Category Archives: CFP

Clean, Old-Fashioned “Meh”

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Bill Connelly lays out some insight into how the expanded playoffs will further deteriorate the meaning of the regular season, and especially the rivalry games:

With this in mind, let’s think about how Rivalry Week would have played out with a 24-team playoff and compare that with what happened with a 12-teamer.

• In real life, Michigan needed a miracle upset of Ohio State to have any playoff hope. Instead, the Wolverines lost by 18. With a 24-team CFP, they’re comfortably in regardless.

• Alabama had to beat Auburn to keep its place in the CFP field and proceeded to blow a 17-point lead before rallying to win late. Meanwhile, Oklahoma needed to beat LSU to hold on to a berth and trailed with five minutes left before a late score. With a 24-teamer, both teams are comfortably in (and have opening-round home games) regardless.

• Texas and Vanderbilt needed to beat rivals Texas A&M and Tennessee, respectively, and hope for some chaos above them to get into the field. (They won, but they didn’t get the chaos.) With a 24-teamer, they’re both in regardless.

• In theory, No. 23 Georgia Tech facing Georgia could have had playoff stakes with a 24-teamer, but the committee actually boosted the Yellow Jackets in the rankings after another loss to the Dawgs. Turns out, they’re in regardless.

• Only two rivalry games are enhanced by a 24-teamer: Arizona would have replaced Arizona State in the field with a 23-7 win in the Territorial Cup, and Virginia would have clinched both an ACC title and a CFP berth with a 27-7 win over Virginia Tech. Meanwhile, No. 19 Tennessee got beaten so badly by Vandy that the Vols would have fallen out — resulting in some solid schadenfreude — and No. 21 SMU would have fallen out with an upset loss to Cal. They’re replaced by Iowa (which blew out Nebraska) and, in theory, North Texas (which blew out Temple).

(Why “in theory”? Because with the CFP committee’s historic view of mid-major teams, I can’t say it would be a surprise if the second-best Group of 6 team tended to rank no higher than 25th. The cynic in me says that Tennessee might have grabbed that last spot in the field instead.)

Georgia faces off against in-state rivalry Georgia Tech. Paul “Fish Fry” Johnson couldn’t care less.

Now let me be clear: I’ll root against Tech and be crestfallen if we lose even if we both entered the game with zero wins and nothing to play for post-season. I’ll pull for anyone who plays Tech. I’ll take joy in beating Tech whether it means a #1 seed or a #24 seed or a #168 seed in a post-season playoff or a trip to the Poulan Weedeater Bowl. The playoff doesn’t have any impact on my disdain for Tech, Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, or anyone else we play as a rival.

But Bill does have a point about the magnitude and impact of the game, which, even though it’s a rivarly game, it is another game in the season where games and their individual importance is being diluted by the opportunity to earn a participation trophy in the post-season. That isn’t that much different from the pre-BCS era, where we were competing and hoping to win at least six games to make a bowl. Man, the 90’s sucked.

But does the expansion really diminish your hatred for a rival? Does it take the sheen off the win as a result?

Discuss.

September 21st, 2019, Or the Death of the Unique Home Game

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If you were getting excited about the prospects of beating Florida state by sixty points in Athens, you can go ahead and curb your enthusiasm.

“As we considered the effects of evolving scheduling mandates within both the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Southeastern Conference, we have mutually agreed that it is in the best interest of both schools to cancel our home-and-home series scheduled for 2027 and 2028,” Michael Alford, Florida State’s director of athletics, said in a statement. “We are now discussing playing a future neutral-site contest, and we are optimistic we will get that done. Importantly, this change will not reduce the total home games on our schedule moving forward.”

Prior to the cancellation, Georgia was staring down the barrel of playing 11 Power Four programs in those two seasons. The SEC announced in August of 2025 that it would be moving to nine-game league schedules. At the same time, it also stated that it would be requiring SEC teams to play at least one more Power 4 program in addition to the conference games.

No worries. After all, when the CFP expands to 64 teams, they’ll just trim the regular season down to ten games, all of which will be conference games. You can play your OOC games in the December Madness tournament. Don’t know about y’all, but I’d rather see Missouri added as a regular opponent on our schedule instead of Tech, or FSU, or Ohio State. Yes, that’s entertainment.

