Jon Joseph

On the other hand - Mandel: Discussing 14 teams … already? CFP is fixing something that isn't broken THEATHLETIC.COM CFP executives discussed expanding to a 14- or 16-team format for 2026 and beyond in meetings Wednesday.

Solar, the top 2 ranked SEC teams, and the top 2 ranked B1G teams will play in the conference champ games beginning in 2024; no divisions in the B1G and the SEC. All 4 will be a 12-team PO lock. And would you prefer a Committee including many folks without B1G and SEC ties to make the seeding determination on which of the top 2 B1G and top 2 SEC teams deserve the higher seeds? Conference hamp games are built into the B1G media deal through 2031 and the SEC media deal through 2034 and are likely to draw even larger viewing audiences with a 1st round bye in 2024/25 on the line and for seeding purposes in 2026 and thereafter even with a 16-team playoff field. Another reason to have champ games in the B1G and the SEC is the difference in SOS you will see in intra-conference scheduling in 2 mega-conferences season after season.

Solar, to answer your question, the B1G and SEC will play without divisions beginning in 2024. The two teams in the conference champ games will be the 2 top-ranked teams in the conference. I expect that the top 2 B1G and 2 SEC teams vying for a conference title season after season will be ranked by the Committee in the top 10. In 2023 using the final committee rankings, Michigan finished No.1, UW No. 2, Texas No. 3, and Alabama No. 4. All 4 would have been in the PO as would conference champ game losers Georgia and Oregon. I think Tony Petitti thought the suggested format through before presenting it and ran it by 'consortium friend' Greg Sankey before bringing it to the CFB playoff committee. I think it makes sense. Especially, when you look at the teams that competed in the 4-team playoff. IMO, 10 automatic bids for conference champs is a non-starter. Drop the G5 from the PO altogether and how much money would be lost if a P4, or even a B1G/SEC 'world series,' was played postseason? The tail is no longer going to wag the PO dog. Petitti and Sankey do not want folks on the PO Committee outside of the P2, derailing B1G and SEC participants as a matter of 'equity.' The teams that invest the most capital into football deserve the best ROI.

Don't Worry, Be Happy. Over the top 5-7 concerns from Autzen Zoo. What does this guy not understand regarding Oregon having better recognition and brand appeal in the B1G? The 2024 schedule is tough, no doubt. But tougher than getting through last season's Pac-12? In 2025, Oregon will not play Michigan or Ohio State. The 2 toughest B1G road games are Iowa, Penn State, and UW. The toughest home games are Oklahoma State, USC, and Wisconsin. The difficulty of the schedule will vary year-to-year but Oregon benefits from a 5-7 format and also benefits from being in the B1G. Will the Oregon Ducks even benefit from the new 5-7 CFP format? AUTZENZOO.COM As Oregon heads to the Big Ten, will the team be able to benefit from the new 5-7 format?

As reported by Yardbarker and other sources, a 14-team playoff beginning in 2026 and through the 2031 seasons has been proposed by the B1G. The B1G's Tony Petitti would not have suggested this format without running it by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. Of course, the CFB freaks are freaking out! "This will ruin the regular season!" A 14-team playoff would equal the number of teams that play in the NFL playoff; a league with 32 teams (the B1G/SEC now have 34 teams). In theory, college football has 134 teams contesting for a spot in the playoff. The last time I looked, NFL stadiums were not empty during the regular season. Unlike 'The U,' the Dolphins sell out the stadium for home games. Boston College games feature many empty seats disguised as fans, even with the Patriots sucking wind post-Brady, Pats games sell out. I think that a 14-team PO format would follow the NFL model. 14 works in the NFL where the top No.1 seeded NFL team and the No.1 seeded AFL team have a 1st round bye. 3 'Wild Card Games' are played intra-conference between teams seeded No. 2 through No. 6. Would this be the format in CFB? And if not, how would a 14-team bracket work? (HELP ME Math Jocks!) If the NFL model was followed, in 2023, Michigan and Washington would have received 1st-round byes. Petitti's proposed format would have 2 B1G teams and 2 SEC teams automatically qualifying. Presumably, the 2 teams that played in the respective conference champ games. Remeber that come 2026, only a majority vote and not a unanimous vote has to be cast to approve the 2026 and going forward playoff format. The 'voters' have been reduced from 9 conferences and Notre Dame to 10 conferences and Notre Dame. In reality, the B1G/SEC are the only 2 conferences that could hold a playoff including only B1G and SEC teams and make bank anywhere close to the $1.3 B expected from 2026 to 2031. 2031 is not coincidental, it is the year that the current B1G media deal will expire. Floated 14-team College Football Playoff could have opposite effect than intended WWW.YARDBARKER.COM The more the CFP committee tinkers with its format, the more it's taking away from the excitement of every weekend being its own playoff. The new playoff format will follow the B1G/SEC money.

