The old adage is proving to be true – be careful what you wish for.
College football fans from all across the country have been pushing for the termination of the BCS in order to implement a playoff system.
Well, there seems to be some change on the horizon, just not the type everybody expected.
Conference expansion is causing shock waves all around the nation. But people aren’t realizing that it would not only transform the sport, it could also go a long way in accomplishing the change we have been asking for – the institution of a playoff.
If the Pacific-10 Conference does end up becoming the Pac-16 by adding Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado, this will force the hand of the other conferences to move in the same direction.
The Big Ten has already reached out and offered Nebraska and Missouri spots in its conference.
This leaves the Southeastern Conference, the Big 12, the Big East and the Atlantic Coast Conference with some decisions.
In the end, the SEC will have to make some moves if it wants to maintain its status in the college football world. Adding Miami and FSU would make the most sense. It would keep the conference within the southern region and both squads have rivals in the conference.
These expansions would destroy the Big 12 and the ACC, so the Big East could add some of the other teams left behind in the ruins of these two former college football powers.
All of this would give us four super conferences. The consolidation of college football is the starting point to a playoff system.
It will basically have the same format as the NFL at this point.
Each conference could have its own championship game – like many do now – and the winners of those will automatically earn a berth into the playoff. That will fill up four of the spots.
Then, much like the NFL, there could be two wild-card teams – or in this case, at-large bids. This will be for teams such as Boise State and Utah, which will unfortunately not be part of the big four. It could also be useful for a scenario where two teams from one of the super conferences deserve a berth – like last season’s Alabama and Florida conundrum.
With the design of the system already in place, the logistics are the only things left.
The top-two squads, by ranking, would earn a bye in the first round while the remaining four battle it out for a chance to advance.
Then it would just take the form of a classic semifinal round and championship game.
All of this is still very up in the air. Conference expansion is just an idea that hasn’t come to fruition yet.
But the way things are going, it looks like it is very possible.
So instead of looking at it as the demise of the sport, let’s put another adage to use and see this glass as half full.