No, what is happening is the whittling down of an already expensive regular season, and using the expanded playoff structure to make you yearn for the chance to have a new visiting team come to your home turf. You’ll get the entertainment value of having someone like Notre Dame, or Utah, finally come to Athens, and you’ll pay top dollar for it thanks to Mickey and the CFP Committees.

That’s also just encouraging the bullshit that is selective scheduling in an era where the gap between haves and have nots is widening, despite people stating “there’s more parity in college football now because of NIL”, until you realize that drop from the sixth best team in the B1G to the remaining twelve in the conference is STEEP, while the same drop off doesn’t exist in the SEC. Meanwhile, smaller programs are starting to shed non-revenue boosting programs like baseball, all for the sake of keeping up with the arms race that is modern college football.

Sankey caved to this, as the head of what is arguably the most competitive and entertaining football conference in the country, to just allow more of this CFP security to exist in the B1G while the SEC beats the literal hell out of each other, and while I’m confident Kirby’s on the mother, I’m not sure the constant shape shifting of the sport of college football is something even the savviest of coaches can keep up with. Once you’ve gotten roster management down, you add NIL, a non-restricted portal, and now you have to do it all over again. Now you have schedule management on top of that. Then you have expanded tournaments,

#5 seed Georgia (10-0) versus #59 seed Florida State (4-6), shown here in a contest in Athens in the first round of the December Madness CFP Tournament brought to you by FanDuel.
Photo Courtesy of BetMGM, December 1st, 2028.

If the driving thought was that Georgia didn’t need a strong 11 P4 games on their upcoming schedule and wanted to schedule a cupcake, instead, they need to revisit FSU’s recent success and realize it would’ve been a cupcake game. On top of that, while we’ll get the round robin of usual SEC teams in the future, we’ll likely never see another day like September 21st, 2019, and that’s a fucking crime.

I’ve been to a lot of games in Sanford in my days, and that day was unique. It was wholly different, a completely different visiting crowd and vibe. It was a long and pleasant tailgate, the games playing around the country were largely ignored during the day because of the magnitude of what was about to take place, and the palpable fresh buzz resonating around the usual buildings and streets and tents, like an electricity that had everyone moving in fast forward. It felt like we were about to witness something on the level of a Super Bowl but it somehow landed in our favorite place in the world.

The first time we saw the red lights.

Golden Domes between the hedges, blindingly bright, clean red jerseys versus white. It wasn’t high scoring, but it was exciting in a way that didn’t abate from kickoff to final whistle.

It was like the Thrilla in Manilla, but in Athens.

It was once in a lifetime, and I am infinitely grateful that I had the chance to be there.

And it most likely will never happen again.

Georgia vs. Vandy or Virginia? What the 2025 CFP Would’ve Looked Like with 24 Teams

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This is interesting, if for nothing else, to see what might’ve been under the AFCA Board approved 24-team expansion.

Personally, I think the format shouldn’t have Tulane AND James Madison both in it, but it is what it is. I’d much rather see a first round Alabama vs. Texas and let JMU and Tulane slug it out against each other…but aside from that, most of those first round games seem quite entertaining.

We would’ve gotten some unappealing possible second round rematches, Alabama and Oklahoma, possibly Michigan vs. Ohio State, but a Texas-Texas Tech tilt would’ve been unique as would be a Notre Dame versus Ole Miss game…and I personally would’ve taken Virginia over Vandy and seen the Senator’s matchup of UGA-Virginia.

I’ll say that’s intriguing…but what would 2024 have looked like? Based on end of 2024 CFP Final Rankings, you’d have had this:

First Round:

#9 Boise State vs. #24 UNLV – Winner Plays #8 Indiana in Second Round; Third Round versus winner of #1 Oregon vs. Clemson/BYU

#10 SMU vs. #23 Colorado (!) – Winner Plays #7 Tennessee in Second Round; Third Round versus winner of #2 Georgia vs. South Carolina/Iowa State

Your number is retired! And YOUR number is retired! EVERYBODY’S number is getting retired! We made the expanded playoffs!

