No conference gets an automatic bid. There were proposals that would have given conferences, automatic bids, it was rejected.

The big 10 and SEC are now talking about having a certain number of slots guaranteed.

Yeah, it will then come down to quality of wins and losses. If Big 12 gets 2 in and Big 10 gets 4, then SEC will only get 3 in. Don't see this happening but need Indiana to take a loss as well as BYU, Iowa St, and K St.

My guess on the at large spots is:

1 Acc
1 big 12
3 Sec
2 big 10

I have a feeling they are going to try to appease the acc & big 12, which will only serve to quicken big 10 & sec moving on

SEC Teams with no conference losses (remaining 0/1 conference loss opponents)
A&M (LSU,tu)
tu (Ga,Vandy,Arky,A&M)
LSU (Arky,A&M,Bama,Vandy)

SEC Teams with 1 conference loss (remaining 0/1 conference loss opponents)
Ga (tu,UT)
Bama(UT,Miz,LSU)
UT(Bama,Ga,Vandy)
Miz(Bama,Arky)
Arky (LSU,tu,Miz)
Vandy (tu,LSU.UT)

I'd submit my proposal for hypothetical solution to award points for wins and OT losses like hockey and soccer.

Beat an FCS = 1
Beat Non P4 at home / OT loss against anyone = 2
Beat Non P4 on road = 3
Beat P4 at home = 4
Beat P4 on road = 5
Win Conference Championship Game = 7

Ex. from Ole Miss vs LSU last night, Ole Miss looked like they'd get 5 for winning at LSU, but ends up with 2 and LSU gets 4.

Sum it all up, figure out tie breakers and seed your top 12 from there. This also mostly solves the Notre Dame problem.

Sure, not all P4 road wins are equal, but no one complained about Georgia winning at Vandy as part of getting to 12-0 the last few years.

Ian Neff said:

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JimbloFisher said:

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I'm interested in what happens to the loser of the SEC championship. If we (or someone else) finish 10-2 and in the top 12 and then lose in the championship, we could easily drop out of the top 12. Once that happens, I think the conferences could reconsider having a championship game.

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This has been bugging me too.

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Bugging me too, because I could see us being that team

JimbloFisher said:

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I'm interested in what happens to the loser of the SEC championship. If we (or someone else) finish 10-2 and in the top 12 and then lose in the championship, we could easily drop out of the top 12. Once that happens, I think the conferences could reconsider having a championship game.

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The SEC will never drop the championship game. There is to much money involved.

NyAggie said:

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Ian Neff said:

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JimbloFisher said:

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I'm interested in what happens to the loser of the SEC championship. If we (or someone else) finish 10-2 and in the top 12 and then lose in the championship, we could easily drop out of the top 12. Once that happens, I think the conferences could reconsider having a championship game.

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This has been bugging me too.

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Bugging me too, because I could see us being that team

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Yeah either way, losing that conference championship game would be penal. Either you lose and drop out off the top 12, or you end up playing a team that's probably played one fewer game and effectively had a bye. That game would likely be on the road too.

JimbloFisher said:

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NyAggie said:

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Ian Neff said:

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JimbloFisher said:

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I'm interested in what happens to the loser of the SEC championship. If we (or someone else) finish 10-2 and in the top 12 and then lose in the championship, we could easily drop out of the top 12. Once that happens, I think the conferences could reconsider having a championship game.

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This has been bugging me too.

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Bugging me too, because I could see us being that team

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Yeah either way, losing that conference championship game would be penal. Either you lose and drop out off the top 12, or you end up playing a team that's probably played one fewer game and effectively had a bye. That game would likely be on the road too.

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Yeah, I think it would be on the road unless we win out and are 11-1 going in to the SEC championship game. In that case, I think we end up seeded 5-8 with a loss.

If we're 10-2 and then lose the SEC CG, I think it will depend on the quality of our wins and losses. Did we lose to S. Carolina but take down Texas? That would be a very strong win.

JimbloFisher said:

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Would the money from having another team in the playoff not be better? I genuinely don't know how that works.

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https://businessofcollegesports.com/college-football-playoff-payouts/

W said:

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Medaggie said:

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Most years will be
4-5 SEC
3-4 Big 10
1 or 2 Big 12/ACC
1 Power 5

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the SEC can't afford to have its top teams get upset in the second half of the season

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The refs will ensure of this, correct?

