Tyler Barnes Post on X

Feb 25, 2008
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Nah, until the G5 can get guarantees, as long as they remain attached under the FBS umbrella, they will always have representation because it has to mean something for them to play a college football season at this level.

Even at the FCS level, every team gets to play for the National Championship.

What do the G5 schools have to play for outside of their conference's title and a bowl bid? And nowadays everyone says both of which are meaningless because of the CFP. If the G5 wasn't included in the CFP, what would they really have to play for?

Regardless of how resentful people are of their inclusion, it is necessary to allow the G5 some kind of opportunity to compete for a national championship...........not to mention the legal headache that would ensue if they weren't allowed.
 

hawkisoaker

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Aug 5, 2011
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Nah, until the G5 can get guarantees, as long as they remain attached under the FBS umbrella, they will always have representation because it has to mean something for them to play a college football season at this level.

Even at the FCS level, every team gets to play for the National Championship.

What do the G5 schools have to play for outside of their conference's title and a bowl bid? And nowadays everyone says both of which are meaningless because of the CFP. If the G5 wasn't included in the CFP, what would they really have to play for?

Regardless of how resentful people are of their inclusion, it is necessary to allow the G5 some kind of opportunity to compete for a national championship...........not to mention the legal headache that would ensue if they weren't allowed.
Valid point maybe it’s time for them to join FCS? They can’t hang with the big boys and there’s no room for 3 leagues?? Maybe?
 
Feb 25, 2008
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Valid point maybe it’s time for them to join FCS? They can’t hang with the big boys and there’s no room for 3 leagues?? Maybe?
If I were CFB Commissioner, there would be a major restructuring of the highest levels of the sport.

In an ideal world, however, the "FBS" level will condense below 100 teams. I'd say the cap is at 96 teams. The rest form the mid-major level just above what is now "FCS" and that opens the door for programs at that Ievel to jump up and fill in the numbers along with the G5 schools and they would have their own subdivision and playoff. FCS ranks would take a hit, obviously, but it would also open the door for some of the smaller conferences like the Pioneer League and also allow for some Division II schools to transition up if they wanted to as well, and Div. III and so on and so forth.

The problem is the money. And the major conferences, their commissioners, and the A.D.s have nobody to blame but themselves for this problem.

You can't legally take away the G5's right to the opportunity to profit at the FBS level just because "they don't have a shot to beat the Bamas and Oregons and Ohio States of the world".
 
Feb 25, 2008
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It’s just like March madness. Expansion to 68 and now 69 and 70th teams crying how they deserved to be in. Expand to 16 stuck have the teams in 17th or 18th spot whining how they screwed and should’ve been in.
Not if you don't create the drama, and make it pretty clear on how you get in.

If there were a 16 team tournament this year, Vanderbilt, Utah and USC (in that order) would be the first three out and they would have no right to complain about being left out.
 
Feb 25, 2008
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I like conference title games. Maybe it’s just me
They can exist if the conference and playoff werebthe right size, and if they actually kept their stakes.

The 4 team CFP at least maintained some of the stakes for the CCGs. Yes it often didn't hurt the SEC, but that's a separate issue.

The more you expand the playoff, the less relevant conference championship games are, and in all honesty, that also means that there's less of a need for these ridiculous super conferences.
 

MAKhawks

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I like Tyler’s line of thinking, but I’d got with the Top 24 based off the CFP rankings.

Have regions like the basketball tournament and have the CFP committee seed them. It doesn’t have to be based off of seedings 1-24. Just that one through 24 are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. Example this year would be that IU takes the one in the Midwest region. OSU would get the #1 seed in the East. UGA would take the South and Texas Tech would take the #1 in the West. Or…… The committee could give Oregon the #1 in the West and Texas Tech the #2 (still a first Round Bye and second round home game) in the South in UGA’s bracket. Just an example….

Round 1 & 2 are on campus of the higher seed. Round 3 at a regional dome or warm weather stadium. Round 4 - Final Four both games held at a different dome or warm weather stadium than the regionals. Championship Game held in a dome / warm weather stadium different than the regionals and semi finals. Rotate these domes / warm weather stadiums every year

It almost seems too easy and too good not have it this way. Why is this already not a thing?

Imagine a game in Kinnick first round. Then upsetting say Michigan in Ann Arbor to take on Ohio State or Texas Tech or BYU in the regional finals in Minneapolis.
 
