College Football Realignment

[BuffWarHogFrog]

CFB needs to not lose the things that make it unique and a very meaningful regular season is one of those things. That didn't really change until last year with the 12-team playoff. Even in the 4-team era it only changed ever so slightly as no 2-loss team ever got into the field. Don't make so many changes where the sport becomes unrecognizable.

Having said that the CFP is not going backwards to 4 teams, I get that. Having first round games on campus is awesome. 16 teams is an inevitability but anything beyond that and we're really starting to water things down.

The fact that ASU, BSU, SMU, Tennessee were even in that **** is a travesty.

 

[BuffWarHogFrog]

Absolutely. We've seen it first hand with the CU-NU rivalry having gone away. Others too, Pitt-PSU, Pitt-WV (although they are playing in most years for the near future), OU-OSU, etc. Now one good thing about conference expansion is that it has brought back some traditional rivalries, most notably Texas-Texas A&M and also Texas-Arkansas. And credit to Washington and Oregon for continuing their respective in-state rivalries after going to the B1G.

Hopefully some of these intrastate rivalries like Clemson-USC, Florida-FSU and UGA-GT will continue if and when there's a shakeup in the ACC.

And winning two major bowl games in one year (that no one actually gives a **** about) is also a travesty. A team that plays in the natty had to win the Cotton Bowl AND the Sugar Bowl or the Orange Bowl AND the Peach Bowl…yet no one cares. Is so ****ING STUPID!!

 

[hokiehead]

BuT aT lEaSt We HaVe A CoNsEnSuS NaTiOnAl ChAmPiOn NoW!!!!

 

[tante]

I liked the playoffs last year, I thought that both OSU and ND had to navigate a tough playoff schedule and both teams were deserving of a title. We would have seen Oregon play Georgia under the old system, and I just don’t think that would have been as satisfying.

 

[BerkeleyBuff]

Not playoff related, but the other thing that makes college football special is regional rivals (which, I think, help make regular season games meaningful). Im hopeful that when the next shakeup happens, we’ll reinstate the regionality aspect.

100%. College football is fun when it's regional. Conferences that spread from California to Florida and New Jersey suck.

 

[BerkeleyBuff]

I hate 12. I’m not a fan of byes for top seeds. I say either go down to 8 or up to 16. 32 would just be silly. 24 or 28 would be silly plus there would be byes.

I didn't mind 12 because as it was originally set up because it *almost* guaranteed a bye for each P4 conference champ, and this put a lot more importance back into the conference title games.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

FYI there were only three teams in the final CFB rankings last year with fewer than 10 wins, so the notion that a 24 team playoff would have a bunch of 7-5/8-4 teams is just false.

 

[BuffWarHogFrog]

I liked the playoffs last year, I thought that both OSU and ND had to navigate a tough playoff schedule and both teams were deserving of a title. We would have seen Oregon play Georgia under the old system, and I just don’t think that would have been as satisfying.

I guess I don’t understand what the point of having the best record would be then.

 

[patebuff]

FYI there were only three teams in the final CFB rankings last year with fewer than 10 wins, so the notion that a 24 team playoff would have a bunch of 7-5/8-4 teams is just false.

The bowl system is now pretty much irrelevant with the expansion of the playoffs. Outside of any bowl within the playoffs, every other bowl is meaningless.

I think people just want it to go back to what it once was and will just fight any progress towards expansion.

I will cheer for CU wherever they are, but I would much rather cheer for a CU in a 24-team playoff than another Alamo Bowl.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

The bowl system is now pretty much irrelevant with the expansion of the playoffs. Outside of any bowl within the playoffs, every other bowl is meaningless.

I think people just want it to go back to what it once was and will just fight any progress towards expansion.

I will cheer for CU wherever they are, but I would much rather cheer for a CU in a 24-team playoff than another Alamo Bowl.

Exactly. Toothpaste is out of the tube. First bowl projection I saw for CU this year is the ****ing LA Bowl vs UNLV. Irrelevant, meaningless and entirely uninteresting. Granted that’s a 6-6 type of bowl projection, but give me a 9-3 or even 8-4 CU team on the fringe of top 25 getting to play a top 10 program in round one of a 24/28 team playoff.

 

[MiamiBuffs]

College Football Playoff: Big Ten floats 24-plus-team format

Big Ten executives are socializing 24 and 28-team College Football Playoff brackets that feature as many as seven automatic qualifiers each for the Big Ten and SEC.

sports.yahoo.com

This would be crazy

JFC. That would last until March.

Ratings were not orgasmic for each of the first 12 team playoff games.

• The expanded CFP format meant that some playoff games competed directly with the NFL, a league that dominates television ratings. The CFP semifinals, for example, faced tough competition from marquee NFL games, which likely drew away casual sports fans who may have otherwise tuned in.

• The championship game took place on Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a Monday night later in the month than usual, when many potential viewers had work or school the following day, possibly leading to lower late-night viewership numbers.
• the game peaked at 26 million viewers early in the evening, interest could have dropped as Ohio State maintained control for much of the night (730 east kickoff on a school night)

• The game also aired on the same day as the presidential inauguration, an event that dominated news coverage throughout the day and night.
• https://www.idsnews.com/article/202...rd trend in CFP,compared to the previous year.

 

[30Something]

FYI there were only three teams in the final CFB rankings last year with fewer than 10 wins, so the notion that a 24 team playoff would have a bunch of 7-5/8-4 teams is just false.

I think the point was that if the B1G and SEC both get seven (7) teams in an expanded playoff you would see that.

In 2024, both Iowa and Michigan from the B1G would have been in the playoffs with 8-5 records.

