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Jon, I think you nailed it on the head. I posted that Fox Sports article I believe two days ago, and I believe it is starting to make more sense. Your suggestion of conferences exclusively scheduling conference opponents is intriguing. I like the Texas versus Ohio State (Bama vs Wisconsin; Miami v. ND etc) games, but those matchups may have more meaning at the end of the season, and possibly more eyeballs on the product. The sport would probably excel more with one Commissioner, but we all know the conferences won't go for that. You also make a solid point when you say college football is close to being the NFL already. Look at how fans are upset that Kiffin went to LSU. We already hate player movement (especially when greed is the factor). But in my mind, nothing compares to the pageantry of college football. Thanks for the post.

Mike, great post. I think playoff expansion discussions are ongoing that will lead to at least a 16-team field or, more likely, a 24-team PO field with automatic qualifiers. Too much like the NFL? Other than for guardrails agreed upon by the NFL and the Players Union, what in CFB today does not resemble the NFL? Money rules the CFB roost, but unlike the NFL, the CFB billionaires have not learned to coexist. Better than a Super Conference would be a 24-team field with 6 at-large teams, which keeps a 4-PO-team ACC and the 4-PO-team B12 in existence. I don't believe a 3-loss USC, and Michigan, a 3-loss Georgia Tech and SMU, a 3-loss Arizona and 2-loss Utah, and two G6 teams in the field will destroy the foundation of CFB and CFB's regular season. I'd even be OK with 3-loss Texas and 2-loss Vandy being in the field.😁 A PO with AQs would likely lead to a B1G/SEC football challenge. I believe it could also lead to 10-game conference schedules (five home and five away games), which makes sense in this era of mega-conferences. Give the 'lesser conferences' four teams in the field and the G6 two teams in the field, and guardrails in CFB, as we see in the NFL, may be allowed with Congress giving CFB much-needed relief from litigation. BTW, A&M's conference schedule this season was putrid.🤮 Thanks again for the great take.

Another question to ponder: If Mario gets injured and will obviously miss the playoffs, does that put Miami back in????

Oh, I'm not sure its going to matter. Depending on how we get slotted, that first game might be just as tough. Notre Dame or Alabama would require all OBD have, and mistakes would be deadly. Out of that group of Georgia, Ohio State, Indiana and Texas Tech-I believe the Red Raiders would struggle with OBD in the trenches much more than the other three. And those Red Raiders haven't played a top ten opponent (heck, in terms of talent they haven't played a top 25 team). I have no idea of which OBD team we will see. I was hoping to see that Montana State/Oklahoma State version. That is a very dangerous team. But the more talent OBD have faced, the less that version has shown up. They're young, and it shows. I expected a nuclear bomb to drop on Lake Washington. Instead, we got drone missiles and B2 bunker busters (I'll take the win, but I want to see how close we can get to the damn near perfection we saw in early September). I'm proud of this team. It took care of business-flaws and all. 11-1 is always a major accomplishment. It is so dam hard to go undefeated, and even keep the losses at one.

It's possible, but I think both Miami and Notre Dame will be in the field.

There's so much meat on the bone in this discussion. But it's frustrating. I really don't want college football to look more like the NFL. The very heated discussions are what makes college football more interesting. But it is so awesome to see early season matchups between the marquee teams. Not to mention, since the B1G doesn't have the depth or the fanaticism the SEC has, it is very difficult to argue that it is a better conference when it comes to talent in the middle of both conferences. The problem with a Wisconsin versus Bama matchup is Bama truly exposes how much further the B1G has to go to get the respect middling Florida, LSU and Auburn are getting. Florida ruined Texas' playoff bid, and the conference uses the result as an argument that is is just better. Meanwhile, Penn State totally collapses, fires their coach, and now they are in a terrible situation. They are the last team considered talented enough to compete for titles to find a quality coach. So the B1G truly needs to see its marquee teams step up in performance. We want those marquee matchups, but since Michigan, Wisconsin and USC "dropped the ball", and Iowa lost to middling Iowa State, the B1G looks silly, and Texas-who has a legit argument because a talented SEC team finally played a real schedule with real consequences-can argue what USC and Michigan can't. BYU, and Utah, who are talented, but lack the depth the B1G and SEC have, are sitting outside looking in. Miami, a marquee team with glory from 1800, is calling out Notre Dame-who refuses to compete in a conference so they can use the college football tactic of arguing its way into playoffs(and is another 1800 blue blood relic). OBD, Ole Miss, A&M and even Bama are riding their conferences' respective reputations. Even Ohio State is relying on its dominance of a pretty weak schedule outside of "marginal" Texas and Michigan. The Playoff Committee is dishing slop about who should get in right now. How are Utah and BYU considered better than Miami, when Miami lost its games by no more than 4 points, but the Big 12 teams got smoked by their best conference foe-the 11-1 Texas Tech "we're still not sure how good they are" Raiders. SMU messes up the ACC title game and somehow, Duke-whom a forgotten Illinois team flattened, is in the ACC Title game instead of Miami (or any of the other ACC teams with a much better overall record). Even if we went to a 24 team playoff, how do you settle the ACC mess of seven teams close to each other in conference record with unbalanced schedules. Missouri, who like Vandy and Ole Miss, played the bottom half of the SEC and each struggled against the more talented group of teams they faced in the conference. The appealing aspect of arguing for your team is making all this frustrating, and the more we settle the issue on the field, the closer college football resembles the NFL because it is clear a lot of playoff teams would end up with 3 or more losses in the effort to prove they are truly playoff caliber.

