(05-31-2023 04:41 AM)Crayton Wrote:  1. Having an algorithm (-assisted committee) assign a home and away game for every team is genius.

2. Using ‘only’ those 2 games to judge who advances is sub-par. Just use the entire schedule; include a lag factor (probably less than that 95%; 80% is sufficient) and an open-source rating like SSR.

3. The missing ingredient to determining who plays who is $$. I did something like this for in the past and ended up with odd SEC@MAC games. In some sense it is fine, in others it does not maximize revenue.

Looking at the A&M example, it looks like there is a geography component. I assume there is also a conference-component to prevent a team drawing opponents their conference already scheduled them to play. Include also a attendance split and you have a decent metric.

Example, I’ll divvy up teams by SRS into groups of 12. A&M’s group would be (this ignores lag, so the teams wouldn’t be this bad):

A&M, WVU, USA, Marshall, BYU, WKU, MSU, App St, Ohio, Toledo, Army, UAB

A&M, Michigan St, and BYU were top 3 in attendance with no conference duplication; those 3 are grouped and you ‘mostly’ avoid SEC@MAC games. Other groups are more geographic.

WVU-Marshall-Ohio
Toledo-WKU-App St
Army-UAB-USA

Here is a simulation for the West Region.

There is one bowl filled with 12 Mountain West schools, and the other bowl filled with the letters A to M. We draw one school and one letter. UNLV is placed in Group F. A short clip of the campus, and an interview with new head coach Barry Odom. The graphic points out UNLV has had 3 winning seasons in the last 30 years.

UNLV F
Boise State L
Colorado State H
OPEN E
San Diego State B
Hawaii K
Wyoming M
Utah State D
Fresno State C
San Jose State A
New Mexico I
Air Force J
Nevada G

Meanwhile we alternate drawing from the PAC-10 bowl and letters. Washington State University in group M. A clip of John Candy singing the WSU fight song, and a clip of Cameron Ward.

Washington State M
Colorado A
OPENA I
OPENB C
Arizona D
Utah E
Arizona State F
Washington B
OPENC H
Oregon L
Oregon State G
Stanford K
California J

As each school is drawn, they are placed on the board (after four rounds):

A Colorado
B
C OPENB
D
E OPEN
F UNLV
G
H Colorado State
I OPENA
J
K
L Boise State
M Washington State

The first pairing is Wyoming-Washington State in Group M. "Washington State leads the series 5 games to 2 games. The last matchup was in Laramie in 2018, with the Cougars prevailing 41-19" (short clip from that game).

Oregon is drawn with Boise State. DavidSt points out the Ducks have never beaten the Broncos. Blue Screen and everyone thinks their TV has crashed, but it is only a picture of the Smurf Turf.

The board now looks like this.

A San Jose State Colorado
B San Diego State Washington
C Fresno State OPENB
D Utah State Arizona
E OPEN Utah
F UNLV Arizona State
G Nevada Oregon State
H Colorado State OPENC
I New Mexico OPENA
J Air Force California
K Hawaii Stanford
L Boise State Oregon
M Wyoming Washington State

It is noted that groups C, E, H, and I still have two openings each. We have a bowl with those 4 letters, and another bow with the 17 remaining schools.

We draw Group H and Texas Tech. We then draw BYU. Since that would put two Big XII schools in the same group, we place BYU to the side, and draw Texas A&M.

We then draw Group E and place BYU in that group where they will face Utah. Utah leads the series 59-32-4. Sam Houston is drawn to complete the group.

New Mexico and New Mexico State are placed in Group I. The Lobos lead the series 73-34-5 (grainy photo of the 1938 game when the two schools shared the Border Conference title). The two schools have met annually since 1911, except one year in WWI, three years in WWII, and the COVID year of 2020.

We continue to draw the remaining teams to fill all 13 groups. We then draw a ball for each group that determines which teams will host.

A San Jose State + Colorado + Texas
B San Diego State + Washington + SMU
C Fresno State + Houston + Texas State
D Utah State + Baylor + Arizona
E BYU + Utah + Sam Houston
F UNLV + Arizona State + TCU
G Nevada + Oregon State + UTEP
H Colorado State + Texas Tech + Texas A&M
I New Mexico + New Mexico State + UTSA
J Air Force + California + USC
K Hawaii + North Texas + Stanford
L Boise State + Oregon + UCLA
M Wyoming + Rice + Washington State

These are the final groups. In each group, Team 1 will play at Team 2; Team 2 at Team 3; and Team 3 at Team 1.

So it will be San Jose State at Colorado; Colorado at Texas; and Texas at San Jose State.

Games will be scheduled, likely for September and October. Ideally they would be distributed so that the 133 games will have 15 games or so over each weekend. I don't think that a separate media contract will be possible at first, so San Jose State at Colorado will be on the PAC contract (assuming it is signed by then), Colorado at Texas on the SEC contract, and Texas at San Jose State on the Mountain West contract.

We now simulate the results. I use the Sagarin football ratings (for 2022) to determine a point spread, with a 3-point home field advantage. I then convert that into a probability of winning using a normal distribution with the mean expectation of meeting the spread, and a standard distribution of 13.5. I then calculate a random number with a uniform distribution in the range of 0 to 1. If that is larger than the probability of winning that team is awarded the win.

For example, San Jose State has a Sagarin rating of 62.73, while Colorado has a Sagarin rating of 54.03. In a game played in Boulder, San Jose State would be favored by 5.70 (62.73 - 64.03 - 3.00). The probability of the home team winning is 33.6% (=NORMDIST(-5.70,0,13.5,TRUE). (e.g., there is a 50% chance of Colorado beating the spread, but there is a 16.4% (.50 - .336) chance that the game will be closer than expected, but San Jose State will come out with a narrow win).

We then generate a random number with a uniform distribution in the range of 0 to 1. 28.8%. Since this is less than the probability of the home team winning, the home team is assigned the win.

These are the groups. In each group, the first team plays at the second team, the second team plays at the third team, and the third team at the first.

For Group A: San Jose State at Colorado; Colorado at Texas; Texas at San Jose State.

A San Jose State + Colorado + Texas
B San Diego State + Washington + SMU
C Fresno State + Houston + Texas State
D Utah State + Baylor + Arizona
E BYU + Utah + Sam Houston
F UNLV + Arizona State + TCU
G Nevada + Oregon State + UTEP
H Colorado State + Texas Tech + Texas A&M
I New Mexico + New Mexico State + UTSA
J Air Force + California + USC
K Hawaii + North Texas + Stanford
L Boise State + Oregon + UCLA
M Wyoming + Rice + Washington State

These are the results, with the winning team indicated in bold face.

A San Jose State @ Colorado; Colorado @ Texas; Texas @ San Jose State;

B San Diego State @ Washington; Washington @ SMU; SMU @ San Diego State;

C Fresno State @ Houston; Houston @ Texas State; Texas State @ Fresno State;

D Utah State @ Baylor; Baylor @ Arizona; Arizona @ Utah State;

E BYU @ Utah; Utah @ Sam Houston; Sam Houston @ BYU;

F UNLV @ Arizona State; Arizona State @ TCU; TCU @ UNLV;

G Nevada @ Oregon State; Oregon State @ UTEP; UTEP @ Nevada;

H Colorado State @ Texas Tech; Texas Tech @ Texas A&M; Texas A&M @ Colorado State;

I New Mexico @ New Mexico State; New Mexico State @ UTSA; UTSA @ New Mexico;

J Air Force @ California; California @ USC; USC @ Air Force;

K Hawaii @ North Texas; North Texas @ Stanford; Stanford @ Hawaii;

L Boise State @ Oregon; Oregon @ UCLA; UCLA @ Boise State;

M Wyoming @ Rice; Rice @ Washington State; Washington State @ Wyoming;

If the favored team won every game in a group, then the group favorite would win two games, the second favorite one game, and the least favorite zero games.

In 17 games the favored team won. In the other 9 games the underdog won. This is not unsurprising, since a favored team might win a game while not covering the spread.

In 5 (of 13) groups, the group favorite won two games, the second favorite won one game and the least favorite zero games. The group performed according to chalk.

In another 7 groups, the group winner had two wins, the second place team had one win, and the third place team had no wins.

This seeming paradox, can be explained that by looking at the standings we can detect an upset. That is, if the third "best" team upsets the second "best" team, then the standings will still be 2-0, 1-1, 0-2.

