There’s a lot of good plans floating out there for new CFP plans. Let’s make a challenge out of it.

Post your proposed CFP on this thread. The poster who get’s closest to the actual adopted plan is declared out winner and you all owe him/her some positive rep points for getting it right.

Here’s my plan:

5-1-6

Opening Round in December at campus sites

Quarterfinals at the Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta bowls (permanent host sites)

Semis and Final played in January in a host site selected each year.

Seeds 1-4 get assigned to the bowl traditionally tied to their conference (Big 10 & PAC 12: Rose, Big 12: Fiesta, SEC: Sugar, ACC: Orange) if available, for their quarterfinal.

Although I prefer a 6-10, I think it will be 5-1-6.

First round in December on-campus.

Quarterfinals are 4/6 NY6 bowls on or around NYD.

Semi-finals at other two NY6 bowls a week later.

—Those bowls rotate much like they do now— Maybe a look-in period every five years or so for other bowls to bid on hosting a playoff game.

Finals at a rotating stadium across the country.

Yes, it’s dumb a team can win two bowl games in a season. I get over it by understanding a team may have won the Oyster Bowl or Tobacco Bowl (my grandpappy’s favorite) the same season they won a postseason bowl.

I still think it would be cool to have an ESPN Bowl Draft for all the games they own and other non-playoff bowls.

*I believe the top four seeds will choose their host bowl, but I imagine they will do this based on geography and history.

I also have a 5-1-6, but with a different bowl format. Posted this on another page, but it will be my official guess.

I think they'll let NY6 bowls be quarter/semi finals on a rotating basis. Each bowl would be a quarter 2 years and a semi 1 on a 3-year rotation. Is this too easy? It eliminates any NY6 bowl from ever being a garbage bowl again.

Example for 2020: (picking winners at random)

1st Round - Home-Field Games
#8 Oklahoma vs #9 Coastal Carolina
#7 Indiana vs. #10 Florida
#6 Cincinnati vs. #11 Georgia
#5 Texas A&M vs. #25 Oregon

Quarter-Finals
#1 Alabama (Sugar) vs. #8 Oklahoma
#2 Clemson (Orange) vs. #7 Indiana
#3 Ohio St (Rose) vs. #6 Cincinnati
#4 Notre Dame (Fiesta)vs. #5 Texas A&M

Semi-Finals
#1 Alabama (Cotton) vs. #6 Cincinnati
#2 Clemson (Peach) vs. #5 Texas A&M

National Championship game venue rotates each year.

**In the event of an 8-team 5-1-2, then same exact format but ditch the first round. Either way, every NY6 is a quarter or semi every year.**

(05-05-2021 11:29 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  Example for 2020: (picking winners at random)

1st Round - Home-Field Games
#8 Oklahoma vs #9 Coastal Carolina
#7 Indiana vs. #10 Florida
#6 Cincinnati vs. #11 Georgia
#5 Texas A&M vs. #25 Oregon

I know it was the Covid year, and a lot of things were weird, but the idea of Cincinnati and Indiana hosting playoff games is just awesome.

Plus, SEC critics would love the idea of Florida and Georgia going north for post-season games.

I'm not a fan of the 12 team format as a method of competition, but I do like it as a revenue generator. The CFP has always been more about revenue generation than about determining a champion.

I will go with the easiest expansion model with no need for an opening round.

Format: 5-1-2 (with a contingency clause in case of a major realignment)

Quarterfinals: the Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta (or Cotton) bowls

Semis and Final played in January in a host site selected each year.

Seeding by the committiee with a consideration on a historical bowl ties.

(05-05-2021 12:34 PM)johnintx Wrote:  

(05-05-2021 11:29 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  Example for 2020: (picking winners at random)

1st Round - Home-Field Games
#8 Oklahoma vs #9 Coastal Carolina
#7 Indiana vs. #10 Florida
#6 Cincinnati vs. #11 Georgia
#5 Texas A&M vs. #25 Oregon

I know it was the Covid year, and a lot of things were weird, but the idea of Cincinnati and Indiana hosting playoff games is just awesome.

Plus, SEC critics would love the idea of Florida and Georgia going north for post-season games.

I'm not a fan of the 12 team format as a method of competition, but I do like it as a revenue generator. The CFP has always been more about revenue generation than about determining a champion.

