Lots of words below. You've been warned.
I think we can all agree that college football as it stands is broken. The rules are ever-changing, subjectivity rules over objectivity, certain teams get special treatment (hint hint, Notre Dame), etc. A committee of biased eyes and agendas should NEVER determine which teams get in, it should be based on a number of objective factors.
So I decided to try and fix it by taking the NFL playoff model and applying it to CFB. The NCFL (replaces NCAA for CFB) are broken up into two major conferences with Divisions:
North/West:
Big Ten
Big 12
Pac-12 (Old Pac-12 obviously before money ruined it)
Mountain West
MAC
South/East:
SEC
ACC (Notre Dame is forced to join this conference or go play 12 exhibition games against JUCOs)
American
Sun Belt
C-USA
Regular Season Rules:
A lot of things. For starters, subjectivity. The CFP committee is constantly criticized (and rightly so) for changing criteria. They have no spine and have no clear set standard for how they determine "the eye test" when it comes to choosing between teams. Sometimes it's head-to-head, sometimes it's SOS, it changes depending on what fits the narrative.
It also gets rid of meaningless late-season games. A 3-loss team fighting for seed number 12 keeps players and fanbases engaged.
It stabilizes conferences. When you lock the 10 Divisions (conferences) into North/West or South/East, it allows you to preserve regional rivalries because the structure relies upon geography for the bracket.
It essentially eliminates opt-outs and meaningless bowl games. Here's an example of what a bracket would look like in this scenario.
North/West:
South/East:
Today's college football landscape would likely see this bracket play out similarly to how the current CFP model is expected to. However, guaranteeing 2 shares of the playoff revenue to every "Division" would help the smaller schools gain a leg up.
In addition, introducing centralized NCFL bargaining rights would ensure the health of the overall CFB landscape. Again, just following the NFL model. Will this ever happen? ABSOLUTELY NOT. The SEC and Big 10 would never agree to it.
However, the biggest issue today is NIL. Without strict standards in place for contracts, the smaller schools never stand a chance. It will continue to drive a monopolized market that leads to more stark contrasts between conference teams. 32-48 teams form a semipro league licensed by universities, the rest of the 90+ teams fade into irrelevancy, essentially another FCS.
TL;DR: It's a study into how expanding to 24 teams in the playoff and adopting an NFL style playoff model would likely yield similar results. Without major restructuring to ensure long-term quality of the product (CFB), it will remain a chaotic, yet somehow utterly predictable mess. Completely preventable, but greed prevails.
I hope some are interested in engaging in a discussion, because it was fun thinking through this on my lunch break. Cheers!
I think we can all agree that college football as it stands is broken. The rules are ever-changing, subjectivity rules over objectivity, certain teams get special treatment (hint hint, Notre Dame), etc. A committee of biased eyes and agendas should NEVER determine which teams get in, it should be based on a number of objective factors.
So I decided to try and fix it by taking the NFL playoff model and applying it to CFB. The NCFL (replaces NCAA for CFB) are broken up into two major conferences with Divisions:
North/West:
Big Ten
Big 12
Pac-12 (Old Pac-12 obviously before money ruined it)
Mountain West
MAC
South/East:
SEC
ACC (Notre Dame is forced to join this conference or go play 12 exhibition games against JUCOs)
American
Sun Belt
C-USA
Regular Season Rules:
- Schedule Length: 12 Games
- Opponents: 9 Division Games3 Non-Division Games: Protects traditional rivalries and marquee cross-league matchups
- Division Championship Game: The winner of Side A (north vs east or south vs west (a la SEC Championship). Stakes: The winner is the Division Champion and guaranteed a Top 5 Playoff Seed
- The Field: 12 Teams from North/West; 12 Teams from South/East
- Automatic Qualifiers: 10 Division Champions. Winning your Division guarantees entry, regardless of record (think 10-6 2007 New York Giants)
- Wild Card Qualifiers: 10 Division Runner-Ups (lost the Division Championship Game) + 4 At-Large. The 6-12 seeds are determined by: 1. Winning Percentage: (11-1 beats 10-2)
- 2. Conference Strength of Schedule (Combined winning percentage of all conference opponents)
- 3. Strength of Victory (Winning percentage of teams defeated)
- 4. Road Wins: If two teams are still tied, the team with more road wins gets in
- Seeding Hierarchy (per Conference) Seeds 1-5: Reserved for Division ChampionsSeeds 6-12: Reserved for Wild Cards
- Tiebreaker Code: Used when teams have identical records to determine seeding or Wild Card entry. 1. Head-to-Head: Did they play? Winner gets advantage.
- 2. Division Win%: Record within their own Division.
- 3. Strength of Victory
- 4. Strength of Schedule
- 5. Point Differential: Capped at +20 per game.
- Total Rounds: 5
- Round 1: Wild Card Round (Campus Sites, Seeds 1-4 on BYE) 5-12 seeds. Higher seeds host.
- Round 2: Divisional Rounds: Round 1 Winners vs Seeds 1-4 (Home Field)
- Round 3: Remaining 4 seeds: Replaces bowls(Neutral Sites)
- Round 4: Conference Championships (Neutral Sites) North/West Championship: Hosted at Rose BowlSouth/East Championship: Hosted at Sugar BowlWinner advances to NCFL Championship
- Round 5: NCFL Championship. Rotates Neutral Sites
A lot of things. For starters, subjectivity. The CFP committee is constantly criticized (and rightly so) for changing criteria. They have no spine and have no clear set standard for how they determine "the eye test" when it comes to choosing between teams. Sometimes it's head-to-head, sometimes it's SOS, it changes depending on what fits the narrative.
It also gets rid of meaningless late-season games. A 3-loss team fighting for seed number 12 keeps players and fanbases engaged.
It stabilizes conferences. When you lock the 10 Divisions (conferences) into North/West or South/East, it allows you to preserve regional rivalries because the structure relies upon geography for the bracket.
It essentially eliminates opt-outs and meaningless bowl games. Here's an example of what a bracket would look like in this scenario.
North/West:
South/East:
Today's college football landscape would likely see this bracket play out similarly to how the current CFP model is expected to. However, guaranteeing 2 shares of the playoff revenue to every "Division" would help the smaller schools gain a leg up.
In addition, introducing centralized NCFL bargaining rights would ensure the health of the overall CFB landscape. Again, just following the NFL model. Will this ever happen? ABSOLUTELY NOT. The SEC and Big 10 would never agree to it.
However, the biggest issue today is NIL. Without strict standards in place for contracts, the smaller schools never stand a chance. It will continue to drive a monopolized market that leads to more stark contrasts between conference teams. 32-48 teams form a semipro league licensed by universities, the rest of the 90+ teams fade into irrelevancy, essentially another FCS.
TL;DR: It's a study into how expanding to 24 teams in the playoff and adopting an NFL style playoff model would likely yield similar results. Without major restructuring to ensure long-term quality of the product (CFB), it will remain a chaotic, yet somehow utterly predictable mess. Completely preventable, but greed prevails.
I hope some are interested in engaging in a discussion, because it was fun thinking through this on my lunch break. Cheers!