Colorado (over San Jose State), Utah State (Arizona), Nevada (UTEP), New Mexico (New Mexico State), Cal (Air Force), and Boise State (UCLA) beat the second favorite, and ended up with one win, when they were predicted to be winless.

Washington State (upset by Wyoming) was predicted to have two wins, but ended up with one because of the upset, while Wyoming ended up with two wins.

There was one group where there were two upsets. Houston upset Fresno State (as a 2 point underdog), but lost to Texas State as a 16-point favorite. These double upsets resulted in all three teams finishing with one win.

Teams with two wins:

PAC-10 (5): Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Utah, and Washington;
BXII (3): Baylor, TCU, and Texas Tech
AAC (1): UTSA
B1G (1): USC
MtW (1): Wyoming
SEC (1): Texas

Teams with one win:

MtW (5): Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah State,
PAC-10 (4): Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, and Washington State
AAC (2): North Texas and SMU
BXII (2): BYU and Houston
SEC (1): Texas A&M
Sun Belt (1): Texas State

Teams with no wins:

MtW (6): Air Force, Colorado State, Hawaii, San Diego State, San Jose State, and UNLV
CUSA (3): New Mexico State, Sam Houston, and UTEP
AAC (1): Rice
B1G (1): UCLA
PAC-10: Arizona

Made an algorithm that combines distance, attendance, success, schedule balance, and recent history. Threw it all together and had the computer generate 10-game schedules. The last 2 games of a 12-game regular season would be determined by ADs, most likely buy-games with occasional home-and-homes that ADs want to work into the algorithm.

These 10 games would be part of 2-year series (followed by at least 1 year off). 1 year ahead, ADs can mutually agree to extend 1 sunsetting series 2 additional years, allowing teams to have up to 2 annual series (don't think anyone needs more). This leaves the computer to select 4 new opponents every year.

I think the computer did a surprisingly well job. The "recent history" part of the algorithm was hacked together (just looking at the conference or division they've been a part of the last decade, so games like ND-USC are missing); a more nuanced factor would be used which looks at how often (and recently) opponents have been played over the last 25 years. Whenever this is initialized, ADs would also pick their 2 initial carry-over rivals so that 0 tradition is lost.

One missing factor may be academics. SEC/ACC teams are playing 1 or 2 small southern schools... but not Vandy or Duke. Similar academics should increase affinity.

This is hard to read. Teams are listed alphabetically at the beginning of a line, followed by their 10 opponents. You can just make out Air Force, Akron, Alabama, and so on.

The Midwestern Region includes

11 B1G schools (all but USC, UCLA, Penn State, Maryland, and Rutgers)
11 MAC schools (all but Buffalo)
12 miscellaneous schools: BXII (5) Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, and West Virginia; ACC (2) Louisville and Pittsburgh; SEC (2) Kentucky and Missouri; CUSA (1) Western Kentucky; Sun Belt (1) Marshall; and Independent (1) Notre Dame.

There are 133 FBS schools. Since this is not a multiple of three, we will have 43 groups of three and one group of four. The East Region would have had too many ACC teams (more than 1/3 of all teams), so we shifted Pittsburgh to the Midwestern Region, resulting in the Midwest Region having the one group of four. Pennsylvania is the only state divided between regions.

We prepared 6 bowls: (1) Balls for 11 B1G schools; (2) Balls for 11 MAC schools; (3) Balls for 12 miscellaneous schools; (4,5,6) Balls for groups 11 groups (A-K).

We draw one ball from each school bowl and one bowl from the corresponding group bowl. However the initial draw from the miscellaneous bowl is two schools. If they are from different conferences then those schools will be the third and fourth schools for the group.

If they are from the same conference, the first will be assigned to a 3-school group, and we will draw another school and a group, and check that these schools (the 2nd and 3rd drawn) are from different conference. We repeat as necessary to get a proper 4-team group. The remainder of the draw we draw one miscellaneous school and one group.

In this simulation, Louisville and Western Kentucky were the first two drawn, along with Group B. Since these schools are in different conferences they are placed in a 4-school Group B.

After the groups are drawn, we draw a ball for each group to determine which teams host which game.

A Purdue + Miami(OH) + Missouri
C Ohio State + Kansas State + Western Michigan
D Minnesota + Ball State + Kentucky
E Illinois + Pittsburgh + Kent
F Iowa + Marshall + Central Michigan
G Wisconsin + Bowling Green + Iowa State
H Indiana + Kansas + Northern Illinois
I Michigan + Ohio + Notre Dame
J Nebraska + Eastern Michigan + Cincinnati
K Michigan State + West Virginia + Toledo

In each group, Team 1 is at Team 2; Team 2 is at Team 3; and Team 3 is at Team 1 (e.g. Purdue @ Miami(OH); Miami(OH) @ Missouri; Missouri @ Purdue).

We also draw the matchups for the 4-team Group B. We draw four positions for the four schools. The matchups are 1@3; 2@4; 4@1; and 3@2. This ensures that each school has one home game.

The games for Group B are Akron @ Western Kentucky; Louisville @ Northwestern; Northwestern @ Akron; Western Kentucky @ Akron.

We simulate the results, with the team in bold winning:


A Purdue @ Miami(OH); Miami(OH) @ Missouri; Missouri @ Purdue;

B Akron @ Western Kentucky; Louisville @ Northwestern; Northwestern @ Akron; Western Kentucky @ Louisville;

C Ohio State @ Kansas State; Kansas State @ Western Michigan; Western Michigan @ Ohio State;

D Minnesota @ Ball State; Ball State @ Kentucky; Kentucky @ Minnesota;

E Illinois @ Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh @ Kent; Kent @ Illinois;

F Iowa @ Marshall; Marshall @ Central Michigan; Central Michigan @ Iowa;

G Wisconsin @ Bowling Green; Bowling Green @ Iowa State; Iowa State @ Wisconsin;

H Indiana @ Kansas; Kansas @ Northern Illinois; Northern Illinois @ Indiana;

I Michigan @ Ohio; Ohio @ Notre Dame; Notre Dame @ Michigan;

J Nebraska @ Eastern Michigan; Eastern Michigan @ Cincinnati; Cincinnati @ Nebraska;

K Michigan State @ West Virginia; West Virginia @ Toledo; Toledo @ Michigan State;

The favored team won 27 of 34 games. This is not surprising since the favored team might not cover, but can still win.

Groups C, E, F, I, J, and K were chalk. In Group A, favored Purdue is upset by both Missouri and Miami(OH), so instead of the predicted two wins, they had no wins, while Missouri and Miami(OH) finished with 2 and 1 win respectively.

In Group H, Kansas was upset by both Indiana and Northern Illinois, games in which they were favored by 10 and 12, respectively. This resulted in standings of Indiana 2, Northern Illinois 1, Kansas 0.

In Group D, Kentucky upset Minnesota, so the standings finished up Kentucky 2, Minnesota 1, and Ball State 0.

In Group G, Iowa State upset Wisconsin, but was in turn upset by Bowling Green, so all finished with one win.

In Group B, Louisville won both games, and Akron lost both games, while Northwestern and Western Kentucky finished with one win and one lose.

10 teams finished with two wins, 14 with one win, and 10 with no wins.

Combining with the results from the West Region.

Teams with two wins:

B1G (5): Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, and USC
BXII (5): Baylor, Cincinnati, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia
PAC-10 (5): Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Utah, and Washington
SEC (3): Kentucky, Missouri, and Texas
ACC (2): Louisville and Pittsburgh
AAC (1): UTSA
MtW (1): Wyoming

Teams with one win:

B1G (6): Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Wisconsin
MtW (5): Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah State,
PAC-10 (4): Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, and Washington State
BXII (4): BYU, Houston, Iowa State, and Kansas State
MAC (3): Bowling Green, Miami(IH), and Northern Illinois
AAC (2): North Texas and SMU
Sun Belt (2): Marshall and Texas State
CUSA (1): Western Kentucky
Independent (1): Notre Dame
SEC (1): Texas A&M

Teams with no wins:

MAC (8): Akron, Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent, Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan
MtW (6): Air Force, Colorado State, Hawaii, San Diego State, San Jose State, and UNLV
CUSA (3): New Mexico State, Sam Houston, and UTEP
B1G (2): Purdue and UCLA
AAC (1): Rice
BXII (1): Kansas
PAC-10 (1): Arizona

(05-30-2023 08:22 AM)ken d Wrote:  

(05-30-2023 07:23 AM)GreenBison Wrote:  How about we remove the P5 greed from the equation and do the following...

1. 16 team playoff
2. All 10 conference champions have autobid.
3. 6 teams get an at-large.

problem solved.