Friend NJ Duck has this article posted on the B1G Predictions Thread. No surprise here, NJ is the posting wizard. I wanted to take a deeper look into these rankings. First, these are Recruiting Rankings only and not Composite Roster Rankings that use transfer portal as well as recruiting data. For this article, Athlon Sports used 247 Sports rankings; 247 Sports will not release its final Combined 2024 Roster Rankings before the 2nd go round of players entering the portal, after spring practice for the majority of teams, and impact players in particular, transferring to new teams. A possible post-spring transfer situation. This spring the Ohio State QB room will include 2nd team All-B12 QB Will Howard and two true Frosh QBs rated 5* recruits by at least one site that ranks recruits: Justin Sayin and Air Noland. Will all three of these guys stick around post-spring? Just Sayin'. Over the last 5 seasons, 11 B1G teams, Ohio State, Michigan, OREGON, Penn State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, USC, UW, Michigan State, and UCLA have winning records. Iowa ranked No. 7 in recruiting has punched well above its weight class with a 53-22 record. But will this success continue now that the B1G has dropped divisions? No. 4 ranked Penn State went 52-22, will this improve now that the East Division is gone and having to play both Michigan and Ohio State every season will not be on the schedule? All four newcomers from the Pac-12 are among the 11 with winning records including No. 2 ranked OREGON, 57-18, which has the third-best win total behind defending B1G and National champion Michigan's 67-14 and Ohio State's rather remarkable 66-9. Special Note: USC is ranked No. 9. (Nine! Nein!) Behind Nebraska, Maryland, Iowa, and Wisconsin. USC's record is 41-29. Yet, it's USC that draws the majority of media attention as the 4 Pac-12 newbies enter the B1G. Once a Blue Blood always a Blue Blood? And the LA location does nothing to diminish the love for the Trojans. One should not discount out-of-hand 'development' programs. Michigan State with the No. 10 ranking is 36-34 over the last 5 seasons and J. Smith could be the perfect coach to get Sparty back on track. And 17 Northwestern? All these Wildcats did in the 2023 bowl season was travel to Las Vegas and out-smash-mouthed smash-mouth Utah in a 14-7 victory. 7 B1G teams finished 2024 recruiting ranked in the top 25, OREGON, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, USC, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Not bad. However, 13 of 16 SEC schools finished in the top 25. Is it August 31st yet? Vandalize the Vandals!