#11 Alabama vs. #22 Army – Winner Plays #6 Ohio State; Third Round versus winner of #3 Texas vs. Ole Miss/Mizzou

#12 Arizona State vs #21 Syracuse – Winner Plays #5 Notre Dame’ Third Round versus winner of #4 Penn State vs. Miami/Illinois

#13 Miami vs #20 Illinois – Winner Plays #4 Penn State

#14 Ole Miss vs #19 Missouri – Winner Plays #3 Texas

#15 South Carolina vs #18 Iowa State – Winner Plays #2 Georgia

#16 Clemson vs #17 BYU – Winner Plays #1 Oregon

First, for equity’s sake, you’ve got 3 G5 teams here, and I’m a fan of a Service Academy getting a shot at the tournament, for sure. By sheer accident, Indiana, as the lowest first round Bye seed, gets the easiest draw only because Boise State was gloriously overhyped and overranked for the purposes of sneaking them into the CFP12. If they knew if was going to be 24 instead of 12, maybe Boise State is ranked a touch lower. Who knows.

I still see a somewhat easier pathway here for eventual Championship game participants Ohio State and Notre Dame, especially since I think the 1-4 seeds would draw a potentially more challenging opponent in the second round than the 5-8 seeds. Alabama versus Ohio State would be an exception, but that’s Milroe’s Alabama and I think that Ohio State defense would’ve eaten Alabama alive. Just me thinking out loud.

Would Tennessee have beaten SMU or Colorado (yes) and see a rematch with Georgia? The only way to make it sweeter is to allow the third rounds to be played on campuses, make Tennessee head to Athens. YES. Some of the other potential matchups would’ve been unique…Clemson heading to Oregon, Iowa State in Athens…I was hoping there would be more mention of potentially more home contests in the expansion, but that doesn’t seem to be the appetite.

I’ll give it credit…it looks interesting, in both 2024 and 2025. I guess we’ll know soon enough, like it or not, if it’s this interesting when it gets played out…and also knowing that the Committee is really going to screw around with the 20th-30th ranked teams and will lilkely still screw someone in the process.

And if Notre Dame finishes 50th, do they still get in at the 24 seed?

Now, for further consideration…what if we dialed it back to 2018? What would that have included at the bottom half of the Top 24?

Let’s face it, there shouldn’t be a place where a 5 loss college football team is included in a Championship Tournament. Northwestern? And how the hell were they the 22nd ranked team in the nation at that point?

So it’s not perfect, maybe. We’ll find out soon enough.

Kirby with Pate – spring edition

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Spring Kirby is much more fun to listen to than Fall Kirby. I know some of you really don’t like Pate (I have my problems with him, too), but this is a pretty good discussion across a number of topics.

Many of you have probably watched or listened to this, but if you haven’t, it’s worth your time especially if you’re on a boring work phone call.

Refugees, discuss.

“I Want to Run It Down Their Throat and Make a Statement”

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Shot:

Chaser:

Alabama recently extended DeBoer through 2033 for seven more years and close to 90 million dollars.

If, at any point, he’s fired without cause, he’s owed 90% guaranteed of his remaining contract.

Let’s get the popcorn ready and see how it plays out.

76

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Brendan Sorsby is already looking at the money line for CFP to follow suit. Not a matter of IF, but more like when.

Shorter:

The mechanics of the expansion in the men’s tournament would include eight additional at-large bids. What’s known now as the First Four — eight teams playing four games in Dayton, Ohio — would expand to 12 games played by 24 teams at two sites, one of which was expected to remain in Dayton.

So not too drastic of an expansion, but it would’ve allowed for Auburn, Champions of the NIT and likely West Virginia, who won the post-season College Basketball Crown, to have participated in the NCAA Tournament. While this would’ve quieted the Barners and Daddy Pearl’s griping about not getting it, it would’ve stolen the false sense of pride that Aubie could get from winning a lesser tournament, as it’s hard to see Auburn making the Final Four givn the product on the floor.

But, as we all know, that’s not the driving force behind this. Quite frankly, it’s more of that sweet, sweet green that college sports champions so much today.

Like oil barons, we keep drilling for more and more revenue until it’s all used up and barren.

Money, for the win.

Was the 2021 Georgia the Most Loaded Team of All Time?

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If you need to break a 40-plus year National Championship curse, you go out and recruit as much talent as you possibly can.

5 top-15 draft picks, 10 first-round draft picks. Overall, 24 of the 45 were selected in the first three rounds.

