FishDuck Article Administrator No. 1 Share Posted March 18 In February of 2024, the B1G Ten and the SEC formed an Advisory Committee to ‘address issues in college athletics.’ A committee made up of the SEC and B1G university presidents, chancellors, commissioners Petitti and Sankey, and the SEC and B1G athletic directors. Many of the Advisory Committee’s thoughts on the format of the 2026-27, and college football playoffs thereafter have ... B1G, SEC: Does Champions Week & 14-Team Playoff Field Work? | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM In February of 2024, the B1G Ten and the SEC formed an Advisory Committee to ‘address issues in college athletics.’ A committee made up of the SEC and B1G… 1 Two Sites: FishDuck and the Our Beloved Ducks forum, The only "Forum with Decorum!" And All-Volunteer? What a wonderful community of Duck fans! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 2 Share Posted March 18 As always Jon...you give us a ton to ponder, and to be honest--I am not sure I like the replacement for the Championship weekend. It will be interesting to see what others think about what is being proposed, and what you covered so well... 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 3 Share Posted March 18 As always, thanks to my much-needed editor. Correction, Championship Week would be the last week of the regular season, the 12th regular season game will most often be played on Week 14 of the season. One change we will see for certain in 2026-27, teams will be seeded as ranked. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB89 No. 4 Share Posted March 18 Champions Week being the 12th game of the season and not the 13th game is interesting. It would not be an automatic lose and you are out of the 14 team playoffs. I think it is better for player health to eliminate any 13th game prior to the playoffs. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tandaian No. 5 Share Posted March 18 I like the elimination of the championship game, but how do you convince the conferences to lose out on millions of dollars? If the games are done in November, they can get all the CFP games, except the championship game, done in December. It won't ever happen because of money, but I would have the first round and quarterfinals play at the better seed's home stadium. Only the semifinals and championship game get a CFP. There are 6 major bowl games, so they would have to rotate every other year. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 6 Share Posted March 18 On 3/18/2025 at 2:52 PM, Tandaian said: like the elimination of the championship game, but how do you convince the conferences to lose out on millions of dollars? Yep, $$$vs. common sense, fairness. The idea of a CCG is ridiculous, nothing but a money grab. One team almost always wins the conference championship by their play during the season, giving a team that didn't play as well a 1 game chance to "win" the title is ridiculous. If two teams end up with the same record, that's what tie breakers are for. On 3/18/2025 at 2:52 PM, Tandaian said: If the games are done in November, they can get all the CFP games, except the championship game, done in December. It won't ever happen because of money, but I would have the first round and quarterfinals play at the better seed's home stadium. This also makes a lot of sense, but there's that $$$ again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 7 Share Posted March 18 $$$. Instead of a stand-alone 13th game, the B1G and the SEC would each have four significant games to offer the media during the last week of the regular season, with games spread out and played on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I'm sorry I did not make this point clearer. These games would be in addition to rivalry games played the week before. Adopt Championship Week and have everyone play in what is now Week 0 and the PO semifinals could be played on New Year's Day with the championship game played in early and not late, January. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 8 Share Posted March 19 If I was a No. 4 seed going into that weekend...I'd be torqued. Why the game should be played when this team locked up the No. 4 slot on the field during the actual long season? Get beat by the No. 5 Seed, (which could certainly happen) and that meant that all the tough games, all the workouts, all the planning over a three month season is for naught? This diminishes the importance of the regular season...just get hot in the final week, and you're in! Oregon could be a No. 4 Seed this year... 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 9 Share Posted March 19 On 3/18/2025 at 8:57 PM, Charles Fischer said: If I was a No. 4 seed going into that weekend...I'd be torqued. Why the game should be played when this team locked up the No. 4 slot on the field during the actual long season? Get beat by the No. 5 Seed, (which could certainly happen) and that meant that all the tough games, all the workouts, all the planning over a three month season is for naught? This diminishes the importance of the regular season...just get hot in the final week, and you're in! Oregon could be a No. 4 Seed this year... Great GIF! And thoughts I share. However, how would you feel if there was a tie for 4th place as would have been the case in the SEC last season? What's the better manner in which to determine the team that advances to the PO? Play a 12th game you will be playing one way or another, flip a coin, cut a deck of cards? How would you feel if, at the close of the regular season's penultimate games, you were a 5th place Georgia team having played a brutal schedule, sitting behind a 4th place Missouri team that had the easiest schedule in the SEC in 2024? Would the SEC be better off in this scenario sending Mizzou and not the winner of UGA vs. Mizzou to the playoff? The variance in in-conference schedule strength in these mega-conferences is a reason why a PO play-in weekend makes sense. Indiana played Michigan. Ohio State played Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan. Indiana had one blow out loss to Ohio State. Ohio State had two losses. Was Indiana the better team? A 2-loss Georgia team last season was better than a 1-loss Texas team. Fortunately, Georgia was given a second chance to prove this. Your work during the season will be reflected in where you stand after the 11th game and you will be seeded accordingly. In 2024, Oregon was not the beneficiary of its 12-0/ 9-0 record. OBD had to travel three time zones to play and defeat Penn State to win the title. All contenders going into the regular season knew a conference