SEC, Big Ten to push for seeding changes to 2025 College Football Playoff

[BleedGopher]

Per Ross:

On the 23rd floor of the luxurious Windsor Court hotel, guests can view a near 360-degree panorama of this fine city — the chocolate river that winds through it, the century-old buildings of the French Quarter and the towering oaks that line the famous St. Charles Avenue.

Inside a room there Wednesday, atop this city and, perhaps, atop college athletics, leaders of the SEC and Big Ten gathered to explore some of the most significant issues in the industry.

They emerged with few decisions made except for one: They want to see a seeding change in the 2025 College Football Playoff.

The two leagues will push playoff executives to alter the seeding of the upcoming postseason, aligning the seeds based directly on the selection committee’s rankings. Such a move would eliminate the rule that grants first-round byes and the top four seeds to the four highest-ranked conference champions.

They’ll have a fight on their hands to make the change.

Any change to the 2025 playoff requires unanimity from the 10 FBS leagues and Notre Dame as it is the last year of the original television contract with ESPN.

Why would the Big 12, ACC and many of the Group of Five commissioners — the main benefactors of the rule — vote for such a move? They wouldn’t. Some of them have hinted as much in comments to Yahoo Sports last month.

“I do not have the appetite to give up any financial reward that comes with a bye,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said last month, alluding to the $8 million reward earned by a team that automatically advances into the quarterfinals.

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips referred to similar professional playoff formats that use an automatic bye structure for teams that win divisions or conferences, such as the NFL.

“It’s not as if this system is so foreign,” he said. “This shouldn’t be used as a convenient rationale. It deserves a review and we should talk about how it went. But it’s not some exotic structure.”

SEC, Big Ten to push for seeding changes to 2025 College Football Playoff

The two leagues will push CFP executives to alter the seeding of the upcoming postseason, aligning the seeds based directly on the selection committee’s rankings.

sports.yahoo.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[MilosRevenge]

I'd like the top four ranked teams get the byes and the conference champs not in the top four get home games. Make Penn State or a Texas play in Boise or Tempe or maybe next year in Ames.

 

[GopherTheJugular]

If you're not in a major P2 conference then you should have to go undefeated to make the CFP. Top 10 from the SEC and B1G and then the 2 highest ranked unbeatens from the rest of the pack. If there are not 2 unbeatens outside of the B1G and SEC then the next highest ranked teams from the SEC and B1G get in.

MLB doesn't let minor league teams into its playoff and neither should college football.

 

[EcgopherFan]

Leave it the way it is. This year was fun. There should be a reward to winning your conference championship. Otherwise teams like Penn State could not even qualify for a championship game, get a bye and be right into the final four with resting for three weeks. Or even worse. It could be Notre Dame!

 

[GopherGuy82]

The BigTen and SEC are basing all of this on the assumption that they are more deserving. Why is college football the only sport where we perceive teams with worse records as better than others with better records based on conference affiliation? Yes, it is easy to pick on the non-power four conferences but this is actually neglecting two of the power four conferences. This is no different than the 14-3 Vikings playing at the 10-7 Rams. At the end of the day it is the 2 & 3 loss BigTen and SEC teams that are complaining. If you don't like it win your conference or division in the NFL. If we are going to assume that BigTen and SEC teams are always 1-4 then why even play the games.

 

[MNfootballfan]

Unless they move the playoff start date up closer to the end of the regular season I don't know if there is a distinct advantage to having a bye. It is hard to play a football game with nearly a month break.

 

[GopherTheJugular]

If we are going to assume that BigTen and SEC teams are always 1-4 then why even play the games.

To see which B1G and SEC teams are the ones that particular year.

As to your NFL comparison, the talent is a lot more spread out in the NFL. You might get some nuances here and there, like the NFC North this year having 3 strong teams and the AFC South had 3 weaklings, but by and large the talent is mixed well.

In college, I don't think that's the case. Look at the size of B1G and SEC lineman. If G7 teams had to play 5-6 B1G or SEC teams back to back with no break, just six days of rest in between, they'd be a mash unit and by game 6 even bad SEC/B1G teams would be running up the score on them.

 

[Some guy]

Unless they move the playoff start date up closer to the end of the regular season I don't know if there is a distinct advantage to having a bye. It is hard to play a football game with nearly a month break.

