College Football - Championship Week

[Derwood]

7 hours ago, Rex Buckingham said:

The worst part of the whole CFP thing is the weekly rankings that dont actually matter because the committee just moves teams around to fit whatever they want in the end anyway. If the first time you saw a ranking was today, how different would it feel? There would be questions about ND being left out and Bama being in just like now, but the committee wouldn't have to answer for how and why they were switched around. 

But then there's no spectacle!

[Derwood]

Seeing that Baylor is also opting out of their bowl bid?

[Andy]

8 hours ago, Rex Buckingham said:

The worst part of the whole CFP thing is the weekly rankings that dont actually matter because the committee just moves teams around to fit whatever they want in the end anyway. If the first time you saw a ranking was today, how different would it feel? There would be questions about ND being left out and Bama being in just like now, but the committee wouldn't have to answer for how and why they were switched around. 

I'd go so far as to say that if yesterday was the first bracket we saw it would've been perfectly justifiable. I'm biased and think Notre Dame is better than anyone playing next weekend (the number geeks agree), but resume should always trump that and I've always said so. Alabama had more good wins, even if they've looked like garbage for a month, Oklahoma beat Alabama, even if they've also looked like garbage for a month, and Miami won a head to head game. Defensible. 

But the process to get there was so hilariously corrupt.

[CubinNY]

9 hours ago, Rex Buckingham said:

The worst part of the whole CFP thing is the weekly rankings that dont actually matter because the committee just moves teams around to fit whatever they want in the end anyway. If the first time you saw a ranking was today, how different would it feel? There would be questions about ND being left out and Bama being in just like now, but the committee wouldn't have to answer for how and why they were switched around. 

They should get rid of rankings altogether. If you want to have a playoff: 1) Force ND to join a conference (they will get over it), 2) Split the big conferences into two, each division gets an autobid. 

Big10 - East Champ, West Champ

SEC - East Champ, West Champ

ACC -  North Champ, South Champ

Big12- East Champ, West Champ

MAC - Conference Champion only

Mountain West - Conference Champion only

Sunbelt - Conference Champion only

AAC - Conference Champion only

That's it. No committee, no nothing. The names go in a hat, and first-round draws are made with Big Conferences getting one bye each. All games are played at a neutral site. 

If ND doesn't want to join a conference, give them the Donald Trump Participation Trophy every year.  

 

 

Edited December 8, 2025 by CubinNY

[CubColtPacer]

28 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

They should get rid of rankings altogether. If you want to have a playoff: 1) Force ND to join a conference (they will get over it), 2) Split the big conferences into two, each division gets an autobid. 

Big10 - East Champ, West Champ

SEC - East Champ, West Champ

ACC -  North Champ, South Champ

Big12- East Champ, West Champ

MAC - Conference Champion only

Mountain West - Conference Champion only

Sunbelt - Conference Champion only

AAC - Conference Champion only

That's it. No committee, no nothing. The names go in a hat, and first-round draws are made with Big Conferences getting one bye each. All games are played at a neutral site. 

If ND doesn't want to join a conference, give them the Donald Trump Participation Trophy every year.  

 

 

1.  You've just made all non-conference games completely meaningless.

2.  You don't have Conference USA listed which will throw off your numbers.  Also if the Pac-12 grows again could throw them off.

3.  You're going to have so many massive blowouts.  We've already seen it in conference championship games when conferences relied on divisions, and now you're going to see that to an even greater degree.  There's probably only going to be 5-6 teams max with a chance to win the title in this format.

No thanks from me, I would lose all interest at that point.

[Derwood]

None of those conferences have divisions anymore

[CubinNY]

1 minute ago, CubColtPacer said:

1.  You've just made all non-conference games completely meaningless.

2.  You don't have Conference USA listed which will throw off your numbers.  Also if the Pac-12 grows again could throw them off.

3.  You're going to have so many massive blowouts.  We've already seen it in conference championship games when conferences relied on divisions, and now you're going to see that to an even greater degree.  There's probably only going to be 5-6 teams max with a chance to win the title in this format.

No thanks from me, I would lose all interest at that point.

1) What? Ok, all games count. 

2) No team from Conference USA should make the playoffs. Let me know when the Pac 12 has a football conference. 

3) There are going to be blowouts anyway because the talent disparity in the NCAA is ridiculous. This may be a way for more teams to attract better players

4) The system doesn't work because a team like ND, which should be in the playoffs this year, gets left out because they refuse to join a conference. 

I don't care, find a way to make making the playoff objective, 

[CubinNY]

4 minutes ago, Derwood said:

None of those conferences have divisions anymore

OMG! so its unpossible to make division?

[Derwood]

2 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

OMG! so its unpossible to make division?

In what world would the SEC or Big Ten sign off on a system that allows Western Michigan, Virginia, Duke, Boise State and BYU in over Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma and Oregon?

[CubinNY]

1 minute ago, Derwood said:

In what world would the SEC or Big Ten sign off on a system that allows Western Michigan, Virginia, Duke, Boise State and BYU in over Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma and Oregon?

A system that pays them a horsefeathers ton of money. You bitch all season about this or that, and every year it's the same whine that some team got hosed. Well, win your conference or division and you're in. I suppose some people just like to bitch. 

How many people in this very thread are complaining that five or whatever SEC teams are in the playoffs? Have Ole Miss join the Sun Belt or Oregon join some other conference. Winning in the regular season should matter. 

