EDITORIAL:
Tulane and James Madison didn’t Fly Like a G6 on Saturday. Ole Miss said, “Lane who? We’re with Pete.” James Madison scored a lot of points, but it was too much too late for it to matter unless you were concerned about the spread. We need to reform the CFB Playoff to give us the best television and on-field product.
My editor will be quick to point out that blowouts happen, and they are not unique to the G6. We can look no further than last year’s CFB Playoff matchups. Ohio State smacked Tennessee at home in Columbus, and Penn State blew out SMU before the Pony Express got off their private jets. While the outcomes of the games are the same, they are different.
Tennessee was 10-2 on the season. Sure, they didn’t play in the SEC Championship, but they finished ranked #7 in the committee’s rankings. SMU was 11-2 heading into the game, undefeated in the ACC, and lost on a last-second field goal to Clemson in the ACC championship game. They earned their spot in the CFB Playoff by finishing ranked #10 in the committee rankings.
Contrast that with the two G6 representatives this year. Tulane was American Conference Champions and 11-2 on the season and were #20 in the committee’s final rankings. James Madison was 12-1 on the season and won the Sun Belt Conference Championship. They finished the season ranked #24 by the committee. Both got in because the ACC was a dumpster fire and saw Duke upset Virginia in the conference championship.
Tulane and James Madison were given spots rather than Tennessee and SMU, which earned their spots. When thinking about the CFB Playoff, we need more spots that are earned. That benefits television and the on-field product. Here’s how.
Let the G6 Fly: Reforming the CFB Playoff Format
12 or 16 Doesn’t Matter, Selection Does
We are probably moving to a 16-team Playoff next season. Will it solve all of our ills and whining about who is deserving? Touchdown Jesus only knows who will be next year’s Notre Dame. A team “jilted” by the committee despite “deserving” a spot. Again, we are not making an argument about deserving; instead, we are solving a simple issue. Let’s get the most bang out of our television dollar by providing high-quality contests.
With that in mind, 12 or 16 teams are inconsequential. We are going to solve the issue regardless of the number put before us. Please note, we are not going to 24. 24 is too damn many. Instead, we are going to go with our committee rankings. We are going to take the Top 12 or Top 16 teams and put them in the playoff. What do we do with conference champions?
That is up to each league to decide. One has to wonder how much longer these coaches and athletic directors will be advocating to have them? Where is the incentive? Alabama got smacked by Georgia and luckily was still put in the Playoff, but then had to go on the road to Norman. We are sure John Mateer and the Sooners were happy not to be playing and rewarded with a home game, not that it helped after the first quarter.
So instead, we just used the committee’s rankings and created our CFB Playoff with the teams that they determine are the 12 or 16 best. Let’s take a look at what that could have looked like in 2025.
12-Team Format Proposal
For argument’s sake, we are also getting rid of bye weeks. Bye weeks are dumb. There is no incentive; we would instead have more games played at home instead of boring NFL or Bowl Sites. We could say more about that, but that would put us off the rails. Instead, we will put a pin in that idea and look at what the 12-team format could have looked like on Friday and Saturday.
- No. 12 BYU @ No. 1 Indiana
- No. 11 Notre Dame @ No. 2 Ohio State
- No. 10 Miami (Fl.) @ No. 3 Georgia
- No. 9 Alabama @ No. 4 Texas Tech
- No. 8 Oklahoma @ No. 5 Oregon
- No. 7 Texas A&M @ No. 6 Ole Miss
Who doesn’t want this? Carson Beck returning to Athens? Notre Dame at the Shoe! A home game in Lubbock. This makes so much sense that surely television wouldn’t have put these games on HBO Max, the CW, or whatever the G6s were on last night.
More importantly, this benefits the P4 conferences. Let’s take a look at the breakdown and how each conference would benefit:
- SEC: 5 (N/C)
- B1G: 3 (N/C)
- Big 12: 2 (+1)
- ACC: 1 (N/C)
- Ind*: 1 (+1)
No rematches and no G6’s in the 12-team format, but Boise State (#9) would have been in 2024, and Cincinnati (#4) would have hosted a playoff game in 2021. The opportunity is there, it just has to be earned.
16-Team Format Proposal
Since we all seem to be talking about 16, let’s look at what the Sweet 16 would have looked like this year.
- No. 16 USC (Fight on, not Gamecocks) @ No. 1 Indiana
- No. 15 Utah @ No. 2 Ohio State
- No. 14 Vanderbilt @ No. 3 Georgia
- No. 13 Texas @ No. 4 Texas Tech
- No. 12 BYU @ No. 5 Oregon
- No. 11 Notre Dame @ No. 6 Ole Miss
- No. 10 Miami (Fl.) @ No. 7 Texas A&M
- No. 9 Alabama @ No. 8 Oklahoma
Now we are talking. Now we are including everyone from the East Coast to the West Coast. Lincoln Riley finally gets USC in the game. Vandy and Georgia could play with the winner getting Jared Curtis. Even more so, let’s take a look at how the P4 conferences would stand to benefit.
- SEC: 7 (+2)
- B1G: 4 (+1)
- Big 12: 3 (+2)
- ACC: 1 (NC)
- Ind* 1 (+1)
Still no G6s, but who wouldn’t want a little December Madness with these games playing all day on Friday and Saturday? Taking a look back at the last five years, the G6 would have gotten in one additional team in 2022; Tulane (#16) would have been the last team in.
It’s not perfect, but it’s helluva a lot more equitable and exciting than what we have now. So, let’ get done.
Main Image: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images
