Jon Joseph Moderator No. 1 Share Posted yesterday at 04:49 PM Ready for 4-4-2-2-1-3? This is what the College Football (CFB) Playoff (PO) format could be beginning in 2026-27. A field with 4 B1G, 4 SEC, 2 ACC, 2 B12, 1 G6, and three, not one, at-large teams, with one of the three most likely to be Notre Dame year after year. As noted in the attached article, the Power 2 are driving the PO bus. Three at-large teams seem to me to be a bone being thrown to the ACC, B12, and the G6. In theory, the Lesser 2 and the G6 would have a shot at placing another team or two in the PO field. In reality, and looking back at the final rankings before seeding the BCS, 4-team, and 12-team PO, the B1G or the SEC are more likely to take the additional spots. It also appears that play-in games could replace a two-team conference championship game. As to a 16-team playoff field destroying the regular season and the playoffs? We heard the same warning before the BCS and the PO field expanded. In 2024, CFB attendance and viewership both increased. If the field expands to 16 teams, what has to happen is for the regular season to end at least two weeks earlier than it does today, so Ohio State vs. Notre Dame, for example, is not competing against NFL postseason games late into January, and drawing fewer than the expected number of viewers. Dropping conference-champ games in favor of a flex-scheduled last regular-season game week is a step in the right direction. SEC, Big Ten reportedly in favor of another major change to College Football Playoff WWW.YARDBARKER.COM The Big Ten and SEC want more pieces of the pie. I do not see this proposal equating to the B1G and the SEC wanting more pieces of the pie, but as noted above, a move toward 'fairness' by giving schools outside of the Power 2, two (in theory three) more chances to make the PO. I see the proposed change to the format as allowing the ACC and B12 commissioners to save face, and to quell the bogus 'Little Guy' objections. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Author Moderator No. 2 Share Posted yesterday at 05:56 PM More Fodder for Four Being the B1G/SEC PO Floor. It's Easy as ACC. The stat that shows just how horrendous the ACC has been in the 2020s - Saturday Down South WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM The ACC has endured a historically dreadful start to the 2020s decade, but can that turn around in the latter half? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 3 Share Posted yesterday at 06:04 PM Notre Dame will continue to be the albatross but quelling the ACC & B12 is good. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike West No. 4 Share Posted yesterday at 06:28 PM On 5/9/2025 at 11:04 AM, 30Duck said: Notre Dame will continue to be the albatross but quelling the ACC & B12 is good. I agree Notre Damne is the albatross because they will take a spot from a lessor conference (G6 included). Yet Notre Dame is salvaging, if not saving the ACC. I like the 16 team format because it is inclusive, and I am for that rather than going to a Super League and the 80 Dwarfs concept. Anything to prevent another NFL type league. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 5 Share Posted yesterday at 07:03 PM I LOVE the 16 team format, so that nobody can claim that a team who was legit at the end of the season is left out. But I HATE the season-ending conference "Play-in" games. That is why we have a regular season, and as Oregon fans know...it is hard to beat a great team twice. At what point are we going to stop the nonsense for every last dollar? Softball had an incredible season tainted....because they got over the hump and won the conference championship with a full effort. But could not keep the intensity for the silly conference tournament. In Baseball? I would feel the same way if Iowa won the regular season championship and Oregon won the tournament. The champ should be Iowa in that case, as 27 games should not be negated by a couple of games in a tournament. Calm down Charles... 2 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 6 Share Posted yesterday at 07:35 PM On 5/9/2025 at 12:03 PM, Charles Fischer said: 27 games should not be negated by a couple of games in a tournament. Conference championship games need to be abolished. Talk about devaluing a season? The NBA has trouble getting people to watch until the Playoffs, so they even have a ridiculous Tournament during the season! Of course they also have a Play-in round. But it makes some sense because it lets teams at the bottom crawl in to the Playoffs, but it does not make them a champion! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Author Moderator No. 7 Share Posted yesterday at 08:42 PM On 5/9/2025 at 3:35 PM, 30Duck said: Conference championship games need to be abolished. Talk about devaluing a season? The NBA has trouble getting people to watch until the Playoffs, so they even have a ridiculous Tournament during the season! Of course they also have a Play-in round. But it makes some sense because it lets teams at the bottom crawl in to the Playoffs, but it does not make them a champion! 30, I'm in complete agreement. But ESPN and Fox will not pay the same money without a football and men's basketball conference championship game, and basketball games. Flex-scheduling in the final football regular season will shorten the season by a week and bring in more money than is being paid for football championship games. The B1G and SEC proposal to expand the field and have four teams each in the field also includes the B1G and the SEC telling the PO Committee which four teams are in. In 2024, 9-0 Oregon would have played Minnesota in Autzen. If the Gophers pulled off a huge upset, Oregon, Indiana, and Penn State would be the PO representatives, with the Gophers knocking out the 4th-place Buckeyes. With three at-large spots in a 16-team field, Ohio State would have received an at-large bid. Do I like the regular season, not counting for PO and bowl seeding? No. But then again, with so much difference in the strength of conference football schedules, a final regular season flex-scheduled PO does not bother me as much as single elimination postseason conference champions, where 12-seed Purdue can host the tournament. In football, in most, if not all seasons, I like the Ducks finishing in the top 4, playing another home game, and the money for OBD and Lane County that comes with a home game. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatOrlando No. 8 Share Posted 8 hours ago As Charles said, I hate the play in game because it devalues the regular season too much. Take the SEC this past year, you would've had Ole Miss, South Carolina, LSU and Florida playing each other for a spot in the playoff. To me that's ridiculous, it was ridiculous to see a three loss team in the field but the ACC was terrible. A five loss Florida team doesn't belong in any sort of playoff. Objectively a three loss Ole Miss, LSU, or South Carolina doesn't either. Would South Carolina be a threat the way they closed out? Probably. Ole Miss was hyped all year but they lost to Kentucky and Florida. They lost that right because the regular season carried weight. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Author Moderator No. 9 Share Posted 5 hours ago Terrific comments that all lean in favor of the regular season meaning more, which makes sense. The problem? Since the 1980s, it's all been about Dollar$ and Cent$. If the House settlement is approved, programs will have to come up with $20.5 million in direct payments to athletes. (But they're still not employees, right?) This comes at a time when the majority of athletic departments are in the deep red. Oregon being in the black is a testament to Rob Mullens. I've dumped on his scheduling from time to time, but Rob is doing the job that counts, and Oregon is counting the money. State laws regarding athletes being paid directly and via NIL are all over the place. The latest ploy is to exempt compensation paid to athletes from state taxation. Give It Up for U and State! College sports need NFL-like protection from Congress. Is this attainable without turning college football into NFL-Lite? I hope so. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 10 Share Posted 4 hours ago On 5/10/2025 at 9:49 AM, Jon Joseph said: Is this attainable without turning college football into NFL-Lite? I hope so. Unfortunately, with the NFL being a money machine, imitation won't just be flattery, with income counting more than anything, NFL-lite is coming. We scoff at Washington's split championship, "but those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end" 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Author Moderator No. 11 Share Posted 3 hours ago Pete Thamel: The Sweet 16 is not a done deal. Pete Thamel casts doubt on College Football Playoff expanding past 16 teams WWW.ON3.COM . Pete often hits the CFB mark. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