Doesn't seem like an expanded playoff diminishes the ability to determine a champion at all. If anything, it vets out the #3 and #4 teams that keep getting stomped by vetting them against the perceived worse teams first. Any team that can beat them likely has a better shot at being competitive against the #1 and #2 teams.

Shorter version, it's easier to determine on the field who is the best vs. in a board room.

I think 5-1-2 is the fairer way to set up a playoff but I think 5-1-6 generates more revenue so that’s where I think we are headed.

My heart says 5-1-2 for competition's sake. Five conference champions, one G5, 2 at-large bids.

My head says they go for the money grab, post-Covid.

5-1-6. Five conference champions, 1 G5 auto-bid, 6 at-larges.

First round on campus.

Quarterfinals and semifinals rotated among the current New Year's Six: Rose, Fiesta, Cotton, Sugar, Peach, and Orange.

Historical conference ties are taken into account, especially when it comes to the Rose for the B1G/Pac and the Sugar for the SEC. However, when it comes to the Rose, the matchups won't be intentionally re-configured to allow the B1G team and Pac team to play each other. Only one of them would be necessary, but if they play each other, it's an added bonus.

It will be the end of the 2022-3 season before a serious effort to push expansion begins.

By that time NIL will be in place, the issue over stipend caps will have been decided, and if any defections are going to happen in the P5 they will be announced giving a year's notice in advance for the close of the 2023-4 season, unless legal demands to begin a cap free stipend era is begun immediately after the ruling.

Either way we'll know how many remaining P5 schools there will be and who they are and how many vacancies exist in the current conference structures.

We will also know how many current G5 programs are willing to commit to the new system and how many will de-emphasize pay for play and go to strict amateurism.

We will also know how many basketball first schools want to de-emphasize or eliminate football and put all of their resources into pay for play hoops, and I expect some of this to happen.

When expansion of the playoffs happens I wouldn't be surprised to see a champs only format arise with the top 2 seeds receiving a bye in the first round and the next 6 playing for a right to enter the semifinal rounds.

Many here are pushing for inclusion of the G5's. We have to know first how many G5's will fully commit to the new structure and how many won't. But if there are a dozen or so who do there's your new conference whether it is called AAC or something else. If say only a handful of G5's are prepared to make that financial commitment then we might see them simply absorbed by the current P5.

If that happens we might still be looking at a P6 which would incorporate the 5 conference champs and 1 at large leaving Notre Dame that option perhaps along with B.Y.U. but competing with all of the other P5 schools for that 6th opening and the only one not going to a P5 champion.

Should one conference suffer too many defections then we could even see a P4 with 2 at large spots.

Anyway you cut it I think they go to a 6 team playoff before we see an 8. I think 12 is out of the question.

Round 1:

#3 vs #6 winner to play #2

#4 vs #5 winner to play #1

This will be a matter of 5 games total, 3 contests for the winner and finalist.

I can see the Rose and Sugar holding the semis, the Cotton and Orange the Play ins and the two rotating with the Fiesta and Peach. Or I can see home sites for the top seeded play ins followed by a rotation of the Cotton, Orange, Peach and Fiesta with the Sugar and Rose alternating the championship game.

But they'll figure it out.

To me these 8 and 12 team proposals are carts way before the horse until we know how many will be in the new upper tier surely to be formed in response to the court decisions before us, and until we know if we are even going to remain in the NCAA.

It could be that we wind up with a league whose media revenue is contracted as one unit and whose members are broken into divisions replicating the conference structures.

But when we expand the CFP it will be incrementally, not all at once, and each phase will be measured and judged before the next. And I look for the contract to be between 4 to 6 years so that the next set of adjustments can be made earlier if required.

So I say we, in spite of the hullabaloo currently before us see an expansion to 6 teams by 2024-5 or 2025-6.

(05-05-2021 03:52 PM)JRsec Wrote:  It will be the end of the 2022-3 season before a serious effort to push expansion begins.

By that time NIL will be in place, the issue over stipend caps will have been decided, and if any defections are going to happen in the P5 they will be announced giving a year's notice in advance for the close of the 2023-4 season, unless legal demands to begin a cap free stipend era is begun immediately after the ruling.

Either way we'll know how many remaining P5 schools there will be and who they are and how many vacancies exist in the current conference structures.

We will also know how many current G5 programs are willing to commit to the new system and how many will de-emphasize pay for play and go to strict amateurism.