How about we remove G5 greed from the equation and open the playoff to all D-I schools? Why should only those 64 schools get to leech off the value of the power conferences?

1. 32 team playoff
2. All 23 conference champions have autobid.
3. 9 teams get an at-large
4. Reduce the regular season to 11 games to accommodate the larger playoff.

Actually, the FCS schools love things just the way they are. I can guarantee you that, given a choice, Saban would prefer to lose to Marshall as opposed to North Dakota State.

(06-04-2023 03:30 PM)Crayton Wrote:  Made an algorithm that combines distance, attendance, success, schedule balance, and recent history. Threw it all together and had the computer generate 10-game schedules. The last 2 games of a 12-game regular season would be determined by ADs, most likely buy-games with occasional home-and-homes that ADs want to work into the algorithm.

These 10 games would be part of 2-year series (followed by at least 1 year off). 1 year ahead, ADs can mutually agree to extend 1 sunsetting series 2 additional years, allowing teams to have up to 2 annual series (don't think anyone needs more). This leaves the computer to select 4 new opponents every year.

I think the computer did a surprisingly well job. The "recent history" part of the algorithm was hacked together (just looking at the conference or division they've been a part of the last decade, so games like ND-USC are missing); a more nuanced factor would be used which looks at how often (and recently) opponents have been played over the last 25 years. Whenever this is initialized, ADs would also pick their 2 initial carry-over rivals so that 0 tradition is lost.

One missing factor may be academics. SEC/ACC teams are playing 1 or 2 small southern schools... but not Vandy or Duke. Similar academics should increase affinity.

This is hard to read. Teams are listed alphabetically at the beginning of a line, followed by their 10 opponents. You can just make out Air Force, Akron, Alabama, and so on.

Code:

