In the BCS era of college football you only had 2 undefeated teams or near undefeated teams make the national championship game. People today already complain enough about how easy schedules can allow a team to have an inflated record. So most people here are going to either see their teams schedule very easy out-of-conference schedules or complain about how the mathematical formula ends up favoring the teams that play lighter schedules. You’re not seeing big out-of-conference games again. Nowadays with analytics programs are going to make sure they take the easiest route. Then you’ll end up with multiple equally deserving teams all snubbed out of the playoffs.

You’re also not going to see bowl games matter anymore than they did before. Players decline playing in bowl games to make sure they stay healthy and keep their NFL draft stock. That’s not going to change with going back to the BCS. If anything you will see more bowl games without starters than you currently see today because only 1 game will decide the championship that season.

So no, the BCS era was not a pinnacle of this sport nor is it something they should go back to. It’s mostly nostalgia that’s fueling that opinion. Sure the 24-team playoff sucks, but it’s far better than going back to the BCS.

Mizzou's 247 affiliate posed a question this morning that I really didn't think about before hand, and probably a huge part of the calculus in making the change. Viewership data on bowl games over the playoff era has dipped significantly.

So while I think the traditional make up of CFB and its bowl games is really hard to see vanish (or continue to shrink), its sort of a writing on the wall aspect from an excitement standpoint when you look at the data.

Yes, I know it's controversial, but it sounds like this is happening. Thought it would be fun to discuss how the structure might look, and give you my best guess, plus how that might have looked in 2025 based on final CFP rankings.

Personal bet:
-16 team bracket with 8 play-in games, 8 teams with byes.
-23 at-large bids, 1 G6 auto bid
-campus games for the play-ins

Based on last year's results that would have been:

#24 JMU @ #9 Alabama
#23 Iowa @ #10 Miami
#22 Georgia Tech @ #11 Notre Dame
#21 Houston @ #12 BYU
#20 Tulane @ #13 Texas
#19 Virginia @ #14 Vanderbilt
#18 Michigan @ #15 Utah
#17 Arizona @ #16 USC

#1 - 8 seeds play the winner of each game:
Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma

I think that would be an awesome set up and honestly I'm not sure how else you slice a 24-team bracket, so how do you think they will screw it up?

Yes, "bowl games were already dead," but at least these offered some potential ranked-on-ranked matchups for teams ranked between 12-25. And Pop-Tarts Bowl has a fun, viral-meme atmosphere.

If this new format hoovers up 24 teams AND puts the 1st and 2nd rounds on campus, the bowls will consist of nothing but unranked teams (other than one or two).

We could be losing some real sports legacy with the Sun, Citrus, Gator, etc.

First time making a post, so here goes nothing.

I love college football as much as anyone here. No matter what changes they make, I'll probably keep coming back to the FBS because I love the sport that much.

That said, I'm getting tired of the constant realignment, the loss of historic rivalries, the growing sense that only 20-30 programs will really matter in the future of college athletics, and now whatever the latest controversy happens to be.

Are we actually going to do anything about it besides complain? Probably not. We're all addicts when it comes to this sport.

But maybe, in these weird times, it's worth taking a break from chasing the biggest games every weekend and paying more attention to what's happening closer to home.

The FCS puts out an incredible brand of football, and I'd encourage anyone who hasn't given it a chance to check it out. Watch the Brawl of the Wild and tell me college football is losing its soul (RIP Dakota Marker). Check out the Black Hills Brawl this weekend between South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State. These aren't games driven by TV contracts or playoff rankings. They're driven by communities, traditions, and fanbases that genuinely care.

And it doesn't have to stop there. Go watch that local DII rivalry that's been going on for 100 years. Go support a program because you like the mascot, the atmosphere, or because it's part of your community.

College football was built on regionality, local pride, and traditions that meant something to the people around them. Maybe the best way to preserve that spirit isn't spending all our time complaining about what's changing at the top but investing more attention in the teams and rivalries that are right in front of us.

If the future of the sport is going to become more nationalized and corporate, then maybe the answer is to appreciate the parts of college football that still feel local.

I saw a college football comment on CFBudge video called What have they done. One of the comments say that for example. 18 seed Oklahoma State is in the CFP and travels to Kentucky for a playoff game. Since Drew Mestemaker is a projected top pick, he says that he will not play in the playoffs because it might hurt his draft stock. @ SubmachineOP said this in a YouTube comment. Would that actually happen?

Only halfway through the season obviously, but I don’t think it’s too crazy to agree with this sentiment. Strictly talking about this season only.