We will also know how many basketball first schools want to de-emphasize or eliminate football and put all of their resources into pay for play hoops, and I expect some of this to happen.

When expansion of the playoffs happens I wouldn't be surprised to see a champs only format arise with the top 2 seeds receiving a bye in the first round and the next 6 playing for a right to enter the semifinal rounds.

Many here are pushing for inclusion of the G5's. We have to know first how many G5's will fully commit to the new structure and how many won't. But if there are a dozen or so who do there's your new conference whether it is called AAC or something else. If say only a handful of G5's are prepared to make that financial commitment then we might see them simply absorbed by the current P5.

If that happens we might still be looking at a P6 which would incorporate the 5 conference champs and 1 at large leaving Notre Dame that option perhaps along with B.Y.U. but competing with all of the other P5 schools for that 6th opening and the only one not going to a P5 champion.

Should one conference suffer too many defections then we could even see a P4 with 2 at large spots.

Anyway you cut it I think they go to a 6 team playoff before we see an 8. I think 12 is out of the question.

Round 1:

#3 vs #6 winner to play #2

#4 vs #5 winner to play #1

This will be a matter of 5 games total, 3 contests for the winner and finalist.

I can see the Rose and Sugar holding the semis, the Cotton and Orange the Play ins and the two rotating with the Fiesta and Peach. Or I can see home sites for the top seeded play ins followed by a rotation of the Cotton, Orange, Peach and Fiesta with the Sugar and Rose alternating the championship game.

But they'll figure it out.

To me these 8 and 12 team proposals are carts way before the horse until we know how many will be in the new upper tier surely to be formed in response to the court decisions before us, and until we know if we are even going to remain in the NCAA.

It could be that we wind up with a league whose media revenue is contracted as one unit and whose members are broken into divisions replicating the conference structures.

But when we expand the CFP it will be incrementally, not all at once, and each phase will be measured and judged before the next. And I look for the contract to be between 4 to 6 years so that the next set of adjustments can be made earlier if required.

So I say we, in spite of the hullabaloo currently before us see an expansion to 6 teams by 2024-5 or 2025-6.

If you win this thing with that specific a guess, they should probably just hand over the keys to the website.

That said, I'll be curious to find out how a non-NCAA league would fare. Without the universities, a league at this level doesn't seem like anything more than a XFL/Arena league style endeavor. I don't think I would have started following ECU football if they were just the Greenville, NC semi-pro football team.

My guess is a simple 5-1 expansion. Power 5 get auto-bids for their conference champs, plus one at-large selection for the highest seeded remaining team.

First round of the playoffs around Christmas...3 v 6 and 4 v 5 (seeds 1 & 2 get byes). In order to maximize media and corporate revenue, these games will be neutral site games.

Semifinals remain on New Years Eve or Day. NY6 bowls are consolidated into NY5 bowls...the BIG & PAC retain a relationship with the Rose; SEC & B12 with the Sugar; ACC with the Orange; plus two at-large NY5 bowls. If a contract bowl is hosting a semifinals, that tie-in conference loses its guaranteed NY5 game. If a G5 team does not make the top 6, then the top G5 conference champion gets an auto-bid to a NY5 game.

Decision-makers are risk-averse, incrementalists. So long as the money is better than the status quo, they’ll go to 6 teams before 8 or 12. University leaders will push-back on extending the season into late January.

50:50 they do something before the current bowl contract ends. It's difficult to modify those contracts, but... they do want more money.

Before 2026, I could see 6 teams. A 7th "Access" bowl is added to make up for the 2 teams losing in the play-ins. Semifinal rotation stays intact. Peach, Cotton, Fiesta, and 7th bowl are moved before XMas every other year to host play-ins.

Straight 6 is most likely. I could see minor modifications, like: a #7 or #8 can replace #6, if they are a Champ.

After 2026, I could see them with full quarterfinals in NYD bowls. The success of the pre-'26 play-ins will influence how far if at all they go past 8 teams.

I want 12 but I think they go with 8 teams. The top 4 based on 2 polls and 2 computer rankings. After the top 4 they pick the "best" teams available but if a conference champion is ranked above the #15 position.

Top ranked teams host the quarter finals 2 weeks after Championship week.
Semi finals in ny6 bowls
Championship week a later.