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herkyou2

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Jul 2, 2025
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I would like to see 16 team. 4 B1G, 4 SEC, 3 ACC, 3 B12, 1 G5 and 1 at large. ND will always have something in place to have a high chance of getting in like they do starting next year (Top 12 they automatically make it). If they want to play the conference championship they can or give those top 2 teams a bye.

Have the top 2 ranked G5 teams play regardless of conference affiliation to determine which one makes it (unfortunately right now they have to appeal to them as well....for now). Have 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5 in the B1G and SEC for the 3rd and 4th spot. B12 and ACC 3rd vs 4th for 3rd spot all on conference championship Saturday.

Would some of those teams have no chance of winning the championship make it...of course, but that would hopefully stop some of the complaining of we were the 17th, 18th, 13th, 12th, etc. In a senerio like this Iowa would of played at Oregon Saturday to get in.

Every team within a few spots of the last seed will complain, even with having 12 games played to make their case. That's why I prefer the conference seed model win and your in. Win in the season to get a better seed and possibly play that play in game at home. Lose and there should be no whining that you lost on the field.
 

HawksRule73

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Honestly, what we have right now isn't a college football playoff, but a college football invitational. Until there are hard and fast rules about how teams get in, it'll continue to be a beauty contest.

What CFB should do is try and adopt something close to the model that the NFL has. In other words, require the P4 conferences to move to 4 divisions each. That'd be 16 divisions. To make the playoff, you have to win your division. Then, the playoffs would start within the divisions of the conferences. For example, the 4 teams that won their division within the B1G would play a conference semi-final and final and the winner would be the rep from the B1G.....same for the SEC, Big12, and ACC. Then, those teams would play in a semi-final and final to determine the national championship. Obviously this means that each conference would need to get to 20 teams each, which means ND would need to find a conference. For the G5 teams, create a separate league and they can have their own playoff.
 

Manfredi

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Jan 5, 2023
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Each year they make up new reasoning on how they decide who is in. The most ridiculous one they've used in the past is the "eyeball test". The results on the field should matter most or why even play the games. Clearcut rules are needed and not made up by the SEC and BIG commissioners. If 4th or 5th place teams get in over smaller conference champions then we clearly need D1 split into 2 levels and if they did that we definitely wouldn't need expansion or watering down of the CFP.
 

Titanhawk

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Jul 14, 2011
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Seriously, anybody truly arguing a team outside of OSU, Indiana and Georgia as being number one? By all means, add four more teams to arrive at the same conclusion
 
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MeetTheFerentzes

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I would like to see 16 team. 4 B1G, 4 SEC, 3 ACC, 3 B12, 1 G5 and 1 at large. ND will always have something in place to have a high chance of getting in like they do starting next year (Top 12 they automatically make it). If they want to play the conference championship they can or give those top 2 teams a bye.

Have the top 2 ranked G5 teams play regardless of conference affiliation to determine which one makes it (unfortunately right now they have to appeal to them as well....for now). Have 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5 in the B1G and SEC for the 3rd and 4th spot. B12 and ACC 3rd vs 4th for 3rd spot all on conference championship Saturday.

Would some of those teams have no chance of winning the championship make it...of course, but that would hopefully stop some of the complaining of we were the 17th, 18th, 13th, 12th, etc. In a senerio like this Iowa would of played at Oregon Saturday to get in.

Every team within a few spots of the last seed will complain, even with having 12 games played to make their case. That's why I prefer the conference seed model win and your in. Win in the season to get a better seed and possibly play that play in game at home. Lose and there should be no whining that you lost on the field.
This is closest to what I would like to see. My only difference would be giving the ACC and Big 12 only 2 autos, with 2 mid-majors in it, leaving 2 at-large bids.

I don’t understand the idea of eliminating conference championship games for the major conferences. They can be extremely exciting and are big money makers. The answer is to add games on championship weekend like you stated, which would be de facto play-in games for the CFP. The only conference championship games that should be eliminated are the mid major conferences. Instead, the top 4 champs should play each other that weekend for 2 spots in the CFP. (the AAC and new Pac will almost always have a worthy team, with literally all teams having a shot).

The only thing the CFP committee would be in charge of is choosing the mid-major matchups, choosing a handful of at large teams and seeding for the tournament.
 

MeetTheFerentzes

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Seriously, anybody truly arguing a team outside of OSU, Indiana and Georgia as being number one? By all means, add four more teams to arrive at the same conclusion
I would send college football back to the 1980s if I could. But, since I can’t, I’m merely giving my opinion on how I hope things will change, which we all know they’re going to do. I don’t think anybody seriously thinks that more than maybe seven or eight teams at most each year have a chance of winning the national championship.
 

iahawkeyes17

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Not if you don't create the drama, and make it pretty clear on how you get in.