This in-depth look at how FSU could raise the money to buy its way out of the ACC references B1G, Oregon, and UW. In particular, as to the NW schools, Oregon's, and UW's right under the B1G agreement for each school to borrow $10M from the conference against future earnings. A 'tide me over' line of credit before the two NW schools become full partners in 2031/32. The author, who is wired into FSU believes, based on this article, that FSU is more likely to head to the B1G than to the SEC. FSU is doing everything it can to become an AAU member. Both US World News and Forbes rank FSU academics well above private school Miami's ranking. And, FSU plays football on campus. Like Notre Dame, FSU is a school that would be accretive to the B1G's bottom line upon joining the conference and Fox would likely love to plant the flag in SEC country. ESPN with its broadcast deal with the ACC is conflicted if that matters to ESPN, from bidding against itself to bring FSU into the SEC and risking litigation from the ACC if it attempted to do so. FSU is doing all it can to extricate itself from the ACC's crummy media deal with ESPN. This is not directly a B1G issue today. But like the change to the 2024/25 Playoff format, the format going forward, and the new Playoff media deal if a future post-2025 Playoff format can be agreed to, future conference expansion chess moves will affect Oregon athletics. Adding say Notre Dame and FSU would not help with travel but would help the B1G's bottom line in the ongoing battle for college sports conference hegemony.

Like the good Sergeant, he knows Nothing!

David M, spot-on comments. Conference champ game broadcasts are built into today's media agreements. 2031 until the current B1G media deal expires. 2034 for the SEC. 2036 for the ACC. I'm not certain about the B12 deal. The champ games are lucrative. In general, I agree with your point. However, with conference expansion, the odds are better of having teams meeting in a champ game that did not meet in the regular season. There is also the likelihood of 2 and possibly more teams, tying at the top with the same number of conference wins and losses, Without a champ game, for seeding purposes how does the PO Committee decide which team to seed higher than the other(s)? This matters in a 12-team PO with seeds 5-8 playing a first-round home game. Go to 16 and the top 8 seeds play at home. I very much doubt that the Committee will want the responsibility of parsing the seeding for the top teams in the B1G and the SEC in particular. Home playoff games will mean money for the home team and the merchants in a given town. If the playoff continues to use the NY6 bowls, hosting a PO game may be a team's one chance to play in its region and not in Dixie. I think Champ Games will be with us until the end of the existing media deals if not longer.

As CFP meetings resume, the battle for control of the sport's future persists THEATHLETIC.COM Can leaders reach consensus on the details the CFP's future that have held up forward progress so far? And if not … what exactly happens?

Here's another projected PO field. It would be sweet to play the Irish in Autzen. https://athlonsports.com/college-football/pre-spring-college-football-12-team-playoff-projections-for-2024

Using College Football News, a site without a dog in the media fight, preseason top 25, this is what a 16-team playoff field would look like. A G5 team could replace No. 16 USC. 1. Ohio State vs 16. USC 8. Penn State vs 9. LSU 4. OREGON vs 13. Oklahoma (The on-side kick rematch.) 5. Alabama vs 12. Tennessee 2. Georgia vs 15. Clemson 7. Michigan vs 10. Florida State 3. Texas vs 14. Utah 6. Ole Miss vs 11. Notre Dame 7. SEC teams. 5. B1G teams. 2 ACC teams. 1. B12 and 1. Independent. And three chilly games for warm climate teams in Columbus, Happy Valley, and Ann Arbor.

The biggest spring questions for college football's top 25 teams - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM Will Kalen DeBoer be able to get out of Nick Saban's shadow? And which transfer quarterback will be their new team's savior?

I posted this article from CBS Sports Dennis Dodd elsewhere but I believe it deserves its place on OBD Forum without having to scroll. 'This' will have a B1G time effect on Oregon's football future. As well as putting the future PO format out to bid and how the revenue from the new format will flow. B1G commish Tony Petitti is reportedly in favor of a 16-team playoff field in 2026 and thereafter. Both Tony and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey will reportedly be looking for automatic bids for the B1g and the SEC, Puddles is playing in the B1G leagues. Here's what Big Ten, SEC could demand as College Football Playoff holds critical meeting in Texas - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Wednesday may mark the start of the Big Ten and SEC attempting to more fully exert their power over the sport

Here's what Big Ten, SEC could demand as College Football Playoff holds critical meeting in Texas - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Wednesday may mark the start of the Big Ten and SEC attempting to more fully exert their power over the sport

