically, take one game off the schedule. Don’t steal what little time football athletes now have in December to breathe, to heal, to maybe even pursue the quaint notion of focusing on finals for a week. <-