I am not sure if there is an advantage to having a bye either but 4/4 teams with a bye made the round of 8 and only half the teams in the round of 12 made the round of 8

 

[MaxyJR1]

I'd like the top four ranked teams get the byes and the conference champs not in the top four get home games. Make Penn State or a Texas play in Boise or Tempe or maybe next year in Ames.

My thought as well. Boise, ASU, and Clemson should have played at home for winning their conference championship games.

 

[MaxyJR1]

I am not sure if there is an advantage to having a bye either but 4/4 teams with a bye made the round of 8 and only half the teams in the round of 12 made the round of 8

That advantage is that Boise was handed $8M with the bye.

 

[MisterGopher]

Impacts of proposed Big Ten, SEC scheduling agreement on Iowa football

Proposed scheduling changes for the Big Ten and SEC could see the Iowa Hawkeyes in the crosshairs of seismic shift in college football.

sports.yahoo.com

The way college football used to be continues to look like it will be a thing of the past as the sport changes more and more with each passing day.

With rumored discussions of College Football Playoff expansions opening the door for more teams to make their way into the field, some dominos must fall with that.

One of those major dominos is the future of how teams will schedule their seasons and what that could mean for teams like the Iowa Hawkeyes. With a proposed new plan, it could mean that the Hawkeyes would end their regular season with a potential College Football Playoff play-in game against an SEC school.

 

[GopherGuy82]

To see which B1G and SEC teams are the ones that particular year.

As to your NFL comparison, the talent is a lot more spread out in the NFL. You might get some nuances here and there, like the NFC North this year having 3 strong teams and the AFC South had 3 weaklings, but by and large the talent is mixed well.

In college, I don't think that's the case. Look at the size of B1G and SEC lineman. If G7 teams had to play 5-6 B1G or SEC teams back to back with no break, just six days of rest in between, they'd be a mash unit and by game 6 even bad SEC/B1G teams would be running up the score on them.

All I'm saying is seeding should not be based on who is perceived to be better. Could a two or three loss SEC or BigTen team have beaten ASU, maybe, but that doesn't mean they deserve the 3 seed when they finished third or fourth in their own conference. The regular season should matter.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Just go to 16 and eliminate the byes. Use CFP rankings to seed. I like home games for the first two rounds for the top eight/four schools. Brings in an element for surprise on locales (like mentioned above) and more interest in attending/watching the games, IMHO.

 

[ergopher]

Just go to 16 and eliminate the byes. Use CFP rankings to seed. I like home games for the first two rounds for the top eight/four schools. Brings in an element for surprise on locales (like mentioned above) and more interest in attending/watching the games, IMHO.

16 is too much, I feel like. I think every team that’s let in should at least have some chance to win the national title, and the #16 team in the country stringing together 4 straight upset wins against the most elite teams in the country isn’t happening in a million years. I feel like 8 teams is probably the sweet spot to leave some room open for teams that got hot late, but not too much. Agree on straight seeding and home games for the first round or two.

 

[upnorthkid]

I'd like the top four ranked teams get the byes and the conference champs not in the top four get home games. Make Penn State or a Texas play in Boise or Tempe or maybe next year in Ames.

think this is a super reasonable compromise. Gives you an advantage to winning your conference, but not necessarily so egregious and I don't think every year you're ending up with it for sure being 2 B10 and 2 SEC teams in the byes. Still allows for say a CC runner up to host a game as not all the home game slots will be filled with CCs either.

straight seeding I don't love as there's such limited data to compare between the conferences.

 

[upnorthkid]

16 is too much, I feel like. I think every team that’s let in should at least have some chance to win the national title, and the #16 team in the country stringing together 4 straight upset wins against the most elite teams in the country isn’t happening in a million years. I feel like 8 teams is probably the sweet spot to leave some room open for teams that got hot late, but not too much. Agree on straight seeding and home games for the first round or two.

i would love if we went back to 8. Feels like a better balance of regular season means a ton (how epic would it have been to see Michigan beating OSU leading to them completely knocking out OSU) with the CFP rankings locking before the CCs (to protect losers of conference championships while not rewarding someone who was "idle").

 

[Ope3]

Impacts of proposed Big Ten, SEC scheduling agreement on Iowa football

Proposed scheduling changes for the Big Ten and SEC could see the Iowa Hawkeyes in the crosshairs of seismic shift in college football.

sports.yahoo.com

The way college football used to be continues to look like it will be a thing of the past as the sport changes more and more with each passing day.

With rumored discussions of College Football Playoff expansions opening the door for more teams to make their way into the field, some dominos must fall with that.