Air Force    Colorado St    Washington St    San Diego St    Wyoming    New Mexico    UNLV    Houston    UTSA    Wake Forest    Kansas St
Akron    Kent St    Bowling Green    Miami(OH)    Central Michigan    Eastern Michigan    Buffalo    Ohio St    Northern Illinois    Penn State    Michigan St
Alabama    Ohio St    LSU    Texas A&M    Tennessee    Texas    Georgia    Auburn    Jacksonville St    Middle Tennessee    La Tech
App St    Wake Forest    Army    Vanderbilt    Troy    Navy    Marshall    Duke    James Madison    UAB    South Carolina
Arizona    Arizona St    California    Georgia Tech    UCLA    Colorado    USC    Utah    Virginia    Washington    Oregon
Arizona St    Utah    Arizona    UCLA    Colorado    Baylor    TCU    Oregon    USC    New Mexico St    Washington St
Arkansas    Florida St    Iowa    Michigan St    OK State    Missouri    Ole Miss    Iowa St    Wisconsin    Notre Dame    Pittsburgh
Arkansas St    Ga Southern    Georgia St    Texas St    Ohio    Tulsa    La Monroe    La Tech    Louisiana    Coastal Carolina    Tulane
Army    Navy    App St    Umass    Wake Forest    Boston College    Temple    Oregon St    Syracuse    Memphis    West Virginia
Auburn    Florida    Clemson    Tennessee    Georgia    Nebraska    Oklahoma    Alabama    Troy    UAB    Notre Dame
Ball St    Umass    Miami(OH)    Northern Illinois    Charlotte    Bowling Green    FIU    Kent St    Ohio St    Western Michigan    Ohio
Baylor    TCU    Arizona St    Louisville    Indiana    Colorado    Texas    Texas Tech    Kansas St    Houston    North Carolina
Boise St    Stanford    Minnesota    Oregon St    Fresno St    Kansas    Northwestern    USF    Wyoming    BYU    Nevada
Boston College    Syracuse    Maryland    Cincinnati    Army    East Carolina    Navy    Wake Forest    Umass    Kansas    Uconn
Bowling Green    Akron    Kent St    Central Michigan    Miami(OH)    Ball St    Northern Illinois    Eastern Michigan    Western Michigan    Ohio St    New Mexico St
Buffalo    Eastern Michigan    Western Michigan    WKU    Ohio    Coastal Carolina    Kent St    Akron    Umass    Central Michigan    Miami(OH)
BYU    Virginia Tech    USC    Washington    Utah    Iowa St    Ole Miss    Colorado    Kentucky    Boise St    Oregon
California    Stanford    Arizona    Fresno St    UCLA    Oregon    Washington    Utah    Oregon St    Syracuse    USC
Central Michigan    Miami(OH)    Eastern Michigan    New Mexico St    Bowling Green    Akron    Northern Illinois    Western Michigan    Michigan    Hawaii    Buffalo
Charlotte    FIU    WKU    Middle Tennessee    Ball St    Coastal Carolina    Umass    South Carolina    Georgia    Wake Forest    Tennessee
Cincinnati    East Carolina    Fresno St    Boston College    Illinois    Memphis    Navy    Maryland    Indiana    Louisville    Northern Illinois
Clemson    South Carolina    Auburn    Florida    Nebraska    Virginia Tech    Florida St    Georgia    Georgia St    Tennessee    James Madison
Coastal Carolina    WKU    Georgia St    Ga Southern    Western Michigan    Charlotte    La Monroe    Buffalo    FIU    Arkansas St    Old Dominion
Colorado    Arizona St    Utah    UCLA    TCU    Baylor    Arizona    Washington    BYU    Oregon    La Monroe
Colorado St    Washington St    Air Force    Wyoming    San Diego St    UTSA    UAB    Vanderbilt    Houston    Utah St    Nebraska
Duke    James Madison    Temple    Marshall    Southern Miss    Wake Forest    Troy    App St    Old Dominion    North Carolina    South Carolina
East Carolina    Cincinnati    Navy    Syracuse    Maryland    Boston College    Illinois    UCF    Memphis    North Carolina    FIU
Eastern Michigan    Buffalo    Western Michigan    Central Michigan    San Jose St    New Mexico    Akron    Michigan    Ohio    Bowling Green    Toledo
FAU    Toledo    FIU    Rice    Tulane    Old Dominion    Uconn    Marshall    South Alabama    Southern Miss    Liberty
FIU    Charlotte    FAU    WKU    Middle Tennessee    Kent St    Ball St    Coastal Carolina    USF    Miami    East Carolina
Florida    Auburn    Oklahoma    Nebraska    Clemson    Georgia    USF    UCF    South Carolina    Florida St    Ga Southern
Florida St    Arkansas    NC State    Virginia Tech    Iowa    Ole Miss    Clemson    USF    Michigan St    Florida    UCF
Fresno St    Stanford    Cincinnati    California    Boise St    San Jose St    San Diego St    Nevada    UNLV    Oregon St    UCLA
Ga Southern    Ohio    Arkansas St    Georgia St    Coastal Carolina    Texas St    South Alabama    Troy    Jacksonville St    Georgia    Florida
Georgia    Tennessee    South Carolina    Auburn    Georgia Tech    Florida    Alabama    Clemson    Charlotte    Ga Southern    Middle Tennessee
Georgia St    Ga Southern    Arkansas St    Coastal Carolina    Nevada    WKU    Texas St    La Monroe    Tennessee    Clemson    Middle Tennessee
Georgia Tech    Virginia    Arizona    UCF    Georgia    Louisville    North Carolina    Miami    Pittsburgh    Syracuse    Utah
Hawaii    San Jose St    New Mexico    La Monroe    Nevada    New Mexico St    Middle Tennessee    Miami(OH)    Central Michigan    UNLV    Sam Houston
Houston    UTSA    Vanderbilt    SMU    Sam Houston    Memphis    Air Force    Washington St    Colorado St    Texas A&M    Baylor
Illinois    Syracuse    Indiana    Northwestern    Cincinnati    East Carolina    Minnesota    Michigan St    Rutgers    Nebraska    Wisconsin
Indiana    Louisville    Purdue    Illinois    TCU    Notre Dame    Baylor    Michigan    Rutgers    Pittsburgh    Cincinnati
Iowa    Arkansas    Michigan St    Wisconsin    Florida St    Nebraska    Northwestern    Iowa St    Purdue    Minnesota    Missouri
Iowa St    Ole Miss    Texas Tech    Kentucky    OK State    BYU    USC    Arkansas    Iowa    Kansas St    Mississippi St
Jacksonville St    Louisiana    South Alabama    Old Dominion    Liberty    Tulane    WKU    Tulsa    Alabama    UTEP    Ga Southern
James Madison    Duke    Temple    Liberty    Marshall    Toledo    Wyoming    North Texas    App St    Uconn    Clemson
Kansas    Northwestern    Minnesota    Memphis    USF    Kansas St    Stanford    Boise St    Oklahoma    TCU    Boston College
Kansas St    Miami    West Virginia    Missouri    Texas Tech    Kansas    OK State    Baylor    TCU    Iowa St    Air Force
Kent St    Akron    Bowling Green    Miami(OH)    Umass    FIU    Buffalo    Penn State    Ball St    Northern Illinois    WKU
Kentucky    Ole Miss    Virginia Tech    Iowa St    Purdue    NC State    Mississippi St    Vanderbilt    BYU    Texas Tech    Michigan St
La Monroe    Middle Tennessee    Louisiana    Hawaii    New Mexico St    Coastal Carolina    Arkansas St    Georgia St    LSU    New Mexico    Colorado
La Tech    Tulsa    Texas St    UTEP    Louisiana    Tulane    Rice    Arkansas St    Southern Miss    LSU    Alabama
Liberty    Old Dominion    Uconn    James Madison    Jacksonville St    South Alabama    Toledo    Ohio    Penn State    Utah St    FAU
Louisiana    Texas St    Jacksonville St    Sam Houston    UTEP    Old Dominion    La Monroe    South Alabama    Rice    La Tech    Arkansas St
Louisville    Indiana    North Carolina    Baylor    Pittsburgh    Georgia Tech    Virginia    Syracuse    Missouri    Cincinnati    Purdue
LSU    Texas A&M    Texas    Alabama    Ohio St    Penn State    Tennessee    South Alabama    La Monroe    La Tech    Rice
Marshall    Troy    SMU    Duke    Temple    James Madison    Wake Forest    App St    Southern Miss    FAU    Ohio
Maryland    Northwestern    Boston College    Navy    Penn State    East Carolina    Syracuse    Minnesota    Rutgers    Cincinnati    Temple
Memphis    Navy    USF    Kansas    Houston    Cincinnati    Minnesota    Vanderbilt    East Carolina    Tulsa    Army
Miami    Kansas St    North Carolina    Pittsburgh    West Virginia    UCF    Georgia Tech    Virginia    USF    FIU    Missouri
Miami(OH)    New Mexico St    Central Michigan    Ball St    Kent St    Akron    Bowling Green    Middle Tennessee    Hawaii    Ohio    Buffalo
Michigan    Penn State    Ohio St    Michigan St    Northwestern    Indiana    Eastern Michigan    Rutgers    Central Michigan    Toledo    Texas A&M
Michigan St    Wisconsin    Iowa    Michigan    Notre Dame    Arkansas    Purdue    Illinois    Florida St    Akron    Kentucky
Middle Tennessee    La Monroe    WKU    Charlotte    FIU    Miami(OH)    Hawaii    New Mexico St    Georgia St    Alabama    Georgia
Minnesota    Northwestern    Boise St    Kansas    USF    Maryland    Memphis    Illinois    Nebraska    Iowa    Wisconsin
Mississippi St    NC State    OK State    Texas Tech    Ole Miss    Purdue    Kentucky    Missouri    Virginia Tech    Southern Miss    Iowa St
Missouri    Purdue    West Virginia    Kansas St    OK State    Arkansas    Mississippi St    NC State    Louisville    Miami    Iowa
Navy    Army    Memphis    East Carolina    Temple    Maryland    Wake Forest    App St    Boston College    Cincinnati    Oregon St
NC State    Mississippi St    Florida St    OK State    Virginia Tech    Kentucky    North Carolina    Missouri    Texas Tech    West Virginia    Umass
Nebraska    Oklahoma    Florida    Auburn    Clemson    Iowa    Wisconsin    Minnesota    Notre Dame    Illinois    Colorado St
Nevada    San Jose St    Utah St    Georgia St    Hawaii    UNLV    New Mexico    Fresno St    San Diego St    Boise St    Wyoming
New Mexico    San Jose St    Hawaii    New Mexico St    Eastern Michigan    Air Force    Nevada    Utah St    La Monroe    Wyoming    UTEP
New Mexico St    Miami(OH)    New Mexico    Central Michigan    La Monroe    Hawaii    UTEP    Middle Tennessee    San Jose St    Arizona St    Bowling Green
North Carolina    Pittsburgh    Miami    Louisville    Virginia    Georgia Tech    NC State    West Virginia    Duke    East Carolina    Baylor
North Texas    Rice    SMU    Wyoming    UNLV    UTSA    Sam Houston    James Madison    Southern Miss    UTEP    Tulsa
Northern Illinois    Sam Houston    Umass    Ball St    Western Michigan    Central Michigan    Bowling Green    Akron    Kent St    Vanderbilt    Cincinnati
Northwestern    Maryland    Kansas    Minnesota    Illinois    Michigan    USF    Iowa    Boise St    Notre Dame    Wisconsin
Notre Dame    South Carolina    Wisconsin    Michigan St    Indiana    Purdue    Virginia Tech    Northwestern    Nebraska    Arkansas    Auburn
Ohio    Ga Southern    Western Michigan    Toledo    Arkansas St    Buffalo    Eastern Michigan    Liberty    Miami(OH)    Marshall    Ball St
Ohio St    Alabama    Michigan    Penn State    LSU    Texas A&M    Tennessee    Akron    Ball St    Bowling Green    Texas
OK State    Texas Tech    Mississippi St    NC State    Arkansas    Missouri    Iowa St    Oklahoma    Kansas St    Ole Miss    TCU
Oklahoma    Nebraska    Florida    Texas    Auburn    OK State    TCU    Kansas    Tulsa    SMU    Texas St
Old Dominion    Liberty    Louisiana    Jacksonville St    Uconn    FAU    South Alabama    Tulane    Duke    Toledo    Coastal Carolina
Ole Miss    USC    Kentucky    Iowa St    Mississippi St    Florida St    Arkansas    BYU    Virginia Tech    OK State    Texas Tech
Oregon    Washington    West Virginia    Utah    California    Oregon St    Stanford    Arizona St    Colorado    Arizona    BYU
Oregon St    Stanford    Washington St    Boise St    Washington    Oregon    Army    California    Navy    Fresno St    UNLV
Penn State    Michigan    Ohio St    Rutgers    Maryland    LSU    Texas A&M    Kent St    Liberty    Akron    Temple
Pittsburgh    North Carolina    Virginia    Miami    Louisville    West Virginia    Indiana    Virginia Tech    Georgia Tech    Rutgers    Arkansas
Purdue    Missouri    Indiana    West Virginia    Wisconsin    Kentucky    Notre Dame    Mississippi St    Michigan St    Iowa    Louisville
Rice    North Texas    Tulane    FAU    Louisiana    Texas A&M    UTEP    La Tech    Toledo    Uconn    LSU
Rutgers    Virginia    UCF    Penn State    Syracuse    Indiana    Maryland    Michigan    Illinois    Umass    Pittsburgh
Sam Houston    Northern Illinois    Louisiana    UTSA    Houston    SMU    North Texas    WKU    Texas A&M    Texas    Hawaii
San Diego St    UNLV    Southern Miss    Air Force    Colorado St    SMU    Fresno St    Wyoming    Nevada    San Jose St    Washington St
San Jose St    Hawaii    Nevada    New Mexico    Eastern Michigan    Fresno St    Utah St    UNLV    New Mexico St    San Diego St    Stanford
SMU    Southern Miss    Marshall    UTSA    North Texas    Houston    Troy    Sam Houston    San Diego St    UAB    Oklahoma
South Alabama    Tulane    Jacksonville St    Louisiana    Liberty    Utah St    Tulsa    Old Dominion    Ga Southern    LSU    FAU
South Carolina    Clemson    Notre Dame    Tennessee    Georgia    Wisconsin    Virginia Tech    Charlotte    Florida    Duke    App St
Southern Miss    SMU    San Diego St    UAB    Troy    Duke    Marshall    North Texas    La Tech    Mississippi St    FAU
Stanford    Oregon St    Fresno St    Boise St    California    Kansas    Oregon    UCLA    USC    Washington St    San Jose St
Syracuse    Illinois    Boston College    East Carolina    Rutgers    Maryland    Virginia    Louisville    Army    California    Georgia Tech
TCU    Baylor    Indiana    Arizona St    Colorado    Texas Tech    Oklahoma    Kansas    Kansas St    UCF    OK State
Temple    Duke    James Madison    Navy    Marshall    Army    Troy    Uconn    Tulane    Maryland    Penn State
Tennessee    Georgia    South Carolina    Auburn    Texas    Alabama    LSU    Ohio St    Georgia St    Clemson    Charlotte
Texas    Texas A&M    LSU    Oklahoma    Tennessee    Alabama    Baylor    Texas St    UTSA    Sam Houston    Ohio St
Texas A&M    Texas    LSU    Alabama    Ohio St    Rice    Penn State    Texas St    Sam Houston    Houston    Michigan
Texas St    Louisiana    La Tech    Arkansas St    Tulsa    Ga Southern    Georgia St    Texas A&M    Texas    UTEP    Oklahoma
Texas Tech    OK State    Iowa St    Mississippi St    Kansas St    TCU    Baylor    NC State    Kentucky    USC    Ole Miss
Toledo    FAU    Uconn    Ohio    Western Michigan    James Madison    Liberty    Rice    Eastern Michigan    Michigan    Old Dominion
Troy    Marshall    Southern Miss    SMU    App St    UAB    Temple    Vanderbilt    Duke    Ga Southern    Auburn
Tulane    South Alabama    Rice    Uconn    Tulsa    FAU    Jacksonville St    La Tech    Old Dominion    Temple    Arkansas St
Tulsa    UTEP    La Tech    Tulane    Texas St    Arkansas St    South Alabama    Jacksonville St    Oklahoma    Memphis    North Texas
UAB    Vanderbilt    Southern Miss    UTSA    Troy    SMU    Washington St    Colorado St    Wake Forest    Auburn    App St
UCF    USF    Rutgers    Georgia Tech    Virginia    Miami    East Carolina    Florida    UCLA    TCU    Florida St
UCLA    Arizona St    Colorado    California    USC    Arizona    Utah    Stanford    UCF    Fresno St    Washington
Uconn    Toledo    Liberty    Tulane    Old Dominion    Umass    FAU    Temple    Rice    James Madison    Boston College
Umass    Ball St    Northern Illinois    Army    Kent St    Uconn    Charlotte    Buffalo    Boston College    Rutgers    NC State
UNLV    San Diego St    Wyoming    Utah St    North Texas    Nevada    Air Force    San Jose St    Fresno St    Hawaii    Oregon St
USC    Ole Miss    Washington    BYU    UCLA    Iowa St    Arizona    Arizona St    Stanford    Texas Tech    California
USF    UCF    Memphis    Kansas    Minnesota    Northwestern    Florida    Florida St    Boise St    FIU    Miami
Utah    Arizona St    Colorado    Oregon    BYU    UCLA    Arizona    California    Washington    Utah St    Georgia Tech
Utah St    Wyoming    Nevada    UNLV    UTEP    South Alabama    San Jose St    New Mexico    Liberty    Utah    Colorado St
UTEP    Tulsa    Louisiana    La Tech    Utah St    Rice    New Mexico St    Texas St    Jacksonville St    North Texas    New Mexico
UTSA    Houston    SMU    Sam Houston    UAB    Washington St    North Texas    Colorado St    Vanderbilt    Texas    Air Force
Vanderbilt    UAB    Wake Forest    Houston    App St    UTSA    Troy    Kentucky    Memphis    Colorado St    Northern Illinois
Virginia    Rutgers    Georgia Tech    Pittsburgh    UCF    North Carolina    Louisville    Syracuse    Miami    West Virginia    Arizona
Virginia Tech    BYU    Kentucky    Florida St    NC State    Clemson    Notre Dame    South Carolina    Pittsburgh    Mississippi St    Ole Miss
Wake Forest    App St    Vanderbilt    Army    Navy    Duke    Marshall    Boston College    UAB    Charlotte    Air Force
Washington    Oregon    USC    BYU    Oregon St    Washington St    California    Colorado    Utah    Arizona    UCLA
Washington St    Colorado St    Oregon St    Air Force    UTSA    Washington    UAB    Houston    Stanford    San Diego St    Arizona St
West Virginia    Oregon    Missouri    Kansas St    Purdue    Miami    Pittsburgh    North Carolina    Virginia    NC State    Army
Western Michigan    Eastern Michigan    Ohio    Buffalo    Northern Illinois    Toledo    Coastal Carolina    Central Michigan    Bowling Green    Ball St    WKU
Wisconsin    Michigan St    Notre Dame    Iowa    Purdue    South Carolina    Nebraska    Northwestern    Arkansas    Illinois    Minnesota
WKU    Coastal Carolina    Charlotte    Middle Tennessee    FIU    Buffalo    Georgia St    Jacksonville St    Sam Houston    Western Michigan    Kent St
Wyoming    Utah St    UNLV    Colorado St    North Texas    Air Force    James Madison    San Diego St    Boise St    New Mexico    Nevada