JimbloFisher said:

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I'm interested in what happens to the loser of the SEC championship. If we (or someone else) finish 10-2 and in the top 12 and then lose in the championship, we could easily drop out of the top 12. Once that happens, I think the conferences could reconsider having a championship game.

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With the latest conference shakeups I have felt that conference championship games just need to go away.
They were important back in the day they decided who got to represent their conference in the biggest bowl game, but now they only harm teams who could be undefeated or with 1 loss.

Blue star for you
CCG's need to go away
Expand the field to 16
nobody gets a bye
First weekend of the playoff should be CCG game weekend

I think we need to get rid of it.

JimbloFisher said:

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I genuinely don't know how that works.

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Username checks out

If we can win our next 3 games against Mississippi State, LSU, and South Carolina, expectations shift to a floor of 10-2 (7-1 SEC) finish, a probable SEC Championship Game appearance, and a lock for the playoffs.

If both Texas and Texas A&M win every game until Thanksgiving weekend, both teams will have locked up an SEC Championship Game appearance with 7-0 SEC records because Georgia would have 2 losses to Alabama and Texas.

The only way I can see us finishing with a 7-1 SEC record and not making the SEC Championship Game is if Texas loses only to Georgia, and Georgia winning out. This scenario would result in Georgia, Texas, and Texas A&M all finishing with 7-1 SEC records for a 3-way tie. Georgia would own a tiebreaking head-to-head win over Texas, and Texas would own a tiebreaking head-to-head win over us.

It's easy if we win the next 4 vs Miss State (15), LSU (3), SC (13) and Auburn (16). We will be 7-0 and tu is the only other team that could be 7-0. There are 5 1 loss teams (Ala, Ga, Tenn, Mizzu, Ark), but lots of games left between those 1 loss teams.

It is very possible that Georgia beats tu and Ark beats LSU in Arky this week which will leave Texas A&M as the only unbeaten SEC team assuming we beat Miss State. Tu cannot afford a 2 nd conference loss or they likely would not make the SEC Title game. Their game at Arky becomes very important.

This year, there is a real possibility that tu and A&M both start 7-0 and play both on Nov 30 at Kyle Field then again the following Saturday in Atlanta. A third meeting in January is also possible. Should this happen the SEC probably scraps the idea of repeating this conference schedule in 2025 to avoid a repeat.

JimbloFisher said:

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I'm interested in what happens to the loser of the SEC championship. If we (or someone else) finish 10-2 and in the top 12 and then lose in the championship, we could easily drop out of the top 12. Once that happens, I think the conferences could reconsider having a championship game.

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The loser of the SEC Championship could be inside the top 10 and still be left out. If another P4 champ is ranked outside the top 10; or, if the highest ranked G5 team is outside the top 12.

Quote:

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The loser of the SEC Championship could be inside the top 10 and still be left out. If another P4 champ is ranked outside the top 10; or, if the highest ranked G5 team is outside the top 12.

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I don't think that is correct.

Take this for example:

1. UGA
2. Bama
3. tOSU
4. Oregon
5. Miami
6. Penn State
7. LSU
8. USC
9. Ole Miss
10. A&M
11. Michigan
12. Washington
13. Iowa State
14. Boise

In that scenario, the playoff is
1. UGA, 2. tOSU, 3. Miami, 4. Iowa State
5. Bama, 6. Oregon, 7, Penn, 8, LSU
9. USC, 10. Ole Miss, 11. A&M, 12. Boise

Joes said:

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Detailing possible scenarios when most teams have still only played 2 or 3 conference games so far seems unnecessarily complicated. For a huge number of teams in the country at this point it's just "keep winning a while longer and then we'll see maybe 5 weeks from now what needs to happen."

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It is this simple. Win out in the regular season, we get both Champ game and CFP spot. Regardless if we lost the SEC champ game.

Easier said they done but we 100% control our destiny.

Quote:

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The loser of the SEC Championship could be inside the top 10 and still be left out. If another P4 champ is ranked outside the top 10; or, if the highest ranked G5 team is outside the top 12.

