Chip Shots: CFP Expansion Timing – Savvy Or Dumb Luck?
December 10, 2022 at 2:13 a.m.
Chip Shots: CFP Expansion Timing – Savvy Or Dumb Luck?
By Chip Davenport-
This is the first year two teams among the power conferences did not win their conferences. Ohio State (11-1, #4 seed) has made the CFP final four selection without a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium for the B1G title game before. This year, however, TCU (12-1), was seeded third following their loss to Kansas State in the Big XII title game.
While there are no great teams this year, the field from fifth through twelfth is probably the most competitive had there been an expansion of the CFP field this season.
The top four seeds earned well-deserved berths for the games played in Phoenix and in Atlanta December 31.
It’s a nice way to ring in the New Year, better than watching Andy Cohen channel Foster Brooks (just look it up Gens X,Z and millennials) on live TV in fact. I’m not much of a New Year’s Eve celebration guy, so I’m eager to watch Michigan (13-0, #2) and TCU battle in Arizona at 4 p.m. followed by my beloved Buckeyes and top-ranked Georgia (13-0) in Atlanta at 8 p.m.
I have some paternal cousins in Georgia who will be volleying texts with me, talking smack to me, and throwing shade at me. I’ll volley, talk, and throw all that stuff back at them to. This will add to the fun.
Shut the gates of mercy three weeks from today.
In the meantime, let’s get back to the shape a twelve-team format will take in the 2024-2025 season.
The four highest ranking conference champs would get a bye. This means the aforementioned third- and fourth-ranked Horned Frogs and Buckeyes, respectively, would be seeded fifth and six among the eight remaining teams.
While K-State hoisted the Big XII title hardware last weekend, but their conference will not be part of the upper echelon formed by the top four leagues (ACC, B1G, PAC-12, SEC) mandates a first-round game. Same goes for Tulsa (American champion). I am not thrilled with Clemson as a three-seed, for what it’s worth.
With this said, here is how the expanded format would look upon this season’s championship weekend completion.
The bowls mentioned are the four sites identified for the 2024-2025 CFP.
No. 9 Kansas State (Big 12 champ) at No. 8 Tennessee (at-large) winner vs. No. 1 Georgia (SEC champ) at the Sugar Bowl.
No. 12 Tulane (American champ) at No. 5 TCU (at-large) winner vs. No. 4 Utah (Pac-12 champ) at the Fiesta Bowl
No. 11 Penn State (at-large) at No. 6 Ohio State (at-large) winner vs. No. 3 Clemson (ACC champ) at the Orange Bowl
No. 10 USC (at-large) at No. 7 Alabama (at-large) winner vs. No. 2 Michigan (Big Ten champ) at the Rose Bowl.
TCU and Tulane is the closest thing to a disparate match-up among the four first-round games. Note the fifth through eighth seeds are the first round hosts. USC has the longest schlep landing in Tuscaloosa for some moderately decent weather in Crimson Tide country, but their imminent B1G membership will include previous west-to-east trips.
Columbus would be the coldest venue among the four first-round hosts. No complaints. I spent two winters in Columbus in my late teens, and walked all the way from the top of East 15th Avenue all the way to campus every day, and survived.
Isn’t the toughest, most climactic football at professional levels payed in December (and January) anyway?
The four bye teams match up rather nicely in this year’s field. Mind you, there are no uber-dominant 2019-2020 LSUs nor 2020-2021 Bamas among the field this year, so most of the games, if these 18- through 23-year old kids don’t get overwhelmed by the moment and its surroundings, will be competitive.
I’m not going to give the CFP selection committee so much credit as to say they saw this coming this season. The NCAA chose to announce the expanded format this year, so does this make them insightful and savvy? Anyway, this field, nonetheless, is the best group from #1 to #12 to get the what-ifs volleyed about regarding expansion.
There are some years where going chalk – the term used for picking the higher ranked team in each match up will create a neat, successful bracket without red-ink line-outs rolling into more than one round.
The 12-team CFP format – regardless of the collective quality of teams from first through twelfth each year – will create arguments and hot takes among living rooms, cubicles and water coolers, rows of barstools, major sports network weekly game day panels, and sports talk shows.
Sound familiar (*cough* field of 68, March Madness)?
The NCAA is a very imperfect organization among all of its levels. Name, Image, Likeness was rushed through reactively leaving some huge exposure in governance. I frankly don’t care much for governing organizations without a chief executive, and I’ve said before college football and basketball each need their own commissioners, just like their conferences each have one.