This is a bit opposite of my approach which would maintain existing conferences but schedule two OOC games as part of a multi-season competition.

But it sounds like it would be feasible to schedule the three-team groups based on minimizing the following three criteria:

(1) Geographic Distance;
(2) Interconference Play (0 = Different Conferences; 1 = Same Conference);
(3) Common Record (0 = Same number of wins; 1 = different records);
(4) Recent opponent (0 = played in last 2 seasons; 1 = 3 or more seasons).

These are in inverse order of priority (i.e., repeat matchup should not happen within three seasons; records should be tied, unless not possible to form 3-team groups; and no intra-conference opponents, unless can't be avoided).

The Southern Region covers OK, AR, LA, MS, TN, AL, and FL

There are 30 schools:

SEC (10): Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, and Florida

AAC (6): Tulsa, Tulane, Memphis, UAB, South Florida, and Florida Atlantic

Sun Belt (6): Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana, Southern Miss, South Alabama, and Troy

CUSA (4): Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Jacksonville State, and Florida International

BXII (2): Oklahoma State and Central Florida

ACC (2): Florida State and Miami (Florida)

There will be 10 triples. We draw one SEC school to each group. We draw one Sun Belt school plus four openings to each group, and one AAC school plus four openings in each group.

This will leave 8 openings to be filled from the schools from CUSA, BXII, and ACC making sure that we don't place two of these schools from the same conference in the same group.

A Tennessee + Southern Mississippi + Tulsa
B Alabama + Florida State + Louisiana-Monroe
C Arkansas + Florida International + Miami(FL)
D Vanderbilt + Louisiana Tech + UCF
E Oklahoma + South Alabama + Middle Tennessee
F Auburn + Oklahoma State + Memphis
G Mississippi State + Tulane + Jacksonville State
H Florida + Florida Atlantic + Louisiana
I LSU + Troy + UAB
J Mississippi + Arkansas State + South Florida

In each group, School 1 will play at School 2, School 2 will play at School School 3, and School 3 at School 1. For example in Group A, Tennessee @ USM, USM @ Tulsa, and Tulsa at Tennessee.

A Tennessee @ Southern Miss; Southern Miss @ Tulsa; Tulsa @ Tennessee;
B Alabama @ Florida State; Florida State @ Louisiana-Monroe; Louisiana-Monroe @ Alabama;
C Arkansas @ Florida International; Florida International @ Miami(FL); Miami(FL) @ Arkansas;
D Vanderbilt @ Louisiana Tech; Louisiana Tech @ Central Florida; Central Florida @ Vanderbilt;
E Oklahoma @ South Alabama; South Alabama @ Middle Tennessee; Middle Tennessee @ Oklahoma;
F Auburn @ Oklahoma State; Oklahoma State @ Memphis; Memphis @ Auburn;
G Mississippi State @ Tulane; Tulane @ Jacksonville State; Jacksonville State @ Mississippi State;
H Florida @ Florida Atlantic; Florida Atlantic @ Louisiana; Louisiana @ Florida;
I LSU @ Troy; Troy @ UAB; UAB @ LSU;
J Mississippi @ Arkansas State; Arkansas State @ South Florida; South Florida @ Mississippi;


In our simulations, the favored team won 23 of 30 games. Groups A, C, E, I, and J are chalk, resulting in the following standings:

Tennessee 2, Tulsa 1, Southern Miss 0
Arkansas 2, Miami(FL) 1, Florida International 0
Oklahoma 2, South Alabama 1, MTSU 0
LSU 2, Troy 1, UAB 0
Mississippi 2, USF 1, and Arkansas State

In Group B, FSU upset Alabama, resulting in:

FSU 2, Alabama 1, ULM 0

In Group D, Vanderbilt upset UCF, and Lousiana Tech upset Vanderbilt resulting in all three schools with one win.