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the only way top 10 team can be left out is if there are only 2 conference champions in the top 10.

Iraq2xVeteran said:

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If we can win our next 3 games against Mississippi State, LSU, and South Carolina, expectations shift to a floor of 10-2 (7-1 SEC) finish, a probable SEC Championship Game appearance, and a lock for the playoffs.

If both Texas and Texas A&M win every game until Thanksgiving weekend, both teams will have locked up an SEC Championship Game appearance with 7-0 SEC records because Georgia would have 2 losses to Alabama and Texas.

The only way I can see us finishing with a 7-1 SEC record and not making the SEC Championship Game is if Texas loses only to Georgia, and Georgia winning out. This scenario would result in Georgia, Texas, and Texas A&M all finishing with 7-1 SEC records for a 3-way tie. Georgia would own a tiebreaking head-to-head win over Texas, and Texas would own a tiebreaking head-to-head win over us.

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Agree and ironically, losing the tiebreaker and finishing 10-2 might give us better odds of making the CFP than making SEC CG and losing for our third loss. Will be interesting to see how the committee views the championship games.

BMX Bandit said:

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Quote:

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The loser of the SEC Championship could be inside the top 10 and still be left out. If another P4 champ is ranked outside the top 10; or, if the highest ranked G5 team is outside the top 12.

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the only way top 10 team can be left out is if there are only 2 conference champions in the top 10.

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Right

That would mean that the sec s d big champs are top ten but both the acc and big12 champs are outside the top 10

For all intents and purposes, if you are top 10 then you are in the playoffs

For the record, I think all 4 p4 champs end up top 10 teams

Iowa st will be a 0 or 1 loss team and either Clemson or Miami will finish top 10, or both

NyAggie said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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Quote:

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The loser of the SEC Championship could be inside the top 10 and still be left out. If another P4 champ is ranked outside the top 10; or, if the highest ranked G5 team is outside the top 12.

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the only way top 10 team can be left out is if there are only 2 conference champions in the top 10.

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Right

That would mean that the sec s d big champs are top ten but both the acc and big12 champs are outside the top 10

For all intents and purposes, if you are top 10 then you are in the playoffs

For the record, I think all 4 p4 champs end up top 10 teams

Iowa st will be a 0 or 1 loss team and either Clemson or Miami will finish top 10, or both

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Biggest risk is the Big 12. Wouldn't want a two-loss Big 12 team beating an undefeated Iowa St team in the championship game who is undefeated. Both teams would most likely make it in that scenario as they're not leaving a 12 win P4 team out of the playoff. I'm not sure they leave an 11 win P4 team out.

ExtremeRush said:

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NyAggie said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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Quote:

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The loser of the SEC Championship could be inside the top 10 and still be left out. If another P4 champ is ranked outside the top 10; or, if the highest ranked G5 team is outside the top 12.

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the only way top 10 team can be left out is if there are only 2 conference champions in the top 10.

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Right

That would mean that the sec s d big champs are top ten but both the acc and big12 champs are outside the top 10

For all intents and purposes, if you are top 10 then you are in the playoffs

For the record, I think all 4 p4 champs end up top 10 teams

Iowa st will be a 0 or 1 loss team and either Clemson or Miami will finish top 10, or both

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Biggest risk is the Big 12. Wouldn't want a two-loss Big 12 team beating an undefeated Iowa St team in the championship game who is undefeated. Both teams would most likely make it in that scenario as they're not leaving a 12 win P4 team out of the playoff. I'm not sure they leave an 11 win P4 team out.

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Yep

That's something we'll always have to worry about

Big12 can be a bid stealing league if their best team loses the championship game

I really think conference championship games need to go away now that there's an expanded playoff, but they won't because of money

The one thing I don't like about this 12 team playoff is the auto byes for the top 4 conference champs

If the 4th best conf champ is ranked 12 and the best at large is ranked 3rd, why should that 12th team get a bye

It really creates an easy path not necessarily for thst 12 team but for the 5 seed who gets to essentially play the 12 seed in round 2 while the 1 seed gets and 8 or 9 thats really like the 6th or 7th best team in the country and likely a very talented sec team or a big team

Agree

Medaggie said:

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They did this as a compromise to the other 2 conferences. The SEC/BIG 10 run CFB now and this was their way to keep the other members happy. Thus the 5th automatic to the non power 4.

