Get ready - its coming - but so is another big change - one that will make even more sense! First, stop the non sense of 24 or 30 team conferences - just stop it! 16 is enough. Go back to 3 permanent league foes and then rotate the other 12 teams in the conference to every other year home and away - 4 years you play everyone home and away! IMO - Kentucky's permanent 's should be Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina. We want to beat those teams more than any other! Plus when was the last time you saw Texas A & M play in Lexington NEVER! - and how many times have we played them period? ONE! This allow every team to be seen once in a 4 year span.
Here is the big one coming. 64 team playoff - yes - 64 in the NEW NCFA league. The teams not in this league can still have their own playoff! It totally makes sense! Then records are not as important - every team participates in the new 64 Team Football only conference. Early season losses or injuries doesn't eliminate you! The NCAA will remain for all other sports. Every team will play 10 regular season games with 9 being the most you play from your conference affiliation. Teams then get to keep their rivalry non conference games - many of those exist all over the country.
The 64 teams are seeded. Use similar format as basketball - creating four 16 team regions. Higher seeds are home team. One week bye before games begin. Winners advance to second round - again higher seeded team plays at home. another bye week. So total from opening day to final sixteen is 14 weeks - same as today! Now you are down to 16 teams. Re seed those 16 teams to be the same format as the current 12 team (16 in 2026) format is to be done. Winners of the round of 16 will fill the the six major bowl games as done now and final championship game. No team will play more than 15 games in the season - that will actually be the same as the format was this past year. Other bowl games go on as they do now. Every team still plays 12 games. Bowl teams chosen still play that game. The teams that make the final 16 still play the same amount of games also. Season is not made longer. All teams share equally in first two rounds of playoff games they participate in.
This model will work. It puts all 64 teams in play for the national championship - no matter which league they play in. No one gets left out! All games during the season will still be meaningful. An 8-4 SEC team could/should still be seeded very high compared to a lesser league team that is 9-1.
Let the bickering begin - but something needs to happen to save college football - and this looks like a reasonable solution - at least to me!
Go Big Blue!
Here is the big one coming. 64 team playoff - yes - 64 in the NEW NCFA league. The teams not in this league can still have their own playoff! It totally makes sense! Then records are not as important - every team participates in the new 64 Team Football only conference. Early season losses or injuries doesn't eliminate you! The NCAA will remain for all other sports. Every team will play 10 regular season games with 9 being the most you play from your conference affiliation. Teams then get to keep their rivalry non conference games - many of those exist all over the country.
The 64 teams are seeded. Use similar format as basketball - creating four 16 team regions. Higher seeds are home team. One week bye before games begin. Winners advance to second round - again higher seeded team plays at home. another bye week. So total from opening day to final sixteen is 14 weeks - same as today! Now you are down to 16 teams. Re seed those 16 teams to be the same format as the current 12 team (16 in 2026) format is to be done. Winners of the round of 16 will fill the the six major bowl games as done now and final championship game. No team will play more than 15 games in the season - that will actually be the same as the format was this past year. Other bowl games go on as they do now. Every team still plays 12 games. Bowl teams chosen still play that game. The teams that make the final 16 still play the same amount of games also. Season is not made longer. All teams share equally in first two rounds of playoff games they participate in.
This model will work. It puts all 64 teams in play for the national championship - no matter which league they play in. No one gets left out! All games during the season will still be meaningful. An 8-4 SEC team could/should still be seeded very high compared to a lesser league team that is 9-1.
Let the bickering begin - but something needs to happen to save college football - and this looks like a reasonable solution - at least to me!
Go Big Blue!