 

[Buffnik]

The Athletic (@theathletic.com)

The Pac-12 is set to add college baseball powerhouse Dallas Baptist as a single-sport affiliate member next year, a person briefed on the situation told The Athletic. The school will begin play as a conference member in spring 2027. 🔗...

bsky.app

 

[InTheBuff]

SEC adopts nine-game conference slate starting in 2026 as CFP metrics shift emphasis on schedule strength

The development comes on the heels of the College Football Playoff committee updating its metrics

www.cbssports.com

The first shoe just dropped.
What's next? Finalize 16 team playoffs? Further expansion?

 

[CarolinaBuff]

SEC adopts nine-game conference slate starting in 2026 as CFP metrics shift emphasis on schedule strength

The development comes on the heels of the College Football Playoff committee updating its metrics

www.cbssports.com

The first shoe just dropped.
What's next? Finalize 16 team playoffs? Further expansion?

This should pave the way for the 5+11 model to get approved. They need to agree on a new format by Dec 1st otherwise the 12 team format will remain for at least a few more years.

 

[Not Sure]

SEC adopts nine-game conference slate starting in 2026 as CFP metrics shift emphasis on schedule strength

The development comes on the heels of the College Football Playoff committee updating its metrics

www.cbssports.com

The first shoe just dropped.
What's next? Finalize 16 team playoffs? Further expansion?

That’s not the first shoe. It’s the latest shoe. There’s been about 50 shoes dropped during this process so far. There will likely be another 20-30 before we are done.

 

[GawainBuff]

The bowl system is now pretty much irrelevant with the expansion of the playoffs. Outside of any bowl within the playoffs, every other bowl is meaningless.

I think people just want it to go back to what it once was and will just fight any progress towards expansion.

I will cheer for CU wherever they are, but I would much rather cheer for a CU in a 24-team playoff than another Alamo Bowl.

I don’t understand ascribing the concept of meaningless to any bowl outside the playoffs these days.

Under the old system, weren’t all but one or two bowls completely meaningless, then? And didn’t we all get fully amp’d up for OUR bowl, even if it only meant we’d win our last game and maybe get ranked in the Top 10 or 25?

The bowl game WAS the reward AND the goal. It was awesome, and we all looked forward to those games for a month.

 

[Dark Bohner]

I don’t understand ascribing the concept of meaningless to any bowl outside the playoffs these days.

Under the old system, weren’t all but one or two bowls completely meaningless, then? And didn’t we all get fully amp’d up for OUR bowl, even if it only meant we’d win our last game and maybe get ranked in the Top 10 or 25?

The bowl game WAS the reward AND the goal. It was awesome, and we all looked forward to those games for a month.

I would say the bowls lost their luster when they increased from a few good ones to dozens.

Nobody cares when two 6-6 teams square off in the potato bowl in Idaho.

 

[FlaBuff]

I would say the bowls lost their luster when they increased from a few good ones to dozens.

Nobody cares when two 6-6 teams square off in the potato bowl in Idaho.

You can take my Tito’s vodka fueled Cure Bowl attendance from my cold, dead hands.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

I would say the bowls lost their luster when they increased from a few good ones to dozens.

Nobody cares when two 6-6 teams square off in the potato bowl in Idaho.

I think it was more about the creation of the playoff. Once that happened, even the bigger bowl games became irrelevant. Player opt outs became the norm and quality of play dropped.

 

[Dark Bohner]

I think it was more about the creation of the playoff. Once that happened, even the bigger bowl games became irrelevant. Player opt outs became the norm and quality of play dropped.

I’d say it was a combination of both.

 

[hawg1]

Nine conference games, new SOS and SOR metrics for CFP committee, 5+11 soon. Not sure ACC follows (unwise IMO). And I don’t see how B1G holds off 5+11.

 

[Da Lama]

Sh!tty state. Sh!tty school.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

Nine conference games, new SOS and SOR metrics for CFP committee, 5+11 soon. Not sure ACC follows (unwise IMO). And I don’t see how B1G holds off 5+11.

ACC said they would likely follow the SEC to 9 conference games. They have no choice, IMO. They will only get one team in the playoff every year going forward if they don't.

 

[CarolinaBuff]

ACC said they would likely follow the SEC to 9 conference games. They have no choice, IMO. They will only get one team in the playoff every year going forward if they don't.

Apparently with 17 teams they're saying it's mathematically impossible for everyone to play 9 conference games. One possible solution is to count the games against ND as a conference game.

 

[InTheBuff]

Nine conference games, new SOS and SOR metrics for CFP committee, 5+11 soon. Not sure ACC follows (unwise IMO). And I don’t see how B1G holds off 5+11.

Big10 doesn't really have a problem with 5+11 as long as SEC plays 9 conference games like they do.

 

[hawg1]

Big10 doesn't really have a problem with 5+11 as long as SEC plays 9 conference games like they do.

I think that’s prob true but they sure seem to like the AQ approach. Let’s see how they respond.

i think Sankey now asks B1G to match one P4 OOC game.

 

[BuffWarHogFrog]

The bowl system is now pretty much irrelevant with the expansion of the playoffs. Outside of any bowl within the playoffs, every other bowl is meaningless.

I think people just want it to go back to what it once was and will just fight any progress towards expansion.

I will cheer for CU wherever they are, but I would much rather cheer for a CU in a 24-team playoff than another Alamo Bowl.

That not entirely true.
The bowls within the playoff are also meaningless.

 

[BuffWarHogFrog]

That’s not the first shoe. It’s the latest shoe. There’s been about 50 shoes dropped during this process so far. There will likely be another 20-30 before we are done.

 

[InTheBuff]

Lots of little nuggets here. Believe what you want.
The main realignment talk happens early in this video.