With Big Ten, SEC poised to dominate College Football Playoff bids, NIT-like tournament could offer solution

Sean Frazier is an idea guy. A former Alabama walk-on, the Northern Illinois athletic director is working overtime trying to find a place for marginalized schools like his to matter.

“There has to be somewhere for those teams to pursue their dreams,” Frazier said.

While the College Football Playoff will expand to 12 teams beginning next season — theoretically providing more access to Group of Five programs via automatic qualifiers for the five highest-ranked conference champions — it’s not enough access for some.

It has dawned on more folks than Frazier this week that the Big Ten is basically guaranteed the ability to celebrate a 2023 national champion. As the Pac-12 withers and dies, Washington is less than six months away from joining the conference. Michigan, a charter member of the 127-year-old league, currently rules the Big Ten.

The nation’s oldest conference can’t lose Monday night.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that — even with the expanded 12-team playoff — access will remain an issue for pretty much any school not in the Big Ten or SEC.

CBS Sports ran the numbers. Conference realignment and consolidation will make Monday’s result — a conference being guaranteed a national championship before the ball is kicked — more frequent. Using 2024 conference affiliations, one league would have been guaranteed a title prior to the CFP National Championship four times in the 10-year existence of the CFP. 

2014: Oregon vs. Ohio State (Big Ten)2017: Georgia vs. Alabama (SEC)2021: Alabama vs. Georgia (SEC)2023: Michigan vs. Washington (Big Ten)

Expect it to happen more often. With 34 of the biggest, best brands now further combined in the Big Ten and SEC, those two conferences are almost certainly going to account for a majority…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/with-big-ten-sec-poised-to-dominate-college-football-playoff-bids-nit-like-tournament-could-offer-solution/

Author : Dennis Dodd

Publish date : 2024-01-05 18:51:15

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