In Group F, Auburn upset Oklahoma State, and Memphis upset Auburn resulting in all three schools with one win.

In Group G, Tulane upset Mississippi State, resulting in:

Tulane 2, Mississippi State 1, and Jacksonville State 0

In Group H Florida Atlantic upset Florida, resulting in all three schools with one win.

Combining with the results from the West and Midwest Regions

Teams with two wins:

SEC (8): Arkansas, Kentucky,LSU, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas
B1G (5): Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, and USC
BXII (5): Baylor, Cincinnati, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia
PAC-10 (5): Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Utah, and Washington
AAC (2): Tulane and UTSA
ACC (2): Louisville and Pittsburgh
MtW (1): Wyoming

Teams with one win:

AAC (6): Florida Atlantic, Memphis, North Texas, SMU, Tulsa, and USF
B1G (6): Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Wisconsin
BXII (6): BYU, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and USF
SEC (6): Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt
MtW (5): Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah State,
Sun Belt (5): Louisana, Marshall, South Alabama, Texas State, and Troy
PAC-10 (4): Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, and Washington State
MAC (3): Bowling Green, Miami(IH), and Northern Illinois
CUSA (2): Louisana Tech and Western Kentucky
ACC (1): Miami(FL)
Independent (1): Notre Dame

Teams with no wins:

MAC (8): Akron, Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent, Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan
CUSA (6): FIU, Jacksonville State, MTSU, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, and UTEP
MtW (6): Air Force, Colorado State, Hawaii, San Diego State, San Jose State, and UNLV
Sun Belt (3): Arkansas State, ULM, and USM
AAC (1): Rice and UAB
B1G (2): Purdue and UCLA
BXII (1): Kansas
PAC-10 (1): Arizona

The Eastern Region covers the Atlantic coastal states from Massachusetts to Georgia, except Pittsburgh is placed in the Midwest region so that the number of schools is a multiple of 3, and only 1/3 are ACC schools.

There are 30 schools:

ACC (10): Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest

Sun Belt (6): Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, and Old Dominion

AAC (4): Charlotte, East Carolina, Navy, and Temple

B1G (3): Maryland, Penn State, and Rutgers

Independent (3): Army, UConn, UMass

SEC (2): Georgia and South Carolina

CUSA (1): Liberty

MAC (1): Buffalo

There will be 10 triples. We draw one ACC each group. We draw one Sun Belt school plus four openings to each group, and one AAC school plus sixr openings in each group.

This will leave 10 openings to be filled from the schools from B1G, SEC, CUSA., MAC, and the independents making sure that we don't place two of these schools from the same conference in the same group.

A Georgia Tech + Rutgers + Buffalo
B Virginia + Georgia Southern + Liberty
C North Carolina + Old Dominion + Army
D Clemson + Massachusetts + South Carolina
E NC State + Penn State + Georgia
F Wake Forest + Maryland + Coastal Carolina
G Boston College + Appalachian State + Temple
H Duke + Connecticut + Navy
I Syracuse + Charlotte + James Madison
J Virginia Tech + Georgia State + East Carolina

In each group, School 1 will play at School 2, School 2 will play at School School 3, and School 3 at School 1. For example in Group A, Georgia Tech @ Rutgers, Rutgers @ Buffalo, and Buffalo @ Georgia Tech.

Clemson and South Carolina were drawn to Group C with South Carolina playing at Clemson. If this were 2023, the season ending game would be at South Carolina. There is no problem with games being played at the end of the season, or any other time, though most would likely be played earlier in the season before most conference games.

It would be possible to reverse the schedule so that the games would be Clemson @ South Carolina; South Carolina @ Massachusetts; and Massachusetts @ Clemson.

It would also be possible to prevent drawing rivalry games. Presumably, schools would cancel/push out two of their OOC games to make room for this competition. Clemson/South Carolina would not be eliminated.


A Georgia Tech @ Rutgers; Rutgers @ Buffalo; Buffalo @ Georgia Tech;
B Virginia @ Georgia Southern; Georgia Southern @ Liberty; Liberty @ Virginia;
C North Carolina @ Old Dominion; Old Dominion @ Army; Army @ North Carolina;
D Clemson @ Massachusetts; Massachusetts @ South Carolina; South Carolina @ Clemson;
E NC State @ Penn State; Penn State @ Georgia; Georgia @ NC State;
F Wake Forest @ Maryland; Maryland @ Coastal Carolina; Coastal Carolina @ Wake Forest;
G Boston College @ Appalachian State; Appalachian State @ Temple; Temple @ Boston College;
H Duke @ Connecticut; Connecticut @ Navy; Navy @ Duke;
I Syracuse @ Charlotte; Charlotte @ James Madison; James Madison @ Syracuse;
J Virginia Tech @ Georgia State; Georgia State @ East Carolina; East Carolina @ Virginia Tech;

In our simulations, the favored team won 22 of 30 games. Groups A, C, D and E are chalk, resulting in the following standings:

Georgia Tech 2, Buffalo 1, Rutger 0
North Carolina 2, Army 1, Old Dominion 0
Clemson 2, South Carolina 1, UMass 0
Georgia 2, Penn State 1, NC State 0

In Group B, Georgia Southern upset Liberty and Virginia resulting in the following standings:

Georgia Southern 2, Virginia 1, Liberty 0

In Group F, Wake Forest upset Maryland resulting in the following standings:

Wake Forest 2, Maryland 1, Coastal Carolina 0

In Group G, Temple upset Boston College resulting in the following standings:

Appalachian State 2, Temple 1, Boston College 0

In Group H, Navy upset Duke resulting in the following standings:

Navy 2, Duke 1, UConn 0

In Group I, Charlotte upset James Madison (as 26-pooint underdogs) resulting in the following standings:

Syracuse 2, Charlotte 1, James Madison 0

In Group J, East Carolina was upset by both Georgia State and Virginia Tech resulting in the following standings:

Georgia State 2, Virginia Tech 1, East Carolina 0

Combining with the results from the West, Midwest and South Regions

Teams with two wins:

SEC (9): Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas
ACC (8): Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Wake Forest
B1G (5): Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, and USC
BXII (5): Baylor, Cincinnati, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia
PAC-10 (5): Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Utah, and Washington
AAC (3): Navy, Tulane, and UTSA
Sun Belt (3): Appalachian State, Georgia State, and Georgia Southern
MtW (1): Wyoming

Teams with one win:

AAC (8): Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Memphis, North Texas, SMU, Temple, Tulsa, and USF
B1G (8): Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, and Wisconsin
SEC (7): Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt
BXII (6): BYU, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and USF
MtW (5): Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah State,
Sun Belt (5): Louisana, Marshall, South Alabama, Texas State, and Troy
ACC (4): Duke, Miami(FL), Virginia, and Virginia Tech
MAC (4): Bowling Green, Buffalo, Miami(OH), and Northern Illinois
PAC-10 (4): Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, and Washington State
CUSA (2): Louisana Tech and Western Kentucky
Independent (2): Army and Notre Dame

Teams with no wins:

MAC (8): Akron, Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent, Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan
CUSA (7): FIU, Jacksonville State, Liberty, MTSU, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, and UTEP
MtW (6): Air Force, Colorado State, Hawaii, San Diego State, San Jose State, and UNLV
Sun Belt (6): Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, James Madison, Old Dominion, ULM, and USM
AAC (3): East Carolina, Rice and UAB
B1G (3): Purdue, Rutgers, and UCLA
ACC (2): Boston College and NC State
Independent (2): UConn and UMass
BXII (1): Kansas
PAC-10 (1): Arizona

(05-30-2023 07:58 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(05-30-2023 07:23 AM)GreenBison Wrote:  How about we remove the P5 greed from the equation and do the following...

1. 16 team playoff
2. All 10 conference champions have autobid.
3. 6 teams get an at-large.

problem solved.

Is it greed if the whole reason why anyone is getting paid for the playoff at all is the P5?

We may eventually go to a 16-team playoff, but I’m fairly certain that it will entirely be an exercise of adding more at-large bids. The 1 G5 conference champ slot is the most that will ever be guaranteed.

As for the OP, I appreciate the effort. For certain sports, I like the idea of a World Cup/European-style group stage format for competitions, which is sort of what you’re getting at here with the Swiss system. Basketball is an example where having schedules based on tiers or tournaments using a group stage could conceivably work.