Just imagine if NIL and the Portal didn’t blow up around the same time, and some of the transfers never found new homes. Kirby was building a dynasty in the Alabama-Saban blueprint, until the aforementioned blew that blueprint to shreds.

At least we can say Kirby isn’t picking up his ball and going home. Maybe he’ll write the new blueprint, with a little tweaking, and we’ll be back up there again. Until that day…

Will there be a rabbit’s foot category for the CFP now?

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I think this is the definition of the Peter Principle in action in college sports.

The last time the Gus Bus was involved in a game that had playoff implications, the War Tiglesmen got the cat $#!+ beat out of them and the wheels proceeded to fall of the bus in a splattering at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry has never been the same since that glorious evening in Atlanta. Dre Swift is smiling right now.

At least, there’s this.

Refugees, discuss.

Quality Losses

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Shot:

Chaser:

Nine conference games plus a triad of cupcakes. Fun stuff.

As a reminder, Georgia won National Championships playing 10 P4 opponents in both years, opening against #3 Clemson in 2021 and #11 Oregon in 2022. It can be done.

Or, it could be done. Now, if you’re having to play upwards of three more games at season’s end, I guess you want to have a few games to rest your players to make sure they can compete for a Natty.

When you’re in the B1G, you can rest them during most of your conference games, too.

Was It a Tradition If It Outgrew Itself?

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I can’t say I’m broken up about this, but is this a sign of another fading star of the college football season?

I have to admit there were some good Bahamas Bowls, particularly the one with one of the Michigan team against one of the Kentucky teams (maybe they were both Western?) scoring close to a hundred points in a game. It was a fun mid-major bowl to watch, from what I can remember, though I have no memories about LA or Detroit Bowls, if I’m being honest.

The purest will be quick to argue that bowl games disappearing is another casualty of college football playoff expansion (which is a contributing factor, to be sure), but how “traditional” are all these bowl games anyway? Considering that it all started with a single bowl game – The Rose Bowl – in 1901, here’s a quick look at the quick increase in the number since the Inaugural Rose:

  • 1901 – 1 bowl game – Rose Bowl
  • 1930s-1940s – 5 bowl games – Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton, and Sun
  • 1960s – 14 bowl games – The Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Cotton start being played on New Years’ Day…plus the Gator Bowl, Sun, Bluebonnet Bowl, Liberty Bowl (in Philadelphia originally), Tangerine Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Pasadena Bowl (Rose Bowl, Jr). A few others that only lasted a year or two were the Aviator Bowl in Dayton, Ohio, the Gotham Bowl in New York, and the Mercy Bowl in LA.
  • 1970s – 11 – Added the Fiesta Bowl, Pasadena Bowl died.
  • 1980s – 15ish – Added the Holiday Bowl, Copper Bowl, Aloha Bowl, and Independence Bowl. Hall of Fame Bowl started in Tampa. Also had some short-lived bowl games – Garden State (NJ), Freedom Bowl (CA), California Bowl (Fresno), and Cherry Bowl in Pontiac, Michigan).
  • 1990s – 19 – Added the Blockbuster Bowl in Miami, Las Vegas Bowl, Motor City Bowl, and Music City Bowls.
  • 2000s – BCS Era and National Championship game; vacillated around 25 games to 35 games with the addition of numerous mid-tier bowl games. Also, this is the rise of the Worldwide Leader in Sports, as ESPN was acquired by Disney in 1996, so no wonder Bowl Season blossomed.
  • 2010 – 35 Bowls
  • 2015 – upwards of 43 bowls
  • 2025 – Around 42 bowls

The past season featured lots of opt-outs, last minute scheduling, and lots of empty stands. Something tells me that once you’ve seen your team slog through a middling 6-6 or 5-7 season, you want mercy to set in and not see any more.

Mickey, on the other hand, can’t get enough of it and love running those ratings numbers out after the Cheez-Its Bowl on the socials.

Anyway, I’m rambling…the question is, can it be the death of a tradition when it hasn’t been a tradition that long? The glut of 84 of 136 teams (62% of teams will be in a bowl, let that sink in) making a bowl when they’d likely rather go home for the holidays, along with their fans, often makes for an unappetizing competition, to say the least.

So how do you feel? Behave, you scamps.