Here's an idea:

Let's let half the schools end the season with a victory, allowing half of the administrations/fanbases to claim that their year was successful.

Let's let multiple schools claim national titles.

And let's argue about who the best team is in the media and on message boards.

And let's argue some more!

Seems to me that this new system would generate lots of fan interest, and would save a whole lot of schools $10 million every 4 years when they fire their coach after one bad season.

6-6

Top 6 conference champions plus 6 at large

Top 4 conference champions get first round byes. Determined by committee ranking.

Conference champion must play in a conference with at least 8 conference members and each member must play at least 7 conference games.

Seeds 5 though 12 determined by committee ranking. Seedings should avoid first and 2nd round rematches and avoid pairing teams from the same conference.

4 First round games will be week after the CCG. Sites will be at CFP approved stadiums, which will usually be the NFL stadium closest to the higher seed.

4 2nd round games will the bowls. 2 played on New years day, 2 on the Sat closest to New years.

2 semifinals will be 1 week later on Sat. With the NFL's new 17-week season, this will probably be the weekend of the final regular season games for the NFL. Sites will be CFP approved site, usually the NFL stadium closest to the higher seed.

NCG will be 2 weeks later on a Saturday.

I'll make a prediction that's pretty unique. 2 4-team playoffs.

The P5 somehow consolidate to a P4. Those conferences send their champions to the 4-team Power 4 Championship Playoffs. Thus allowing the conference championship games to act as the opening round of the playoffs.

In addition to that, a second 4-team playoff called the National Championship Playoffs features the G5 champ plus the 3 highest ranked teams not in the P4CP.

So essentially, you have 2 champions every year.

(05-06-2021 04:56 PM)ChrisLords Wrote:  I'll make a prediction that's pretty unique. 2 4-team playoffs.

The P5 somehow consolidate to a P4. Those conference send their champions to the 4-team Power 4 Championship Playoffs. Thus allowing the conference championship games to act a the opening round of the playoffs.

In addition to that, a second 4-team playoff called the National Championship Playoffs features the G5 champ plus the 3 highest ranked teams not in the P4CP.

So essentially, you have 2 champions every year.

You'd be ok with VT being in tier 2?

(05-06-2021 08:59 PM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(05-06-2021 04:56 PM)ChrisLords Wrote:  I'll make a prediction that's pretty unique. 2 4-team playoffs.

The P5 somehow consolidate to a P4. Those conference send their champions to the 4-team Power 4 Championship Playoffs. Thus allowing the conference championship games to act a the opening round of the playoffs.

In addition to that, a second 4-team playoff called the National Championship Playoffs features the G5 champ plus the 3 highest ranked teams not in the P4CP.

So essentially, you have 2 champions every year.

You'd be ok with VT being in tier 2?

No, I wouldn't be OK with it.

Straight 8.

1st round games the week after conference championship games (two weeks after Thanksgiving weekend at sites of #1-#4 sites).

Semifinals remain on Jan. 1. Semifinal games are always played on New Year's Day. The semifinal host schedule will change so that the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl and Sugar Bowl will host every other year but will alternate. On years the Rose Bowl is a semifinal, the semifinals will be either the Orange Bowl or Cotton Bowl and the Rose Bowl. On years the Sugar Bowl is a semifinal, the semifinals will be the Peach Bowl or the Citrus Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl is out.

Rose Bowl SF year schedule:
1pm: SF in Orange or Cotton
5pm: SF in Rose

SEC and Big 12 champs in Sugar Bowl in prime time on NYD
Big Ten and ACC champs in Orange Bowl if not a SF and Citrus Bowl if SF
Pac 12 champ and highest G5 champ guaranteed NY6 Bowl (includes Citrus, doesn't include Fiesta)

Sugar Bowl SF year schedule
1pm: SF in Citrus or Peach

Big Ten and Pac 12 champs in Rose Bowl at 5pm on NYD
SEC and Big 12 champs in Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve
ACC champ in Orange Bowl
Highest G5 champ guaranteed NY6 Bowl (includes Citrus, doesn't include Fiesta)

Other option would be forcing the Rose and/or Sugar off New Year's Day. Another possibility would be having a semifinal always be prime time and making the Sugar Bowl move to 1pm the years the Rose Bowl is a semifinal.

Championship remains the same time frame it is now, possibly adjusting to new NFL 17 game schedule.