We warned you it would happen. If you’ve been reading the blog we predicted it back December of 2017 that College Football Playoff had devalued the worth of playing tough non-conference games.
If I am a power 5 AD, and I’m trying to build a playoff resume I start by dropping every lose-able OOC game. If I’m the commissioner of the Pac 12 and Big 10, I drop down to 8 conference games. You want the playoff criteria? The playoff committee has spoken – don’t schedule up, don’t risk losing, make the playoffs.
So it begins – with the end of the Pittsburgh vs Penn State series as reported by Philly.com. Penn State head coach James Franklin suggests it was the College Football Playoff selection that played a role.
“Strength of schedule is a huge part, or was supposed to be a huge part of the selection committee, but that hasn’t panned out,” Franklin said. “You wouldn’t necessarily say that after looking at it the last couple of years on how that’s played out.
“So what you have to do is, based on your institution, based on your program, you have to do everything in your power to be undefeated and win the conference championship. All the other variables, you can’t control them, so [you need to control] everything you possibly can, especially when you play in the Big Ten East.
That sounds awfully familiar to what we said on the blog. It’s why we told you Clemson vs Georgia renewing their series is a mistake when it comes to the playoffs.
Scheduling 8 conference games? SI.com says that’s what the Pac 12 can do to help their playoff chances.
Meanwhile, the ACC and SEC have changed their scheduling to help their teams.
ACC and SEC teams play eight conference games…
…It is not an accident, by the way, that an SEC team has won nine of the past 12 national titles and ACC teams won two of the other three.
Other factors play into OOC scheduling, as the SI.com articles writes…. ticket sales, television exposures, high profile, but when it comes to the playoff selection process – the writing is on the wall.
This further reinforces my believe the CFP will have to be forced by media and CFB fan out cry either to expand to 8 and or have more transparency in their Process of evaluation for selection. SOS matters,losses matter more than espn’s need to have the best Ad rate pairings.
— yehonala04 (@yehonala04) May 10, 2018
This is the result of recent selections punishing tougher schedules.
— Burlgt (@Burlgt) May 11, 2018
The two above tweets sum up the situation best.
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