The hottest topic in the world of college football during the spring months has been quite evident, and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has been actively engaging with the leaders of schools in his conference to address it.
SEC spring meetings started Tuesday, and the headlines have been flying.
Arkansas brass has already said they are flexible and OK with either schedule model. Nick Saban has complained (and still complaining) about what a new schedule format could mean for the Tide. And newcomers, Texas and Oklahoma, without voting rights, are sitting back watching the chaos they helped cause.
Something that has been overlooked, at least by the media, is how will a nine-game schedule impact the college football playoffs.
In the nine years since the inception of the College Football Playoffs, the SEC has secured two spots in the playoffs twice, thanks to its eight-game model. This model strategically benefits teams such as Alabama and Georgia by providing a favorable conference schedule during the crucial late months of the season, where every win and loss counts.
By eliminating divisions and implementing a nine-game schedule, Georgia and Alabama could potentially face each other in October rather than at the conference championship. This new schedule also increases the likelihood of the SEC having only one team with fewer than two losses.
And for the mid-tier teams in the SEC, like Arkansas, it presents an opportunity to jump into the College Football Playoff, not having to play LSU or Alabama every season.
The College Football Playoff committee has not yet revealed how the scheduling module will impact the playoffs in the future. However, there may be discussions about “SEC bias” if the top SEC teams suffer multiple losses due to a nine-game schedule, despite the 12-team field. For example, this could occur if they overlook other teams with zero or one losses on their schedule, resulting in a three-loss Alabama squad.
[lawrence-auto-related count=1]