If there were a 16 team tournament this year, Vanderbilt, Utah and USC (in that order) would be the first three out and they would have no right to complain about being left out.
You don’t think teams like them wouldn’t complain they were more deserving over other 2 loss teams? Hell 3 loss Texas was whining some this year.
 

AnonymousNolonger

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Each year they make up new reasoning on how they decide who is in. The most ridiculous one they've used in the past is the "eyeball test". The results on the field should matter most or why even play the games. Clearcut rules are needed and not made up by the SEC and BIG commissioners. If 4th or 5th place teams get in over smaller conference champions then we clearly need D1 split into 2 levels and if they did that we definitely wouldn't need expansion or watering down of the CFP.
Yeah, the ole eyeball test was just slang for “way to get more SEC teams in”.

Now they just accomplish it by including nearly every SEC team in the initial top 25 ranking.
 
Feb 25, 2008
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You don’t think teams like them wouldn’t complain they were more deserving over other 2 loss teams? Hell 3 loss Texas was whining some this year.
I'm sure they would cry, regardless. Duke's coach lobbied for his team (because he was asked), even though there was a less than zero chance they'd get in the CFP.

Doesn't mean anyone would give a sh** like they do with the issues we have with the 12 team playoff.
 

MeetTheFerentzes

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They need to pick the CFP before the conference title games. That way the title game only matter for the conference and not the CFP.
That would work beautifully if your goal is to watch CCG’s played between 2nd and 3rd teams.
 

WeBeHerkin

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They need to pick the CFP before the conference title games. That way the title game only matter for the conference and not the CFP.
Yeah why risk injuries at that point though? The big prize is the natty.
 

MAKhawks

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It will be interesting if Army / Navy ever contend for the CFP. Army almost did last year before getting beat badly by ND.

But their regular season isn’t even over with until after the CFP bracket is out. I’m guessing they’re probably not overly worried about either school, but Army was in the playoff hunt last season. Had they won vs ND (very unlikely to happen), it would have virtually locked them in. Then they lost to Navy later after the pairings came out.
 

MeetTheFerentzes

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It will be interesting if Army / Navy ever contend for the CFP. Army almost did last year before getting beat badly by ND.

But their regular season isn’t even over with until after the CFP bracket is out. I’m guessing they’re probably not overly worried about either school, but Army was in the playoff hunt last season. Had they won vs ND (very unlikely to happen), it would have virtually locked them in. Then they lost to Navy later after the pairings came out.
Maybe in that case army could opt out of the game versus navy. Hey, Notre Dame and other teams can do it so why not them? Money and championships are what matter, not time honored traditions.
 

SB_SB

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Yeah why risk injuries at that point though? The big prize is the natty.

It really depends. Indiana and Ohio St both knew they were in the CFP and yet they still played hard in the title game. There is something to be said for winning a conference title. I also could argue that it might be better for teams if the CFP brackets are already set, if a team is being blown out in the conference game, they could take out their starters and save them for the CFP.
 
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RuggieC

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Want to get rid of arguments and schools being pissed off? You can't.

If the playoffs were "rule based" like the NFL, schools would be pissed at the rules.
Agree. More corruption and potential corruption in CFB vs the NFL. NFL playoffs, rules, etc., pretty established. You can have a better record than some teams and not get in. NFC is a picture of that this year BUT everyone knows the rules going in and it isn't decided by some guys with a potential competing interest.
 
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Hawksofly101789

Redshirt
Apr 19, 2016
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No more auto qualifiers period I think the conference championship should still be a thing though cause say it’s a 9-3 team and an 12-0 team in a conference championship and the 9-3 is ranked 17th or whatever just outside the cut. That would give that team a chance to make the playoffs with a win.
I’d rather they just skip 16 and just go to the FCS playoff bracket style.
 

Franisdaman

Heisman
Nov 3, 2012
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The way it should be yes.

I still like the B1G Commissioner's idea on how to get 4 automatic bids for the B1G.

On Championship Saturday, you'd have 3 games, all played in domed, NFL stadiums.

#1 Ohio State vs #2 Indiana: both advance to CFP (game in Indy)

#6 IOWA vs #3 Oregon: winner advances to CFP (game in Minneapolis)

#4 USC vs #5 Michigan: winner advances to CFP (game in Detroit)
 
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