champ game would be played. I don't like it but it is where we are today. Where's the beef if heading into the season all member teams know that four PO play-in games will be played the last week of the regular season? In 2024, OBD would have finished with a 12th home game in Autzen vs. Minnesota. This seems to be more of a reward than having to play a 13th game against Penn State in Indianapolis. At heart, my friend, I am with you. A 9-0 Oregon deserved the B1G football title at the close of the regular season. A Michigan State team that finished three games ahead of the field deserved the Men's 2024-25 B1G basketball title without having to win it twice. And should a USC team that defeated UCLA twice, once at the Bruins place, not deserve to be the 2024-25 Women's B1G basketbal champion? Personally, I wish these post-season do-overs had never come about. But as we know, today, sadly IMO, it's all about the money. Thanks for another great GIF and a comment that I share in sentiment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeotechDuck No. 10 Share Posted March 20 Great article and thanks for the insight. I am not in favor of this format. Conferences have up and down years, so you are guaranteeing 4 spots even in a down year. Then a single upset during championship week could completely eliminate some team’s entire body of work. Why do they continue to make this so complicated? Develop some KPIs, like basketball has with the NET, WAB, etc. and put the 14 or 16 best teams in the field. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 11 Share Posted March 20 On 3/20/2025 at 11:10 AM, GeotechDuck said: Why do they continue to make this so complicated? Develop some KPIs, like basketball has with the NET, WAB, etc. and put the 14 or 16 best teams in the field. They don't want to lose the revenue from Championship week, thus the gyrations. I think it is going too far, and hurts what has been established from a very long regular season. Your thoughts about the metrics--I completely agree with. In the end...the schools will need to be willing to give up the Championship week revenue to retain the integrity of the season, IMHO. 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 12 Share Posted March 20 On 3/20/2025 at 11:23 AM, Charles Fischer said: In the end...the schools will need to be willing to give up the Championship week revenue to retain the integrity of the season, IMHO. Integrity>Revenue, would be a nice change. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 13 Share Posted March 21 The B12, anticipating having two teams guaranteed to be in the 2026-27 PO field, is considering a four-team 'Champ Week,' 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3, to determine its two PO representatives. The conference is also considering a return to Divisions. Big 12 considers going back to divisions: How would they be sorted? SATURDAYBLITZ.COM With the College Football Playoff set for a shakeup in 2026, the Big 12 is weighing its options for ensuring a strong position in the expanded format. As discu The B1G's decision to go to a flex-scheduled Champion Weekend instead of a conference champ game met with mixed results. Many OBDers were concerned about the negative effect this could have on the regular season; why should the No. 1 team in the standings have to play the No. 8 team? (This begs the question: Why should a 12-0/9-0 B1G football team have to play another game to be the champion if it is the only team to go 9-0 in the conference? Why was the Michigan State basketball team with a three game lead at the end of the regulat season required to win two postseason games to be crowned conference champ?) If the B1G is assured of Four PO spots in 2026-27 and thereafter, do any of my fellow and sister OBDers think that the B1G should return to Dvisions? WEST - Oregon, UCLA, USC, UW, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Two out-of-conference games, eight Division games, and two cross-Division games. One trip to the Eastern time zone and one trip to the Pacific time zone for an East Division team. Yes, Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State would again be in the same Division. But Northwestern, Purdue, Maryland, and Rutgers would also be in the East Division. And at some point, USC should awaken and UW, along with Nebraska, will bounce back, right? Before last season, Wisconsin played in a bowl game for 20+ years. Iowa is never an easy out and Illinois looks to be ascending. I do not believe a West Division, formatted as above, would be a year-after-year patsy vs. the best team(s) from the East Division. The top 8 teams regardless of Division standing could play one another in Champ Week with the West Division teams first and second in the standings assured of competing for a spot in the PO. Of course, returning to Divisions could not happen without the approval of FOX and friends. (Does anyone else find it curious that after FOX poached SC to start the Pac-12's downfall, the two teams do not meet until 2026? And I doubt that Ohio State at SC game in 2026 will be The B1G Noon game kicking off at 9 AM.) In 2025, OBD travels to the Eastern Time Zone to play Penn State and Rutgers. A Division structure would mean only one Three-Time Zone trip a year, possibly two if the conference champ game remains in Indianapolis. [Another topic for another day - Rotate the Champ Game between Detroit, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Las Vegas?] Go Ducks! Put Out That Fire! Make Liberty Flame Out! Yesterday saw a B1G 4-0. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 14 Share Posted March 21 Well, this gets to my long-held contention that conference tournaments are a crock. You play 20 conference games in basketball to have the champion declared from a couple of games at the end? Ditto for baseball, only it is 30 conference games...and then decide the champion on a couple of games over a couple of days? Now they want to do the same with football, and it is stupid-as-hell, IMHO. 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kamikaze Kid Moderator No. 15 Share Posted March 21 What a great post. I love the idea of a playoff to get into the playoffs with home games for the top four. It allows for a March madness Cinderella to sneak in. It also keeps the expanded conferences from getting too top heavy and keeps most of the conference relevant to the end of the season. That can't be bad for ratings. If all the conferences adopted this model, the playoffs would actually expand to well over twenty teams without glutting up the actual playoffs. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
