(06-16-2021 01:04 PM)micahandme Wrote: Do you really believe that they'd potentially have Team X play in a CCG on a Friday or Saturday in one neutral city...travel back home...and then travel again the following Thursday or Friday to another city (if the away team)?
Seems like too tight of a window to me. Seems like two weeks (or at least 9-10 days) are needed between CCG weekend and the 1st round.
I's more likely the CCG is moved up to the Saturday after Thanksgiving - and it may even be a foregone conclusion based on some of the posts earlier in this thread. This then gives 12-14 days before the first round game.
The NFL starts sucking up all of the Saturday time slots now beginning with Week 15, as the 2021 season will be the first to feature Saturday flexible scheduling. This would put the first round of the CFP on NFL Week 14, where there are no Saturday games. The CFP quarterfinals straddle the New Year's holiday. The only question is how to space out the semifinals and championship.
As a bonus there could be some bowl games on the first Saturday of December (especially if they involve teams that don't make a CCG).
For the 2023 season:
August 26-November 18, 2023: Regular season (13 weeks)
November 25, 2023: Conference Championship Games
December 8-9, 2023: CFP First Round (1 game on Friday, 3 on Saturday)
January 1-2, 2024: CFP Quarterfinals (3 on Monday, 1 on Tuesday)
January 11-12, 2024: CFP Semifinals (Thursday-Friday)
January 22, 2024: CFP Championship game
For the 2024 season:
August 24-November 22, 2023: Regular season (13 weeks)
November 30, 2024: Conference Championship Games
December 13-14, 2024: CFP First Round (1 game on Friday, 3 on Saturday)
December 31, 2024-January 1, 2025: CFP Quarterfinals (Tuesday-Wednesday)
January 16-17, 2025: CFP Semifinals (Thursday-Friday)
January 27, 2025: CFP Championship Game (Monday)
For the 2025 season:
August 23-November 22, 2025: Regular season (13 weeks)
November 29, 2025: Conference Championship Games
December 12-13, 2025: CFP First Round (1 game on Friday, 3 on Saturday)
January 1-2, 2026: CFP Quarterfinals (Thursday-Friday)
January 15-16, 2025: CFP Semifinals (Thursday-Friday)
January 26, 2025: CFP Championship Game (Monday)
On years where there are 9 Saturdays in September and October, the season could start on the last Saturday in August instead of the second-to-last-Saturday in August - that is the case for both 2026 and 2027. Ironically, it also happens this year and next (2021 and 2022), but we know those are off the table for CFP expansion.