Could 2024 be the end of conference championship games?

U

USCJacket

Jolly Good Fellow
Joined
Aug 5, 2023
Messages
1,945
This was bound to be the discussion. If coaches have their way it would be the end of Championship games. Lane Kiffin is the 1st of many coaches who actually wants to miss the Championship game in order to ensure a CFP spot. Pretty sure Mario C and Lashlee probably feel the same way (if the ACC could get 2 locked in). Dabo on the other hand is probably hoping chaos happens to get a shot at the CFP.

This year will likely lead to a quickly expanded CFP to 16 teams. Because we all know a rule of sorts that the loser of the Championship game is automatically in can’t be added as a stipulation. That would ensure the ACC, B12 get 2 in every year automatically (which the B1G, sec won’t ever agree to).

www.on3.com

Lane Kiffin reveals some coaches don't want to play in SEC Championship due to College Football Playoff

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin explained why some coaches may avoid coaching in the SEC in the 12-team College Football Playoff era.
www.on3.com www.on3.com
 
Well if you are the best team in one of the P4 conferences, losing in the championship game should not knock you out of the playoffs. And if you are the 2nd best team in one of those conferences, losing the game isn't likely to knock you out of the playoffs if you were already in the Top 12.

I would think the bigger concern for playing in the championship game is injury risk.
 
I don't think they'll get rid of conference championships, but they could change this pretty easily to make things better.

Two autobids to each conference. Winner gets bye, loser is guaranteed entry at a higher seed than any at large.

I'm not sure it will be exactly that but I do think they will find a way to make it advantageous to play in conference championship games. There's too much money in them not to.
 
Doubt it happens anytime soon. Too much of a money maker. But it's a rough path to win a natty for the loser of a conf championship game, mainly just in the b10 and sec of course because those two conf will always get the winner and runner up into the playoff. To win a natty you gotta play a minimum of 4 postseason games, and you gotta with 4 straight. Win conf champ+win 3 playoff games or win 4 playoff games. The loser of a conf champ game that still gets in has to play 5 postseason games to win a natty. lose conf champ+win 4 playoff games. I can see why ND didn't care about not being able to ever get a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
 
The conf championship games were important when we were trying to figure out how to match #1 & #2 when that was a thing.

With the expanded playoffs, the extra game is really nothing short of a liability for the participants. I think ND, for example, has a huge advantage if they make the playoffs but don't have to play in a conf title game. Kiffen is exactly right.
 
These mega conferences are a fiasco. 4 and 5 way ties for first place with only one conference game to go for many of them. SMU has snaked their way into 1st place without playing anyone of consequence really. To me, losing regional and historical foes is disappointing. We can't play 12 conference games. It's NFL lite.
 
coit said:
Well if you are the best team in one of the P4 conferences, losing in the championship game should not knock you out of the playoffs. And if you are the 2nd best team in one of those conferences, losing the game isn't likely to knock you out of the playoffs if you were already in the Top 12.

I would think the bigger concern for playing in the championship game is injury risk.
Click to expand...
Look at the sec. Texas is the only team right now who could lose the sec Championship game and finish with 2 losses. And that’s before games vs Kensucky and TAMU.

The sec Championship game loser will in all likelihood finish with 3 losses this year, meaning Ole Miss, Bama, uga, TAMU or even Texas would miss the CFP over a 2 loss sec team that sat home. Heck, the argument is already being thrown out there that if Indiana is blown out by tOSU, yet wins next weekend convincingly against Purdue, that 11-1 Indiana should be left out of the CFP in place of a 3 loss sec team.

Sankey is already crying about how the sec deserves 5 teams now.

Reality is, ND and Boise State need to continue to win in order to block Sankey’s wish.
 
gt9589 said:
These mega conferences are a fiasco. 4 and 5 way ties for first place with only one conference game to go for many of them. SMU has snaked their way into 1st place without playing anyone of consequence really. To me, losing regional and historical foes is disappointing. We can't play 12 conference games. It's NFL lite.
Click to expand...
This is my biggest gripe. It's likely that one of the two teams in the top two played a öööö schedule and just lucked out. There could be almost no overlap between the teams played by conference members.
 
gt9589 said:
These mega conferences are a fiasco. 4 and 5 way ties for first place with only one conference game to go for many of them. SMU has snaked their way into 1st place without playing anyone of consequence really. To me, losing regional and historical foes is disappointing. We can't play 12 conference games. It's NFL lite.
Click to expand...
What? They beat (should have lost to) 7-3 Duke, and at the time 7-0 Pitt. They also beat Louisville. Going into last weekend, Louisville was the only 3 loss ranked CFP team. Nothing SMU can do about preseason #10 FSU sucking. SMU’s schedule looks the same as most ACC teams, games against the 8 teams (which includes GT) with 4-3 or 3-3 ACC records.