One of those major dominos is the future of how teams will schedule their seasons and what that could mean for teams like the Iowa Hawkeyes. With a proposed new plan, it could mean that the Hawkeyes would end their regular season with a potential College Football Playoff play-in game against an SEC school.

I don't really understand this proposal fully, I just know I hate it.

 

[ergopher]

i would love if we went back to 8. Feels like a better balance of regular season means a ton (how epic would it have been to see Michigan beating OSU leading to them completely knocking out OSU) with the CFP rankings locking before the CCs (to protect losers of conference championships while not rewarding someone who was "idle").

I agree with this approach, let CCGs be their own thing at least to a degree. Only issues would be players sitting out (I feel like conference championships still matter a ton even to teams like Ohio State who play for one a lot so I have a hard time seeing it happen) and some scenario where no 9 and no 8 play and the former dominates the latter but can’t get into the playoff because of that rule. I liked how things were this year where it had some sway but only by one or two positions, but the last team in is still vulnerable.

 

[btowngopher]

i would love if we went back to 8. Feels like a better balance of regular season means a ton (how epic would it have been to see Michigan beating OSU leading to them completely knocking out OSU) with the CFP rankings locking before the CCs (to protect losers of conference championships while not rewarding someone who was "idle").

If it’s locked before CC games then what’s the incentive to play the CC games?

 

[upnorthkid]

If it’s locked before CC games then what’s the incentive to play the CC games?

Conference titles which still mean something you’d hope and autobids to get in. Just meaning field is set. Seeding can still change.

 

[btowngopher]

All I'm saying is seeding should not be based on who is perceived to be better. Could a two or three loss SEC or BigTen team have beaten ASU, maybe, but that doesn't mean they deserve the 3 seed when they finished third or fourth in their own conference. The regular season should matter.

How does the regular season matter more if we aren’t going off perception? Perception is formed by what happens during the season.

 

[GopherTheJugular]

How does the regular season matter more if we aren’t going off perception? Perception is formed by what happens during the season.

Exactly. Look at TCU a few years ago. Going off of where they finished in the Big 12 was silly. All you had to do was look and see they were in tons of dogfights with teams that weren't really good. Yet because they squeaked out close victories week after week, some people actually thought they could win it all.

 

[GopherTheJugular]

Conference titles which still mean something you’d hope

I think those days are passed. In the old days it was win the conference then win the best bowl game you get invited to. Now it's black and white: either your in the CFP or you're not. If you are in, who cares if you lost the CC game. If you're not in, who cares that you won it? Maybe a handful of people trying to be different I suppose, but over time the relevance will fade.

and autobids to get in. Just meaning field is set. Seeding can still change.

If autobids are at play and seeding can still change, as you just wrote, doesn't that contradict your previous statement of "locking before the CC"? Not trying to argue, I just need more clarity to your point.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Think basketball. Winning the conference championship gets you and auto bid. It doesn't give you the #1 seed. Seeding is done off perception and analytics.

Now in football the SEC and B1G want more auto bids and then they can determine how the teams are selected. With a 14-16 team tournament and 1/2 the Power teams being in two conferences, they want special treatment based on $$$, perception and analytics.

SEC and B1G think they should get 4 spots each of the tournament and they should be able to determine the way they get in. Example is the top 2 in the regular season are in and then the 3-6, 4-5 place teams get to play, play-in games for the final two spots.

They may even to the true playoff model of 1-8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5 and the winners get the four spots in the CFP.

 

[upnorthkid]

I think those days are passed. In the old days it was win the conference then win the best bowl game you get invited to. Now it's black and white: either your in the CFP or you're not. If you are in, who cares if you lost the CC game. If you're not in, who cares that you won it? Maybe a handful of people trying to be different I suppose, but over time the relevance will fade.


If autobids are at play and seeding can still change, as you just wrote, doesn't that contradict your previous statement of "locking before the CC"? Not trying to argue, I just need more clarity to your point.

Field is locked as in you are not punished for playing the extra game and bounced (for example, think 12-0 Oregon- 10-2 PSU and PSU loses, they shouldn't go from 6 to out of the field while Tennessee at 9 sits idle and gets to be in).