This is no different from pro sports. You can be a 7-9 division champ and make it to the playoffs over a 11-5 team that ended up 2nd in their division.

Almost all sports give an auto bid to their division champ.

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NFL is a small league with comparable talent for the most part. Teams play teams from each and every division every single year. At the end of the season, everyone has played relatively comparable SOS and had PLENTY of chances. The rules for making the postseason are also extremely clear and there is nothing subjective about it.

I'd be ok with it if there were no nonconference patsies and every team was required to play one team from each "power conference". Would BYU be top 15 if they had already played games against SEC, BIG, and ACC? As of now, their best win is SMU (their only power conference non con opponent) and the hardest games left are Arizona State and Utah who just lost their gimpy QB again. In no world is an undefeated BYU with that schedule worthy of a playoff spot. Some of the group of 5 contenders over the last 10 years had harder schedules than BYU's this year.

I would submit that threads like this show that football in a league w/ 120+ teams is just not a good tournament sport. I liked the old values of beat your rival, win your conference, win a big bowl game.

Didn't bother me one bit that people argued who was "best" - added to the offseason conversations. No way to prove "best" anyway with so many teams.

One. remotely feasible way. Eight conferences of 12 teams each. 11 game regular season (no ooc games), round robin in your conference. Take the 8 conference winners (would have to be a tie breaker scheme for the 11 regular season games). Play off the 8 conf champs single elimination.

It would suck, but be more logical than this.

cecil77 said:

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I would submit that threads like this show that football in a league w/ 120+ teams is just not a good tournament sport. I liked the old values of beat your rival, win your conference, win a big bowl game.

Didn't bother me one bit that people argued who was "best" - added to the offseason conversations. No way to prove "best" anyway with so many teams.

One. remotely feasible way. Eight conferences of 12 teams each. 11 game regular season (no ooc games), round robin in your conference. Take the 8 conference winners (would have to be a tie breaker scheme for the 11 regular season games). Play off the 8 conf champs single elimination.

It would suck, but be more logical than this.

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Or 4 conferences with 16 teams, each with 4 divisions. No team qualifies for playoff without being a member of a conference.

3 games - 1 each in noncon against each other conference
3 games - each team in your division in your conference
6 games - 2 teams from the other divisions in your conference.

Win your division = conference semifinals
Win semifinals = conference championship
Win conference championship = Go to 4 team playoff - 1 team from each conference.

While you would have mediocre teams from the west and east coast in a playoff ahead of more deserving teams from SEC and BIG, the parameters are at least clear.. win your division and win your conference and you have a chance to win it all. Don't, and you had plenty of chances and aren't deserving.

And that would value regular season games. I don't think that in collegiate football you should have to beat a team twice. If the goal is to "prove it on the field" winning an actual game should do that. Shouldn't have to prove it twice.

Yall get ready for the SEC to never schedule the top 5-6 teams to play in regular season.

Texas, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and maybe OU (i know, RR game is an outlier) will avoid each other to ensure multiple teams with either zero or 1 conference losses a year.

With the 7-1 or 6-3 format every team plays every team home and away every 4 year cycle
Maybe the SEC stays at 8 conference games to limit losses but everybody is going to play everybody

In the old days we'd have already been out of the natty race with loss to Notre Dame.

2012 we would have made the 12-team playoff and good chance Johnny brings home a trophy.

I like the new era.

HoustonAggie427 said:

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Can one of our PHDs explain what scenarios we make the SEC championship or playoffs?

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We win all our conference games.

Based on today, projected CFP.

1. SEC Champ Texas
2. Big Ten Champ Oregon
3. ACC Champ Miami
4. B12 Champ ISU


5. Ohio St
6. Alabama
7. Georgia
8. BYU
9. Penn St
10. Clemson
11. Notre Dame
12. Boise St or Navy


Besides the five champs, I think ACC and B12 each get 1 extra at-large team, plus Notre Dame.

That leaves 4 at-large spots for Big Ten + SEC, likely split to 2 at-large spots.



I think for "cheering interest", cheer for the ACC and B12 team to go undefeated, with the 2nd-4th place teams to beat each other up.