Keep in mind, SMU’s only loss is to BYU.
 
USCJacket said:
Look at the sec. Texas is the only team right now who could lose the sec Championship game and finish with 2 losses. And that’s before games vs Kensucky and TAMU.

The sec Championship game loser will in all likelihood finish with 3 losses this year, meaning Ole Miss, Bama, uga, TAMU or even Texas would miss the CFP over a 2 loss sec team that sat home. Heck, the argument is already being thrown out there that if Indiana is blown out by tOSU, yet wins next weekend convincingly against Purdue, that 11-1 Indiana should be left out of the CFP in place of a 3 loss sec team.

Sankey is already crying about how the sec deserves 5 teams now.

Reality is, ND and Boise State need to continue to win in order to block Sankey’s wish.
Click to expand...

Good points. I guess the solution could be that no team in a conference gets in if the 1st or 2nd place teams in that conference don't get in.

Seems like something reasonable enough to answer, and rewards efforts during the season.
 
We are about 40% in to the process of making college football a legitimate sport. Decades over due.

Soon, we’ll have a true playoff system of 24 plus teams where an early season loss or an in game injury doesn’t cost you an entire season. And off the field, all programs are now playing by the same rules vis a vis player recruitment, inducements, and time of service.

I can’t believe this sport has gone from a complete corrupt system dominated by a few cheating programs who were protected by the NCAA to where we are today where the NCAA is no longer needed and every team can induce players. These past 5-6 years are awesome for all us fans who watched decade after decade of cheating and losing to cheaters while they acte like they were pure. At least Saban was man enough to bail knowing his advantage was slowly being eroded. Give it another decade and the top 10 will look completely different as schools decide how they want to compete financially.
 
OptionJacket said:
We are about 40% in to the process of making college football a legitimate sport. Decades over due.

Soon, we’ll have a true playoff system of 24 plus teams where an early season loss or an in game injury doesn’t cost you an entire season. And off the field, all programs are now playing by the same rules vis a vis player recruitment, inducements, and time of service.

I can’t believe this sport has gone from a complete corrupt system dominated by a few cheating programs who were protected by the NCAA to where we are today where the NCAA is no longer needed and every team can induce players. These past 5-6 years are awesome for all us fans who watched decade after decade of cheating and losing to cheaters while they acte like they were pure. At least Saban was man enough to bail knowing his advantage was slowly being eroded. Give it another decade and the top 10 will look completely different as schools decide how they want to compete financially.
Click to expand...
I will be the first to admit I was not just wrong but catastrophically wrong about what NIL was going to do to the sport and GT in particular.

Can't say it often enough - thank goodness Cabrera had the sack to clean house at the GTAA when he did.
 
00Burdell said:
I will be the first to admit I was not just wrong but catastrophically wrong about what NIL was going to do to the sport and GT in particular.

Can't say it often enough - thank goodness Cabrera had the sack to clean house at the GTAA when he did.
Click to expand...
To your point, GT has more 4 stars than ever. That is a direct result of the portal and NIL. Without either we are still lost in the land of below average programs. That Haynes King didn’t have to sit the bench for years at A&M because of a recruiting pitch is awesome. And I feel that way about any player. Kyle Kennard has made himself a lot of money by leaving GT and playing elsewhere. Same for a few others. And I’m extremely happy for a guy like Demetrius Knight who was never given a real chance at GT but is balling out now that he was given a chance elsewhere. Of course you also have the guys who are now on milk cartons after they left - see McCollum and Brown.

Bottom line, is people are free to change their minds. If your school is worthy of being sold on then the portal will be a net positive. If you having nothing to sell outside of football then you will tend to lose more than you gain.
 
gtg970g said:
It's almost like there should be conferences of 10 teams who all play one another. Best record goes to CFP. Maybe they should be regionally based to minimize travel and maximize rivalries. Not sure if this has been thought of.
Click to expand...
I don't know if it was just wishful thinking or an actually well-thought-out suggestion, but I saw such an arrangement posted somewhere online a month or so ago. Tech would be in a region consisting of Georgia, Auburn, Bama, Clemson and others in the "old" southeast (region, not conference). I really liked the arrangement.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top