Example for illustration based on last year with field locked at 8 (pre CC):
Oregon 1
Texas 2
PSU 3
ND 4
GA 5
OSU 6
Tenn 7
SMU 8
Indy 9
Boise 10
Alabama 11
Miami 12
Ole Miss 13
SC 14
ASU 15
ISU 16
Clemson 17

That field is locked as field of 8 (can also do with 12) with autobids pending. Idea being is Texas-GA matters for who gets the CC/home field or the bye if we're at 12. For SMU, their game with Clemson means they're in no matter what, but if Clemson wins they're in as the 12. ASU-ISU winner is in as the 7 (or 11).

Just idea being that CC matter to either get autobids in or do not punish you/drop you out/drop your seeding if the committee decided prior to CC week you were in. Otherwise, why would you suit up and go play if you're SMU and you lose and are now out while Indy or Bama sits at home and gets to jump you through nothing they did?

 

[GopherGuy82]

Exactly. Look at TCU a few years ago. Going off of where they finished in the Big 12 was silly. All you had to do was look and see they were in tons of dogfights with teams that weren't really good. Yet because they squeaked out close victories week after week, some people actually thought they could win it all.

So tell me what you really think about the 2019 Gophers team given the TCU example. I get the logic but winning the games matters. You can easily talk yourself into picking a three loss SEC team over SMU, Boise, Indiana based off that line of thinking. I just feel it should be earned. The last thing I would want to see is the Gophers have an Indiana season and they get bumped by Alabama or Georgia with more losses just because of the name. Everyone is trying too hard to make sure they are good games. If a game isn't close then the seeding is wrong. Did Oregon not deserve the one seed?

 

[GopherTheJugular]

So tell me what you really think about the 2019 Gophers team given the TCU example.

Not sure what you're asking specifically, but I'll offer some comments. If I missed the idea you were looking for, lemme know.

I'd say we went to the bowl game we deserved. We played a good SEC team, not the best one, and were challenged accordingly. Are you wondering if I think we should have gotten a spot in a 12 team playoff had it existed back then? No, I wouldn't have put us in. Losses to Iowa and WI at the back end of the season and not even playing in the CC is enough for me to think we didn't deserve it.

I get the logic but winning the games matters. You can easily talk yourself into picking a three loss SEC team over SMU, Boise, Indiana based off that line of thinking. I just feel it should be earned. The last thing I would want to see is the Gophers have an Indiana season and they get bumped by Alabama or Georgia with more losses just because of the name.

I'd agree, but the bolded is important. Once Indiana got the big brother treatment from tOSU, to me they needed to show something to belong in the playoff. If an SEC team had one more loss than Indiana, but it had some victories over some big boys, I'd certainly bring them in over Indiana (that being said, if Indiana doesn't get spanked by the only good team it played, then it's a different story).

Everyone is trying too hard to make sure they are good games.

I don't think that's exactly correct, but close. We don't want to try hard to ensure good games, we wanna try hard to prevent scheduling blowouts. If we schedule a playoff game between Penn State and Texas for example, and Texas just takes PSU to the woodshed, we can live with that because the teams have almost equal levels of size and physicality and it would be anticipated that it's an even matchup. Maybe one team just game-planned way better. But when you look at matching up teams where one team has lineman notable bigger, stronger, and more physical than the other, such as Georgia/TCU, well, those are the matchups we want to avoid having.

Like I said, an undefeated triple A baseball team is NOT getting invited to the MLB postseason, even though they won all their games. Everyone knows it wouldn't be close.

 

[GopherTheJugular]

Field is locked as in you are not punished for playing the extra game and bounced (for example, think 12-0 Oregon- 10-2 PSU and PSU loses, they shouldn't go from 6 to out of the field while Tennessee at 9 sits idle and gets to be in).

Example for illustration based on last year with field locked at 8 (pre CC):
Oregon 1
Texas 2
PSU 3
ND 4
GA 5
OSU 6
Tenn 7
SMU 8
Indy 9
Boise 10
Alabama 11
Miami 12
Ole Miss 13
SC 14
ASU 15
ISU 16
Clemson 17

That field is locked as field of 8 (can also do with 12) with autobids pending. Idea being is Texas-GA matters for who gets the CC/home field or the bye if we're at 12. For SMU, their game with Clemson means they're in no matter what, but if Clemson wins they're in as the 12. ASU-ISU winner is in as the 7 (or 11).

Just idea being that CC matter to either get autobids in or do not punish you/drop you out/drop your seeding if the committee decided prior to CC week you were in. Otherwise, why would you suit up and go play if you're SMU and you lose and are now out while Indy or Bama sits at home and gets to jump you through nothing they did?

I think this is the answer I was looking for. You can't be punished for losing, but can get some cred for winning?