[Andy]

6 minutes ago, Derwood said:

In what world would the SEC or Big Ten sign off on a system that allows Western Michigan, Virginia, Duke, Boise State and BYU in over Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma and Oregon?

Seriously. This thing is by the power conferences, for the power conferences. Unless someone else forcibly boots them out and takes over management of the playoff, it's going to be rigged for them. Any format debate that ignores that reality is a waste of time.

[Derwood]

Might as well go back to a 4 team playoff since the two SEC and the two Big Ten teams are just going to curb stomp their way to the Final Four

[Rex Buckingham]

Texas Tech theoretically has a chance with their defense... but I wouldn't trust their offense to beat any of Indiana, OSU, Georgia or Oregon

[gflore34]

15 minutes ago, Derwood said:

Might as well go back to a 4 team playoff since the two SEC and the two Big Ten teams are just going to curb stomp their way to the Final Four

If they manage to past Oklahoma, I'd be very concerned about Alabama.  What ever reasons they made into the bracket not withstanding, it's still a team with a plethora of NFL talent including a good QB.

[Derwood]

5 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

If they manage to past Oklahoma, I'd be very concerned about Alabama.  What ever reasons they made into the bracket not withstanding, it's still a team with a plethora of NFL talent including a good QB.

I mean in CubinNY's hypothetical

[gflore34]

1 minute ago, Derwood said:

I mean in CubinNY's hypothetical

Got it.  But Alabama beating OU, then IU, is just the kind of horsefeathers I could see happening.

[sneakypower]

Bama getting in isn't really an outrage imo all things considered; we're likely gonna see objectively mediocre teams lose by 50+ and then the question is how to let deserving mid-major teams in without wrongly elevating imposters 

[CubColtPacer]

57 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

1) What? Ok, all games count. 

2) No team from Conference USA should make the playoffs. Let me know when the Pac 12 has a football conference. 

3) There are going to be blowouts anyway because the talent disparity in the NCAA is ridiculous. This may be a way for more teams to attract better players

4) The system doesn't work because a team like ND, which should be in the playoffs this year, gets left out because they refuse to join a conference. 

I don't care, find a way to make making the playoff objective, 

 Every decision has a downstream effect.  If non-conference games count towards conference record and style points don't matter whatsoever, every team is going to schedule the absolute worst teams they can in the country for their non-conference games.  What incentive is there for anything else?

The best way around that is to ban non-conference games and each conference plays 12 conference games before the playoff.  That would be fair, but it's also boring.

And that's the biggest problem with your proposal.  We want to incentivize as many good and interesting football games as we can get.  This makes fewer of them in the regular season and fewer of them in the playoff.

[I owned a Suzuki]

3 hours ago, CubinNY said:

They should get rid of rankings altogether. If you want to have a playoff: 1) Force ND to join a conference (they will get over it), 2) Split the big conferences into two, each division gets an autobid. 

Big10 - East Champ, West Champ

SEC - East Champ, West Champ

ACC -  North Champ, South Champ

Big12- East Champ, West Champ

MAC - Conference Champion only

Mountain West - Conference Champion only

Sunbelt - Conference Champion only

AAC - Conference Champion only

That's it. No committee, no nothing. The names go in a hat, and first-round draws are made with Big Conferences getting one bye each. All games are played at a neutral site. 

If ND doesn't want to join a conference, give them the Donald Trump Participation Trophy every year.  

 

 

B1G and SEC would just leave and make their own playoff that everyone else would eventually join

[SeldomSeen]

On 12/7/2025 at 8:57 AM, raw said:

THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RUNS THRU BLOOMINGTON EFFING INDIANA!  LET'S GOOOOOOO!

There he is!

[SouthSideRyan]

On 12/8/2025 at 8:13 AM, CubinNY said:

They should get rid of rankings altogether. If you want to have a playoff: 1) Force ND to join a conference (they will get over it), 2) Split the big conferences into two, each division gets an autobid. 

Big10 - East Champ, West Champ

SEC - East Champ, West Champ

ACC -  North Champ, South Champ

Big12- East Champ, West Champ

MAC - Conference Champion only

Mountain West - Conference Champion only

Sunbelt - Conference Champion only

AAC - Conference Champion only

That's it. No committee, no nothing. The names go in a hat, and first-round draws are made with Big Conferences getting one bye each. All games are played at a neutral site. 

If ND doesn't want to join a conference, give them the Donald Trump Participation Trophy every year.  

 

 

And we’ll put Iowa and Iowa State together to create a rivalry.

[Soul]

I really think Notre Dame needs to join a conference.  I’ve always felt that way.  The ND AD is coming from the perspective that the ACC benefits from ND greatly.  OK, agreed, but that’s not special.  Lots of conferences benefit from their high profile teams.  Actually ALL conferences do. So this just proves what I’ve felt all along.  Join a conference or deal with a conference going to bat for their teams even if it means pissing you off.  It reeks of ND’s superiority complex and frankly they can stew in it.  Join an effing conference.

[Brian707]

I agree ND should join a conference but thats besides the point now. They should have been in over Alabama or even Oregon. It doesnt matter though, College football, people will bitch if its a 2,4,8,16,32,64 team playoff anyway.

 

[jersey cubs fan]

3 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

people will bitch if its a 2,4,8,16,32,64 team playoff anyway.

 

Exactamundo. There is no perfect way to do this nonsense despite everybody demanding the field to increase every year to fix the latest snub. 

[Soul]

5 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Exactamundo. There is no perfect way to do this nonsense despite everybody demanding the field to increase every year to fix the latest snub. 

Thats definitely true.