After failing to obtain any certainty as to the Pac-2's Playoff (PO) revenue cut come 2026 and thereafter, a futile attempt at best by the Delusional 2, the 'Pac-12' has approved, along with 9 other conferences and Notre Dame, a change in the 2024 and 2025 PO format from 6 conference champions and 6 at-large teams to 5 and 7. The 2 pimples have disappeared from the Elephant's posterior. Here is an early look from CBS Sports at what the PO field might look like in December of 2024 when the PO Committee releases its final 2024 season rankings. College Football Playoff bracket: Early predictions under 5+7 model as 12-team format begins in 2024 season - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM The CFP voted to modify the model as the 12-team era begins in the 2024 college football season Yes, Puddles is predicted to again give Liberty football death, this time without leaving the nest. But in 2024, will a 13.0 CUSA champ with another easy-peasy schedule, trump a 2-loss AAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, or even a 2-loss MAC champion? Will a team's strength of schedule matter to the PO Committee or simply the number of wins and losses? The same question applies to CBS projected Power 4 PO participants. No. 5 Oregon plays the 13th most difficult schedule in the nation in 2024 including a gauntlet of 8 games in a row, 4 on the road, against P4 B1G opponents without a week off. Ohio State's longest stretch without a break is 6 games in a row with two away from Columbus. In 2023, the Ducks 2024 opponents finished a combined 101-57. Ohio State's finished 83-71. In 2025, Oregon will not play Michigan and Ohio State. Ohio State plays Michigan every season, in 2025, The Game will be played in Ann Arbor. Also in 2025, Oregon will play Oklahoma State out-of-conference in Eugene. Ohio State will play Texas in 2025 in Columbus. Schedule strength is flexible from season to season, not static. No. 6 Texas in its 1st season in the SEC, does not play Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri, and Tennessee and plays Georgia in Austin. Oklahoma plays Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Mizzou, and Tennessee. In 2025, as noted above, Texas will play Ohio State in Columbus. The SEC conference schedule has not been released for 2025. You can bet with the whining coming out of Norman and elsewhere in Dixie regarding Texas's 'easy' 2024 schedule, that the difficulty of the conference schedule in 2025 will likely ramp up in Austin. The above is not intended to be a pity party regarding Oregon's 2024 schedule. (OK, maybe a small party?) It's intended to point out the effect of intra-conference schedule strength when playing only 50% of your conference members every season. But. it isn't equal in the NFL where, in the League's endless pursuit of parity (right Chiefs?) the top teams in a given season will play a more difficult schedule than the bottom feeders and you will play 17 of your contemporaries but still miss 14 teams. The point is that if the CFB Playoff Committee does not do the same scheduling deep dive that the Basketball Committee does every season and if it's simply a matter of wins and losses and nothing else, the schedule be damned, why is Texas playing in Ann Arbor in 2024 and in Columbus in 2025? Why would the ACC and the SEC play 9 instead of 8 conference games and why wouldn't Notre Dame, with a championship game to play in, not continue to play 12 regular season games? I have a feeling that the move from 4 to 12 Playoff teams will do little to end the controversy surrounding the PO Committee picks. I also have a feeling that comes 2026, we'll see a 16-team field with one spot reserved for the G5 with teams seeded in the order of ranking and without 1st round byes and conference champion manipulation. Or, whatever else the Power 2 favors. PS - For conspiracy theorists out there - If CBS still had the SEC broadcast rights, would Oregon be No. 5 and Texas No. 6? Would Michigan be No. 7 and Bama No. 8?

