RE: What does UAB needs to do to get into the CFB playoffs?
There are many factors.
-- First, it's completely understandable that the AAC would want to pursue the East/West play. First, it's already been vetted and almost previously happened with the Big East. UAB fans, I think, can appreciate that because UAB has been one of those schools and UAB fans would be wanting that right now if UAB was in the AAC now.
-- The AAC believes they must get P6 status. They'll probably never achieve that, but it won't stop the pursuit from this largely group of schools that has been seeking this status under various umbrellas since the 1970s.
-- There are a segment of AAC teams that are sensitive to the idea of being labeled as C-USA by another name.
-- There are segment of AAC teams who are trying to "leave behind" their past and don't want to align with schools like them. Weird, yes. But that exists.
-- There is a segment of the AAC that hasn't forgotten empty seats at Legion Field, and won't until shown otherwise.
-- There is a segment of the AAC knows they hold a recruiting advantage over UAB (and a few others in the region would could be AAC candidates), and they aren't keen to give that up.
-- There's a segment of the ACC that believes the best way to achieve P6 status, unofficially, is by kneecapping the main rivals for that position (MWC), and claiming it unofficially by default.
They may or may not achieve any of those things. I'd lean toward not as they haven't achieved this in more than 40 years of trying.
When they don't, they'll try to stay at 11. And they may be able to do so. If not, I think UAB will end up being the clear choice even though a segment of AAC fans and boosters won't like it. UAB most aligns in budget, market, institution, history, geography, competitiveness and brand. No school will check every box the AAC wants, because what they want doesn't exist in G5: Schools that make them P6.
But UAB ultimately checks the most boxes once you get past the grandeur of some sort of "coast to coast domination" plan.
None of that is relevant to the playoff.
1) We don't know how an undefeated C-USA team would rank as it hasn't happened.
2) No season happens in a vacuum. The circumstances of a particular year matter more than reputation.
3) The AAC is clearly historically better based on resources and both recent and historical performances, but it's still somewhat fortunate to hold its current status. AAC's top teams have been good enough navigate seasons without upsets, but not without scares. SMU, Tulsa, Tulane, Navy could've cost the AAC a lot of money and prestige if they had been able to hang on a couple times. This happened to C-USA on multiple occasions with multi-million dollar upsets. Things look different, for example, if Houston and USM had crashed the BCS instead of blowing their shot.
4) Path to playoff is really simple. Win your conference. Win all your games. Win consistently year to year, so you are viewed favorably in perception. That guarantees nothing, but can't hurt. And then hope that stacks up to whatever else happens that year in other conferences. Most years it will. Sometimes it won't. This will be nothing new, whatever the system. Both Alabama and Auburn can point to national championships they didn't get simply because of circumstance, for example.
But at least now, the answer to the question isn't no before the first kickoff.
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What does UAB needs to do to get into the CFB playoffs?
I don’t think most Blazer fans appreciate the almost impossibly great an opportunity we have right now. Given UCF, Cincy, App State, or any other G5 team, ESPN will pimp us over them right now. That’s not a guess. They are particularly interested in us moving up to a higher level (that’s my own speculation)...they love our story that much.
