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As with most things NCAA, conventional wisdom often doesn't pan out as predicted and there's a lot of back-and-forth impact between the various factions within the organization. Everything in one way or another becomes political and provincial. This is always the case, and it has been true whether talking about postseason, TV deals, conference expansion, new rules, etc. Self interest vs. collective interest and all that ....

So, what will be some consequential developments of the expanded playoff -- assuming it goes through as structured.

Off top of my head, some examples:

Will this lead to more or less conference games?

Will this lead to more or less marquee intersectional games?

Will this lead to fewer guarantee games for those leagues that rely on them?

Will this dull or sharpen the P5/G5 labeling?

Will this incentivize or disincentivize further realignment?

If I'm an FCS school right now, and I see a window to compete for the FBS playoff now more open thanks to no "official" autobids for specific conferences, do I try to move up?

How does this impact future regular-season media rights value?

How does this impact ongoing evolutions such as transfers, compensation rights, etc.?

Will a new power emerge in this new era that currently isn't a national contender? (like how Clemson took off in the playoff era)

There are many others.

One things for sure: Relative to its history of pace, this is a rapid transformation, and it's going to create ripple effects both forseen and unforseen.

Curious as to what you all think could be some things to watch....

Less importance of bowl games.

(06-11-2021 10:20 AM)C-Finder Wrote:  Less importance of bowl games.

I think that happened a long time ago.

The reality is that all but a couple of "NC play in bowls" serve only the original purpose of bowl games -- bringing together teams during the holidays that could not meet in their regular season. If impact on winning the NCAA NC is the only measuring stick, then there would be only two bowl games played during the winter holidays. All the others are for the teams, their fans and their school's pride (and to make local businesses some money).

For several early decades, the bowls had nothing to do with a NC result. They were played as the dessert serving as a holiday treat for a few schools.The Rose Parade was originally followed by a bull fight, but that was changed to a football game. When these produced local wealth, more were added and some moved about to new cities. All star games for seniors also came into the holiday mix as well.

We may see them doing away with league championship games, particularly in leagues where one division is substantially weaker. Why give a weaker team, perhaps worse than the top two in the other division, a shot to be the league representative? List the league overall, and send the top team, or top two if two qualify. This would eliminate one game in the longer schedule.

Of course, leagues want the additional revenue from the championship...

(06-11-2021 06:12 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  We may see them doing away with league championship games, particularly in leagues where one division is substantially weaker. Why give a weaker team, perhaps worse than the top two in the other division, a shot to be the league representative? List the league overall, and sent the top team, or top two if two qualify. This would eliminate one game in the longer schedule.

Of course, leagues want the additional revenue from the championship...

So I think this would be a dream scenario for us. I believe Georgia tech got in at like 6-6 once. The pac 12 have had some bad teams. The top 6 conference champs get the birth, so I’d assume that’s one path for the g5 to get multiple teams in.

(06-11-2021 10:20 AM)C-Finder Wrote:  Less importance of bowl games.

The CFP playoffs have already accomplished that feat. The only relevant bowls games are the semifinals and the CG.

(06-11-2021 06:12 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  We may see them doing away with league championship games.........

Of course, leagues want the additional revenue from the championship...

Your second response is the reason why your first response will never happen. I think the only unintended consequences I can see happening is the G5 getting more than one team in the playoffs. Maybe another one would be Notre Dame joining a conference.