Puddles says, 'You already gave me Liberty and I gave Liberty death. Do I have to do this again? Oh, well, at least I can do it without leaving the nest.' College Football Playoff bracket: Early predictions under 5+7 model as 12-team format begins in 2024 season - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM The CFP voted to modify the model as the 12-team era begins in the 2024 college football season

Hurt Pac-12 holdouts? So sad, too bad. Yuck, yuck. College Football Playoff's new 5+7 format will benefit Penn State, hurt Pac-12 holdouts - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM There are some clear beneficiaries from the playoff's latest shift towards the 5+7 model

Daniel Jeremiah 2024 NFL mock draft 2.0: Four quarterbacks selected in first eight picks WWW.NFL.COM In his second mock of the 2024 NFL Draft, Daniel Jeremiah has four quarterbacks selected in Round 1 -- all going within the first eight picks. Check out his full first-round projection, 1-32. Bo does not go in the 1st round. J Powers-Johnson goes 19. to the Rams and Troy Franklin goes 32. to the Chiefs. 11 B1G players in the first round including 2 from Oregon, 2 from UW, and one each from SC and UCLA.

Matt Hayes bringing the wood to the Wolverines. It's OK Michigan fans. Hayes is the guy who recently opined that Texas will be in the SEC champ game season after season. TX has an SEC scheduling leg up in 2024 but thereafter? The B1G 10: Enjoy 2023, Michigan. And brace for a dramatic fall in 2024 (and maybe beyond) SATURDAYTRADITION.COM Michigan was perfect in 2023 -- and lost nearly every key part. On the challenging rebuild ahead. Plus: B1G power rankings, top football/hoops coaching combos and more. OBD friends, B1G Tradition is worth a daily check-in. The above is a weekly feature that has some interesting takes on Oregon. But don't rely on Matt Hayes to get his facts straight. Example: Dillon Gabriel has started 49 of the 50 games he has played in. DG has not started 51 games as Hayes reported. Nevertheless, an average of 3 TD passes a game (1) is not too shabby. The best B1G coaching duo? According to Hayes, Lanning and Altman are No. 1.

Does this come as a surprise to anyone? 2026 means a new method of splitting up the cash. This will not be easy but it will more than less, go the way the P2 wants it to go. College Football Playoff format for future seasons still up in the air, per report SATURDAYROAD.COM College Football Playoff formatting will be a key discussion for future seasons after a new model was confirmed on Tuesday.

I hope Fiutak is right in his opinion. Before things get to the final Committee ranking, I see a lot of potential chaos with the tiebreakers trying to figure out the 2 best teams that will play in a conference champ game in an 18, 17, and two 16-team Power 4 conferences. Especially in conferences that play an even number of conference games. https://collegefootballnews.com/news/college-football-playoff-committee-wont-matter-that-much-now-daily-cavalcade-02-08-2024

https://collegefootballnews.com/news/college-football-playoff-to-use-5x7-model-great-now-dont-screw-it-up 'Don't screw it up' is spot on. Also, come 2026 it appears that former bowl tie-in agreements will end. If this was the case in 2024/25, No. 1 seed Georgia could opt to play in the Peach Bowl and not have to play in the Sugar Bowl. It's a Playoff. Go to 16 teams in 2026, with one spot reserved for the G5, otherwise as ranked and seeded by the PO Committee. Games at higher seeded teams before the semi-finals are played in the Rose and Sugar Bowls. Revenue share with the players. Champ game location moves between Las Vegas/ Glendale, Indianapolis/ Detroit, Dallas/Houston, and Atlanta/New Orleans. All champ games are played indoors.

Why wouldn't the Pac-2 agree to a 5-7 format? The Pac-2 in 2024 and 2025 cannot qualify as a G5 champion. The only way OSU and WSU can make the 12-team field is as an at-large independent like Notre Dame. OSU and WSU will continue to receive the Pac-12's PO payout for the next 2 seasons. Then? College Football Playoff unanimously approves 5+7 model as 12-team format begins in 2024 season - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM The changes comes amid the dissolution of the Pac-12, leaving just four power conferences in the mix

The Pac-2 got the message. CFP board approves move to 5+7 model for 2024 THEATHLETIC.COM The first 12-team CFP will include the top five conference champions and seven at-large bids, instead of the original "6+6" model.