Indy, preferably in the Cotton Bowl, but more likely in the Orange Bowl, with OBD coming off a win and the Hoosiers coming off a long bye. Make no mistake, Indy is darn good (DUH!), but watching the Hoosiers vs. Iowa and Penn State, I think it was The Perfect Storm Day for the Cigs in Autzen. I do not want to play Texas Tech in Dallas or an SEC team in New Orleans. After defeating Indy in the Orange Bowl, knock wood, how about a semifinal game in Arizona in more friendly territory in the Fiesta Bowl?

JMU. SEE: Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl in Autzen. 😁

Forsyth is on the Denver roster not sure he made it into the game.

MatchQuarters by Cody AlexanderThe defensive think tank from Cody Alexander. Learn to master Spatial Darwinism and the art of constraining space. Squares, Triangles, and the evolution of the modern Edge defender.2025 might be the most diverse defense Lanning has ever assembled. To address the split-field coverage issue in Base, the defense has repurposed Saban standards such as Box, Mix, and Stump to align with their 3-4 structure. Oregon isn’t reinventing the wheel; they're adapting it to their new reality. Oregon’s Answer to the 12-Personnel MetaSquares, Triangles, and the evolution of the modern Edge defender.

I think you and other fans should be very careful with what you wish for. Georgia and Alabama are as talented as any team in the country and they have two of the best coaches in college football. Yes, they have flaws but so does every team this year, including Oregon. Of those teams, I would probably want Indiana. Oregon did not play a good game in that loss (perhaps that’s due to the Hoosiers) but I’m confident that Oregon would be extra motivated for the rematch and know that we can beat them, if we play our A game. The devil you know?

That’s the problem. The college football playoff format has not been corrected because they are trying to keep the irrelevant bowls alive. College football should look to the NFL. The top teams get a normal bye week before hosting the next round. Three to four weeks is way too long of a layoff. Eliminate the conference championship games and go right into the playoffs. Have the higher ranked team host the playoff games. Screw the bowls. As Joel Klatt says, the college football championship game should be on January 1st at the Rose Bowl every year. I completely agree with him. In this scenario, Oregon and every other team would be trying their hardest to get a bye. With the current format, I don’t think a bye is adventurous and could be detrimental (just look at the results from last year).

I’m shocked that Oregon jumped Texas Tech, who looks legit.

The Broncos have one of the best defensives in the NFL which makes Mariota’s play all the more impressive. Congrats to Bo and the Broncos on pulling out the thrilling OT win to go 10-2.

I expect that Oregon will be No. 5 this week in the CFP rankings behind tOSU, Indiana, Georgia, and Texas Tech, with an opportunity to move into the Top 4 if BYU beats Texas Tech or Bama narrowly beats Georgia. If ATM is in front of Oregon somehow, it will be a crime, but it I guess it wouldn’t surprise me.

Will Oregon receive the perfect playoff path? Oregon Ducks On SIWhy The Oregon Ducks Might Get The Perfect Playoff PathThe No. 6 Oregon Ducks finished the regular season with an 11-1 record, winning a rivalry matchup against the Washington Huskies. Despite the win, the Ducks wil

It was so fun to watch both qb's ball out so amazing. Both guys made amazing plays. I did almost choke on my food when J. Conorly was called for holding! But Marcus recovered. A great Thanksgiving week of football for Duck fans.

I was hoping they would end in a tie, but I'm glad to see the Broncos keep their W-L record rolling. Were there four former Ducks out there? Bo, Marcus, Troy Franklin and Josh Connerly Jr.? Great game.

Great game!!! Tough break on that last play for Mariota! He played very well though!

All schools are looking at Indiana. Their turnaround happened in one season! Everyone now wants a Cigneti-type coach.

Great game! OT is always fun.

Get paid millions to go away? Not what happens to me!

USA Today is PO benching the ACC - 😁 CFP rankings prediction, updated College Football Playoff bracket

Yes he has, but there is a whole lot to love about his NFL play so far! He obviously has the physical talent to make dang near any play or throw, but what is so impressive to me is that he is doing it mentally as well. His work ethic and smarts are very impressive, and it takes that to be successful in the NFL. I’m a big fan of Nix!!!

Nix still making some avoidable mistakes but that's normal for a young QB in the league.