With recent changes in the college football landscape, a lot of G6 programs are worried that increasing the number of P4 OOC games will reduce G6 opportunities. I agree with this, as a G6 football fan. Teams like Boise State, Tulane, Memphis, and of course OSU and WSU have proven they can compete with the big boys, and of course recent changes have especially hurt their ability to get P4 teams to their buildings. Many P4 teams play one OOC P4 one G5 and one FCS team. And a few play two G5 and one FCS. I think we should eliminate the P4 FCS games. These games are usually not even close to competitive. They are basically TV black holes. Nobody wants to see Miami beat up on Florida A&M. G6 teams can and do beat P4 teams or give them a scare, FCS teams are just bodybags. It's just a waste of time. And perhaps more importantly, they are not part of the playoff system- it's esentially like playing a minor league team. Also, most of the FCS teams that could beat P4 teams are not FCS anymore. App State, James Madison, and NDSU are all G6 teams now. And many of the top FCS teams don't even get scheduled by P4 teams anymore. Now this does hurt FCS athletic budgets, but I fear that to save G6 football we might need to do this. FCS teams will still get paydays from G6 teams. I would also be ok with FCS teams playing P4 teams in a spring scrimmage or preseason game- they just shouldn't count as wins for P4 teams.

All within the same region?

The rule was you had to have at least 12 schools to hold a conference championship game. That is what really started the conference expansion BS.

This is a loaded question with a lot of implications. Under the 4-team format, it was simply a non-starter, and I think under the 12-team format there is still too much at stake (such as a bye week). Typically, if a team goes into the final weekend 11-0, then they probably have a potential bye at stake, and if they go into the final weekend 10-1, then finishing 10-2 is just too risky. However, the expanded playoff changes the math a bit, and resting starters is a longtime common practice in the NFL and in other sports. It’s not a new thing.

If a team seems “locked” into the playoff, and they don’t seem to have anything to gain from winning their last game, are we going to see a team rest its starters and take the loss so their guys stay healthy and fresh?

Additionally, if your last regular season game is a rivalry game, does a team have the audacity to still do it?

Lastly, would the committee be upset enough to knock a team down for it?

There is no doubt in my mind that every college football fan would hate it. The fans who paid to be there would hate it. The TV networks would even hate it. But if you’re a coach, and your one and only mandate is to win a championship, do you do it?

Curious to see how the expanded again playoffs changes how teams schedule OOC games. Around the time of the first playoff you saw big teams actually schedule legit OOC games as the penalty for dropping a single game wasn't as bad, could boost the resume, and more money to be made off marque matchups.

More recently we've seen teams start shying away from this because conferences are playing 9 games and CFP committee seemed to be going more off record at the end of bracket rather than who the wins were against and who the losses were too.

Now with the expanded playoffs there will be absolute log jam of 20+ teams that are 9-3 or 8-4 vying for the last dozen spots. So I'm hoping we see more p4 OOC games scheduled. If you're a Texas, Bama, an OSU there's not going to be any real benefit other than seeding.

But if you're a middle to bottom half of a p4 Conference team with no existing OOC rival it should absolutely be in your best interest to schedule similar OOC teams. I'm thinking of like the ones we've had recently with Miss State v Minn, Illinois vs Duke, Purdue vs Syracuse

The BCS slogan was every game mattered. On December 4, 2011 that all changed. Alabama, which finished in 3rd place in the SEC and had already lost on their home field to No. 1 LSU, was placed in the BCSNC game due to “the eye test” over an Oklahoma State team that had a better overall resume.

Whether it was to usher in the four-team playoff or just generate bigger TV ratings, this completely invalidated the results of the so-called “Game of the Century”
between LSU and Alabama. Alabama’s consequence for losing on its home field was to essentially get a free pass to back in to the championship game. LSU’s “reward” for beating the Tide was a matchup with UGA in the SEC Championship Game - and then having to beat Bama again. Essentially, LSU had to go 3-0
in those games, but Bama only had to be 1-1.

Every game no longer mattered.

EDIT TO ADD:

Resume Comparison

SOS - Okie St # 6, Bama # 23

Wins vs BCS Top 25- OSU 4 (#8 Kansas, #12 Baylor, #14 Oklahoma, #24 Texas)

Bama - 2 (#6 Arkansas, #22 Penn State)

FBS Wins - OSU 11, Bama 10

Oklahoma State - Big 12 Champs

Bama - 3rd Place SEC (2nd in West Division)

—————

Bama’s argument is based on their loss being better than Oklahoma State’s loss.

Bama lost to the #1 team in the country. It was at home, with a huge home crowd, in a game where they knew the SEC West and likely a national championship berth was on the line.

OSU lost to a 6-6 team. It was on the road, on a Friday night, on a day that the university’s athletic department suffered a major tragedy.

Bama was given a do-over for a losing a game where they had everything in their favor.

Let it be said, I disagree with the new 24 team playoff.