What’s your take? Does this year’s field make your view toward the NCAA lean toward dumb luck or toward savvy?
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This is the first year two teams among the power conferences did not win their conferences. Ohio State (11-1, #4 seed) has made the CFP final four selection without a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium for the B1G title game before. This year, however, TCU (12-1), was seeded third following their loss to Kansas State in the Big XII title game.
While there are no great teams this year, the field from fifth through twelfth is probably the most competitive had there been an expansion of the CFP field this season.
The top four seeds earned well-deserved berths for the games played in Phoenix and in Atlanta December 31.
It’s a nice way to ring in the New Year, better than watching Andy Cohen channel Foster Brooks (just look it up Gens X,Z and millennials) on live TV in fact. I’m not much of a New Year’s Eve celebration guy, so I’m eager to watch Michigan (13-0, #2) and TCU battle in Arizona at 4 p.m. followed by my beloved Buckeyes and top-ranked Georgia (13-0) in Atlanta at 8 p.m.
I have some paternal cousins in Georgia who will be volleying texts with me, talking smack to me, and throwing shade at me. I’ll volley, talk, and throw all that stuff back at them to. This will add to the fun.
Shut the gates of mercy three weeks from today.
In the meantime, let’s get back to the shape a twelve-team format will take in the 2024-2025 season.
The four highest ranking conference champs would get a bye. This means the aforementioned third- and fourth-ranked Horned Frogs and Buckeyes, respectively, would be seeded fifth and six among the eight remaining teams.
While K-State hoisted the Big XII title hardware last weekend, but their conference will not be part of the upper echelon formed by the top four leagues (ACC, B1G, PAC-12, SEC) mandates a first-round game. Same goes for Tulsa (American champion). I am not thrilled with Clemson as a three-seed, for what it’s worth.
With this said, here is how the expanded format would look upon this season’s championship weekend completion.
The bowls mentioned are the four sites identified for the 2024-2025 CFP.
No. 9 Kansas State (Big 12 champ) at No. 8 Tennessee (at-large) winner vs. No. 1 Georgia (SEC champ) at the Sugar Bowl.
No. 12 Tulane (American champ) at No. 5 TCU (at-large) winner vs. No. 4 Utah (Pac-12 champ) at the Fiesta Bowl
No. 11 Penn State (at-large) at No. 6 Ohio State (at-large) winner vs. No. 3 Clemson (ACC champ) at the Orange Bowl
No. 10 USC (at-large) at No. 7 Alabama (at-large) winner vs. No. 2 Michigan (Big Ten champ) at the Rose Bowl.
TCU and Tulane is the closest thing to a disparate match-up among the four first-round games. Note the fifth through eighth seeds are the first round hosts. USC has the longest schlep landing in Tuscaloosa for some moderately decent weather in Crimson Tide country, but their imminent B1G membership will include previous west-to-east trips.
Columbus would be the coldest venue among the four first-round hosts. No complaints. I spent two winters in Columbus in my late teens, and walked all the way from the top of East 15th Avenue all the way to campus every day, and survived.
Isn’t the toughest, most climactic football at professional levels payed in December (and January) anyway?
The four bye teams match up rather nicely in this year’s field. Mind you, there are no uber-dominant 2019-2020 LSUs nor 2020-2021 Bamas among the field this year, so most of the games, if these 18- through 23-year old kids don’t get overwhelmed by the moment and its surroundings, will be competitive.
I’m not going to give the CFP selection committee so much credit as to say they saw this coming this season. The NCAA chose to announce the expanded format this year, so does this make them insightful and savvy? Anyway, this field, nonetheless, is the best group from #1 to #12 to get the what-ifs volleyed about regarding expansion.
There are some years where going chalk – the term used for picking the higher ranked team in each match up will create a neat, successful bracket without red-ink line-outs rolling into more than one round.
The 12-team CFP format – regardless of the collective quality of teams from first through twelfth each year – will create arguments and hot takes among living rooms, cubicles and water coolers, rows of barstools, major sports network weekly game day panels, and sports talk shows.
Sound familiar (*cough* field of 68, March Madness)?
The NCAA is a very imperfect organization among all of its levels. Name, Image, Likeness was rushed through reactively leaving some huge exposure in governance. I frankly don’t care much for governing organizations without a chief executive, and I’ve said before college football and basketball each need their own commissioners, just like their conferences each have one.
What’s your take? Does this year’s field make your view toward the NCAA lean toward dumb luck or toward savvy?
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