College Football Already Has the Perfect Playoff Blueprint: Just Copy the FCS | Deadspin.com

Few dwelling personalities embrace soccer’s old skool greater than Nick Saban.

So when the best trainer of all time publicly endorses a dramatic alternate to the sport’s traditions, it isn’t a knee-jerk response.

Saban gave his popularity of College Football Playoff growth this week. The seven-time nationwide championship winner — 3 of which got here within the preliminary four-team Playoff structure — pivoted from his earlier stance. He was once staunchly in opposition to postseason growth.

However, with the sphere shifting to 12 groups a season in the past and additional reformatting licensed on Thursday, Saban’s feedback marked a high-profile embody of the inevitable. The Playoff will increase, so we would possibly as neatly undertake the most productive conceivable resolution.

College soccer energy agents Fox and ESPN — excuse me, the Big Ten and SEC — fortify a restructuring that promises them 4 bids each and every. Meanwhile, the Big 12 and ACC would obtain two assured spots apiece.

The proposal is farcical and serves as a security web for 2 leagues that experience already formed the game’s panorama of their prefer. What’s extra, it’s needlessly convoluted when different ranges of school soccer be offering postseason blueprints which are confirmed a hit, increase get entry to for extra individuals and nonetheless praise the “best” meetings.

Adopting the core structure ideas from the Football Championship Subdivision or NCAA Division II postseason makes for a easier College Football Playoff than both the present or proposed techniques.

Each structure has its benefits when carried out to the FBS, even though each include the caveat that convention championship video games would not be important.

FCS Format

Launched in 1978 upon the cut up of NCAA Division I into two subdivisions, the previous Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs briefly expanded from 4 individuals at inception to 16 via 1986. The match remained at 16 groups for 24 years prior to in short rising to 20, then settling at its present overall of 24 in 2013.

The present iteration invitations each and every FCS convention champion with the exception of the Ivy League, SWAC and — because the 2016 release of the Celebration Bowl — the MEAC. Ten automated bids go away 14 at-large berths, maximum of that are occupied via the powerhouse Big Sky and Missouri Valley Football meetings.

That structure must enchantment to the Big Ten and SEC, providing a trade-off in alternate for opening spots to each and every FBS convention champion. Based on league standings and Playoff committee ratings previous to convention championship video games, a 2024 College Football Playoff the use of the FCS structure would possibly have appeared as follows:

Automatic Bids
American: Army
ACC: SMU
Big 12: Arizona State
Big Ten: Oregon
Conference USA: Jacksonville State
MAC: Miami (Ohio)
Mountain West: Boise State
SEC: Texas
Sun Belt: Marshall

At-Large Bids
ACC: Miami, Clemson
Big 12: Iowa State, BYU
Big Ten: Penn State, Ohio State, Indiana
Independent: Notre Dame
Mountain West: UNLV
SEC: Georgia, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama, South Carolina, Missouri

Bracket

First-Round Byes
Oregon
Texas
Penn State
Notre Dame
Georgia
Ohio State
Tennessee
SMU

First-Round Matchups
Jacksonville State at No. 9 Indiana
Miami (Ohio) at No. 10 Boise State
Marshall at No. 11 Alabama
Army at No. 12 Miami
Missouri* at No. 13 Ole Miss
UNLV* at No. 14 South Carolina
Clemson* at No. 15 Arizona State
BYU at No. 16 Iowa State

*The variety committee avoids regular-season rematches within the opening around, so Missouri and Clemson — either one of whom confronted South Carolina — require reseeding. Mizzou–Ole Miss and BYU–Iowa State are each convention matchups, however the groups didn’t meet within the steady season.

Division II Format

Participation within the NCAA Division II Playoffs fluctuates extra incessantly than within the FCS match. For the sake of this workout, let’s use the 2024 season, by which 28 groups certified.

The Division II playoff bracket is quite related to March Madness in that it options definitive areas — or Super Regions. While within the basketball match a area refers to a number location, the Division II Playoffs use geographic clusters to shape their areas.

That’s more straightforward to perform in Division II, the place meetings generally tend to have exact geographic footprints. Applied to the FBS, splitting convention illustration throughout areas may well be recommended. The instance beneath from this previous season demonstrates how the Big Ten and SEC may each and every occupy the No. 1 seeds in numerous Super Regions and thus obtain first-round byes.

Conference titles don’t ensure access into the Division II Playoffs; as a substitute, groups are invited in response to ratings. The following makes use of the similar manner.

East
No. 1 Penn State
Louisville at No. 2 Notre Dame
Army at No. 3 Ohio State
Syracuse at No. 4 Indiana

Central
No. 1 Texas
Texas A&M at No. 2 SMU
Illinois at No. 3 Ole Miss
Missouri at No. 4 Iowa State

South
No. 1 Georgia
Memphis at No. 2 Tennessee
Clemson at No. 3 Alabama
South Carolina at No. 4 Miami

West
No. 1 Oregon
Washington State at No. 2 Boise State
Colorado at No. 3 Arizona State
UNLV at No. 4 BYU

Following the templates that exist already inside the recreation supplies the College Football Playoff with good answers for its inevitable growth. Borrowing from the established roadmaps of the sport’s decrease ranges honors custom whilst introducing a simple means of deciding the nationwide championship at the box.

It’s a method that most likely even essentially the most old-school soccer thoughts — like Nick Saban — can admire.