However, it could in fact help some of the bowl games out if they make 2nd round bowl games. It could switch every year as well for different bowls in the us. For example, a pop tart bowl game between UNC and Duke in a CFP game would be highly successful.

We got to use the bowl games to the advantage of a larger playoff structure and protect college football history.

In the closing minutes of “College GameDay” last week, inside a Tuscaloosa, Ala., basketball arena where the show had taken shelter from Hurricane Isaias, the ESPN cameras found Pat McAfee building toward a prediction. Over his shoulder, in the background of the frame, a college student stood in the stands, blond and bare-chested, his green shirt in one fist, flexing and roaring like a raging wrestler.

McAfee took his time. The shirtless young man almost made his muscles burst through his skin. The rest of the ESPN panel — Desmond Howard, Nick Saban and guest picker Bryce Young — had appeased the home crowd by picking Alabama to beat Georgia. McAfee, who grew up outside Pittsburgh, laid a Southern drawl over his vowels, slow and syrupy, a little overdone to match his persona.

Think of everything that makes college football special:
1. Rivalries
2. Bowl Games
3. Every game being life or death
4. Regionality

The last 15 years have killed all four.

How many teams don’t play a single rival now? Memphis’s biggest rivals were Louisville and Cincinnati. Haven’t played them in forever.

Bowl games have been meaningless for a few years now. But now, we might as well not even have them.

I hate how under the 12 team playoff a team can use 3 games and still have a shot. Now there’s going to be 8-4 SEC and Big Ten teams arguing for a spot.

I could spend all day complaining about West Coast schools in the ACC and Big 10.

If the playoff goes to 24...does it feel like these become the "new" bowl games? When I was a kid, teams played all year and going to a bowl game was a BIG deal. You played a team you normally didn't play, the fans were up for it, the players were up for it and if you lost, you were bummed for a year. It just feels like "going to a bowl game" means very little but going to the playoffs is the "new" bowl game for fans/players now...thoughts?

Elon vs. Stanford

When: Saturday, October 17, 07:30 PM Eastern

Where: Stanford Stadium, Stanford, CA

Watch: ACC Extra, ACCNX

Odds: N/A

Total Points: N/A

All-Time Series : Elon vs. Stanford

This is the first meeting between these programs.

Through Week 6

Elon Injury Report

No reported injuries per boydsbets

Stanford Injury Report

^{Injury data lifted from: boydsbets}

^{Source updated Thu, Oct 15, 3:12 pm. Scraped Thu, Oct 15, 5:45 pm ET}

What are your "Keys to the Game"?

Who do you think wins?

Do you think the favorite will cover the spread?

Which player(s) are you most interested to watch?

Let's talk football!

^{Matchup Preview Thread Generator powered by collegefootballdata.com}

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Louisiana Tech vs. UL Monroe

When: Saturday, October 17, 08:00 PM Eastern

Where: Malone Stadium, Monroe, LA

Watch: ESPN+

Odds: Louisiana Tech by 14.5 pts.

Total Points: 56.5

All-Time Series : Louisiana Tech vs. UL Monroe

Louisiana Tech and UL Monroe have met 15 times since 1975-11-08

These teams last met on 2000-11-11.

Series Wins: Louisiana Tech 12-0-3 UL Monroe

Louisiana Tech has won the last 8 meetings (1988-2000) in this series

Last 5 Meetings

Through Week 6

Louisiana Tech Injury Report

^{Injury data lifted from: boydsbets}

UL Monroe Injury Report

No reported injuries per boydsbets

^{Source updated Thu, Oct 15, 3:12 pm. Scraped Thu, Oct 15, 7:24 pm ET}

What are your "Keys to the Game"?

Who do you think wins?

Do you think the favorite will cover the spread?

Which player(s) are you most interested to watch?

Let's talk football!

^{Matchup Preview Thread Generator powered by collegefootballdata.com}

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Ohio vs. Sacramento State

When: Saturday, October 17, 10:00 PM Eastern

Where: Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, CA

Watch: ESPN+

Odds: Ohio by 14.5 pts.

Total Points: 49.5

All-Time Series : Ohio vs. Sacramento State

This is the first meeting between these programs.

Through Week 6

Ohio Injury Report

^{Injury data lifted from: boydsbets}

Sacramento State Injury Report

^{Injury data lifted from: boydsbets}

^{Source updated Thu, Oct 15, 3:12 pm. Scraped Thu, Oct 15, 7:24 pm ET}

What are your "Keys to the Game"?

Who do you think wins?

Do you think the favorite will cover the spread?

Which player(s) are you most interested to watch?

Let's talk football!

^{Matchup Preview Thread Generator powered by collegefootballdata.com}

^{Start a chat with /u/dupreesdiamond for any issues/suggestions regarding this resource}