For football, though, I’m a big believer in K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid. If I can’t explain the playoff system to a third grader, then it’s too complicated. At the same time, the US cares about the actual top tier championship. What you’re effectively proposing is that eventually half of the FBS schools (including some P5 schools) would outright be ineligible to win the national championship and I think that’s a complete non-starter. A secondary NIT-style playoff isn’t of any interest - the P5 would just rather have bowls that they can control.

I think the beauty of the new 12-team playoff system is that everyone in college football feels that has a *chance* to make the playoff if things break the right way. It might not be a *great* chance, but it’s still that hope and dream at the beginning of every season. Everyone that is in their conference championship race and/or the top 25 has a legitimate shot at the playoff, too. We shouldn’t snuff that out. Plus, if the powers that be really want structural tiers, then we would just have the P5 formally break off entirely (and I know the G5 people don’t want to hear that), so be careful what you wish for.

I'm actually ok if the P2 breaks off. I think it would be a serious miscalculation on what made college athletics so popular to begin with. The G5/P5 would survive in a smaller setting.

16 with 10 autobids would be the best version of the playoff they can bring. I'd compromise at 8 autos.

(06-07-2023 06:43 PM)jimrtex Wrote:  

(06-04-2023 03:30 PM)Crayton Wrote:  Made an algorithm that combines distance, attendance, success, schedule balance, and recent history. Threw it all together and had the computer generate 10-game schedules. The last 2 games of a 12-game regular season would be determined by ADs, most likely buy-games with occasional home-and-homes that ADs want to work into the algorithm.

These 10 games would be part of 2-year series (followed by at least 1 year off). 1 year ahead, ADs can mutually agree to extend 1 sunsetting series 2 additional years, allowing teams to have up to 2 annual series (don't think anyone needs more). This leaves the computer to select 4 new opponents every year.

I think the computer did a surprisingly well job. The "recent history" part of the algorithm was hacked together (just looking at the conference or division they've been a part of the last decade, so games like ND-USC are missing); a more nuanced factor would be used which looks at how often (and recently) opponents have been played over the last 25 years. Whenever this is initialized, ADs would also pick their 2 initial carry-over rivals so that 0 tradition is lost.

One missing factor may be academics. SEC/ACC teams are playing 1 or 2 small southern schools... but not Vandy or Duke. Similar academics should increase affinity.

This is hard to read. Teams are listed alphabetically at the beginning of a line, followed by their 10 opponents. You can just make out Air Force, Akron, Alabama, and so on.

Code:

Air Force    Colorado St    Washington St    San Diego St    Wyoming    New Mexico    UNLV    Houston    UTSA    Wake Forest    Kansas St
Akron    Kent St    Bowling Green    Miami(OH)    Central Michigan    Eastern Michigan    Buffalo    Ohio St    Northern Illinois    Penn State    Michigan St
Alabama    Ohio St    LSU    Texas A&M    Tennessee    Texas    Georgia    Auburn    Jacksonville St    Middle Tennessee    La Tech
App St    Wake Forest    Army    Vanderbilt    Troy    Navy    Marshall    Duke    James Madison    UAB    South Carolina
Arizona    Arizona St    California    Georgia Tech    UCLA    Colorado    USC    Utah    Virginia    Washington    Oregon
Arizona St    Utah    Arizona    UCLA    Colorado    Baylor    TCU    Oregon    USC    New Mexico St    Washington St
Arkansas    Florida St    Iowa    Michigan St    OK State    Missouri    Ole Miss    Iowa St    Wisconsin    Notre Dame    Pittsburgh
Arkansas St    Ga Southern    Georgia St    Texas St    Ohio    Tulsa    La Monroe    La Tech    Louisiana    Coastal Carolina    Tulane
Army    Navy    App St    Umass    Wake Forest    Boston College    Temple    Oregon St    Syracuse    Memphis    West Virginia
Auburn    Florida    Clemson    Tennessee    Georgia    Nebraska    Oklahoma    Alabama    Troy    UAB    Notre Dame
Ball St    Umass    Miami(OH)    Northern Illinois    Charlotte    Bowling Green    FIU    Kent St    Ohio St    Western Michigan    Ohio
Baylor    TCU    Arizona St    Louisville    Indiana    Colorado    Texas    Texas Tech    Kansas St    Houston    North Carolina
Boise St    Stanford    Minnesota    Oregon St    Fresno St    Kansas    Northwestern    USF    Wyoming    BYU    Nevada
Boston College    Syracuse    Maryland    Cincinnati    Army    East Carolina    Navy    Wake Forest    Umass    Kansas    Uconn
Bowling Green    Akron    Kent St    Central Michigan    Miami(OH)    Ball St    Northern Illinois    Eastern Michigan    Western Michigan    Ohio St    New Mexico St
Buffalo    Eastern Michigan    Western Michigan    WKU    Ohio    Coastal Carolina    Kent St    Akron    Umass    Central Michigan    Miami(OH)
BYU    Virginia Tech    USC    Washington    Utah    Iowa St    Ole Miss    Colorado    Kentucky    Boise St    Oregon
California    Stanford    Arizona    Fresno St    UCLA    Oregon    Washington    Utah    Oregon St    Syracuse    USC
Central Michigan    Miami(OH)    Eastern Michigan    New Mexico St    Bowling Green    Akron    Northern Illinois    Western Michigan    Michigan    Hawaii    Buffalo
Charlotte    FIU    WKU    Middle Tennessee    Ball St    Coastal Carolina    Umass    South Carolina    Georgia    Wake Forest    Tennessee
Cincinnati    East Carolina    Fresno St    Boston College    Illinois    Memphis    Navy    Maryland    Indiana    Louisville    Northern Illinois
Clemson    South Carolina    Auburn    Florida    Nebraska    Virginia Tech    Florida St    Georgia    Georgia St    Tennessee    James Madison
Coastal Carolina    WKU    Georgia St    Ga Southern    Western Michigan    Charlotte    La Monroe    Buffalo    FIU    Arkansas St    Old Dominion
Colorado    Arizona St    Utah    UCLA    TCU    Baylor    Arizona    Washington    BYU    Oregon    La Monroe
Colorado St    Washington St    Air Force    Wyoming    San Diego St    UTSA    UAB    Vanderbilt    Houston    Utah St    Nebraska
Duke    James Madison    Temple    Marshall    Southern Miss    Wake Forest    Troy    App St    Old Dominion    North Carolina    South Carolina
East Carolina    Cincinnati    Navy    Syracuse    Maryland    Boston College    Illinois    UCF    Memphis    North Carolina    FIU
Eastern Michigan    Buffalo    Western Michigan    Central Michigan    San Jose St    New Mexico    Akron    Michigan    Ohio    Bowling Green    Toledo
FAU    Toledo    FIU    Rice    Tulane    Old Dominion    Uconn    Marshall    South Alabama    Southern Miss    Liberty
FIU    Charlotte    FAU    WKU    Middle Tennessee    Kent St    Ball St    Coastal Carolina    USF    Miami    East Carolina
Florida    Auburn    Oklahoma    Nebraska    Clemson    Georgia    USF    UCF    South Carolina    Florida St    Ga Southern
Florida St    Arkansas    NC State    Virginia Tech    Iowa    Ole Miss    Clemson    USF    Michigan St    Florida    UCF
Fresno St    Stanford    Cincinnati    California    Boise St    San Jose St    San Diego St    Nevada    UNLV    Oregon St    UCLA
Ga Southern    Ohio    Arkansas St    Georgia St    Coastal Carolina    Texas St    South Alabama    Troy    Jacksonville St    Georgia    Florida
Georgia    Tennessee    South Carolina    Auburn    Georgia Tech    Florida    Alabama    Clemson    Charlotte    Ga Southern    Middle Tennessee
Georgia St    Ga Southern    Arkansas St    Coastal Carolina    Nevada    WKU    Texas St    La Monroe    Tennessee    Clemson    Middle Tennessee
Georgia Tech    Virginia    Arizona    UCF    Georgia    Louisville    North Carolina    Miami    Pittsburgh    Syracuse    Utah
Hawaii    San Jose St    New Mexico    La Monroe    Nevada    New Mexico St    Middle Tennessee    Miami(OH)    Central Michigan    UNLV    Sam Houston
Houston    UTSA    Vanderbilt    SMU    Sam Houston    Memphis    Air Force    Washington St    Colorado St    Texas A&M    Baylor
Illinois    Syracuse    Indiana    Northwestern    Cincinnati    East Carolina    Minnesota    Michigan St    Rutgers    Nebraska    Wisconsin
Indiana    Louisville    Purdue    Illinois    TCU    Notre Dame    Baylor    Michigan    Rutgers    Pittsburgh    Cincinnati
Iowa    Arkansas    Michigan St    Wisconsin    Florida St    Nebraska    Northwestern    Iowa St    Purdue    Minnesota    Missouri
Iowa St    Ole Miss    Texas Tech    Kentucky    OK State    BYU    USC    Arkansas    Iowa    Kansas St    Mississippi St
Jacksonville St    Louisiana    South Alabama    Old Dominion    Liberty    Tulane    WKU    Tulsa    Alabama    UTEP    Ga Southern
James Madison    Duke    Temple    Liberty    Marshall    Toledo    Wyoming    North Texas    App St    Uconn    Clemson
Kansas    Northwestern    Minnesota    Memphis    USF    Kansas St    Stanford    Boise St    Oklahoma    TCU    Boston College
Kansas St    Miami    West Virginia    Missouri    Texas Tech    Kansas    OK State    Baylor    TCU    Iowa St    Air Force
Kent St    Akron    Bowling Green    Miami(OH)    Umass    FIU    Buffalo    Penn State    Ball St    Northern Illinois    WKU
Kentucky    Ole Miss    Virginia Tech    Iowa St    Purdue    NC State    Mississippi St    Vanderbilt    BYU    Texas Tech    Michigan St
La Monroe    Middle Tennessee    Louisiana    Hawaii    New Mexico St    Coastal Carolina    Arkansas St    Georgia St    LSU    New Mexico    Colorado
La Tech    Tulsa    Texas St    UTEP    Louisiana    Tulane    Rice    Arkansas St    Southern Miss    LSU    Alabama
Liberty    Old Dominion    Uconn    James Madison    Jacksonville St    South Alabama    Toledo    Ohio    Penn State    Utah St    FAU
Louisiana    Texas St    Jacksonville St    Sam Houston    UTEP    Old Dominion    La Monroe    South Alabama    Rice    La Tech    Arkansas St
Louisville    Indiana    North Carolina    Baylor    Pittsburgh    Georgia Tech    Virginia    Syracuse    Missouri    Cincinnati    Purdue
LSU    Texas A&M    Texas    Alabama    Ohio St    Penn State    Tennessee    South Alabama    La Monroe    La Tech    Rice
Marshall    Troy    SMU    Duke    Temple    James Madison    Wake Forest    App St    Southern Miss    FAU    Ohio
Maryland    Northwestern    Boston College    Navy    Penn State    East Carolina    Syracuse    Minnesota    Rutgers    Cincinnati    Temple
Memphis    Navy    USF    Kansas    Houston    Cincinnati    Minnesota    Vanderbilt    East Carolina    Tulsa    Army
Miami    Kansas St    North Carolina    Pittsburgh    West Virginia    UCF    Georgia Tech    Virginia    USF    FIU    Missouri
Miami(OH)    New Mexico St    Central Michigan    Ball St    Kent St    Akron    Bowling Green    Middle Tennessee    Hawaii    Ohio    Buffalo
Michigan    Penn State    Ohio St    Michigan St    Northwestern    Indiana    Eastern Michigan    Rutgers    Central Michigan    Toledo    Texas A&M
Michigan St    Wisconsin    Iowa    Michigan    Notre Dame    Arkansas    Purdue    Illinois    Florida St    Akron    Kentucky
Middle Tennessee    La Monroe    WKU    Charlotte    FIU    Miami(OH)    Hawaii    New Mexico St    Georgia St    Alabama    Georgia
Minnesota    Northwestern    Boise St    Kansas    USF    Maryland    Memphis    Illinois    Nebraska    Iowa    Wisconsin
Mississippi St    NC State    OK State    Texas Tech    Ole Miss    Purdue    Kentucky    Missouri    Virginia Tech    Southern Miss    Iowa St
Missouri    Purdue    West Virginia    Kansas St    OK State    Arkansas    Mississippi St    NC State    Louisville    Miami    Iowa
Navy    Army    Memphis    East Carolina    Temple    Maryland    Wake Forest    App St    Boston College    Cincinnati    Oregon St
NC State    Mississippi St    Florida St    OK State    Virginia Tech    Kentucky    North Carolina    Missouri    Texas Tech    West Virginia    Umass
Nebraska    Oklahoma    Florida    Auburn    Clemson    Iowa    Wisconsin    Minnesota    Notre Dame    Illinois    Colorado St
Nevada    San Jose St    Utah St    Georgia St    Hawaii    UNLV    New Mexico    Fresno St    San Diego St    Boise St    Wyoming
New Mexico    San Jose St    Hawaii    New Mexico St    Eastern Michigan    Air Force    Nevada    Utah St    La Monroe    Wyoming    UTEP
New Mexico St    Miami(OH)    New Mexico    Central Michigan    La Monroe    Hawaii    UTEP    Middle Tennessee    San Jose St    Arizona St    Bowling Green
North Carolina    Pittsburgh    Miami    Louisville    Virginia    Georgia Tech    NC State    West Virginia    Duke    East Carolina    Baylor
North Texas    Rice    SMU    Wyoming    UNLV    UTSA    Sam Houston    James Madison    Southern Miss    UTEP    Tulsa
Northern Illinois    Sam Houston    Umass    Ball St    Western Michigan    Central Michigan    Bowling Green    Akron    Kent St    Vanderbilt    Cincinnati
Northwestern    Maryland    Kansas    Minnesota    Illinois    Michigan    USF    Iowa    Boise St    Notre Dame    Wisconsin
Notre Dame    South Carolina    Wisconsin    Michigan St    Indiana    Purdue    Virginia Tech    Northwestern    Nebraska    Arkansas    Auburn
Ohio    Ga Southern    Western Michigan    Toledo    Arkansas St    Buffalo    Eastern Michigan    Liberty    Miami(OH)    Marshall    Ball St
Ohio St    Alabama    Michigan    Penn State    LSU    Texas A&M    Tennessee    Akron    Ball St    Bowling Green    Texas
OK State    Texas Tech    Mississippi St    NC State    Arkansas    Missouri    Iowa St    Oklahoma    Kansas St    Ole Miss    TCU
Oklahoma    Nebraska    Florida    Texas    Auburn    OK State    TCU    Kansas    Tulsa    SMU    Texas St
Old Dominion    Liberty    Louisiana    Jacksonville St    Uconn    FAU    South Alabama    Tulane    Duke    Toledo    Coastal Carolina
Ole Miss    USC    Kentucky    Iowa St    Mississippi St    Florida St    Arkansas    BYU    Virginia Tech    OK State    Texas Tech
Oregon    Washington    West Virginia    Utah    California    Oregon St    Stanford    Arizona St    Colorado    Arizona    BYU
Oregon St    Stanford    Washington St    Boise St    Washington    Oregon    Army    California    Navy    Fresno St    UNLV
Penn State    Michigan    Ohio St    Rutgers    Maryland    LSU    Texas A&M    Kent St    Liberty    Akron    Temple
Pittsburgh    North Carolina    Virginia    Miami    Louisville    West Virginia    Indiana    Virginia Tech    Georgia Tech    Rutgers    Arkansas
Purdue    Missouri    Indiana    West Virginia    Wisconsin    Kentucky    Notre Dame    Mississippi St    Michigan St    Iowa    Louisville
Rice    North Texas    Tulane    FAU    Louisiana    Texas A&M    UTEP    La Tech    Toledo    Uconn    LSU
Rutgers    Virginia    UCF    Penn State    Syracuse    Indiana    Maryland    Michigan    Illinois    Umass    Pittsburgh
Sam Houston    Northern Illinois    Louisiana    UTSA    Houston    SMU    North Texas    WKU    Texas A&M    Texas    Hawaii
San Diego St    UNLV    Southern Miss    Air Force    Colorado St    SMU    Fresno St    Wyoming    Nevada    San Jose St    Washington St
San Jose St    Hawaii    Nevada    New Mexico    Eastern Michigan    Fresno St    Utah St    UNLV    New Mexico St    San Diego St    Stanford
SMU    Southern Miss    Marshall    UTSA    North Texas    Houston    Troy    Sam Houston    San Diego St    UAB    Oklahoma
South Alabama    Tulane    Jacksonville St    Louisiana    Liberty    Utah St    Tulsa    Old Dominion    Ga Southern    LSU    FAU
South Carolina    Clemson    Notre Dame    Tennessee    Georgia    Wisconsin    Virginia Tech    Charlotte    Florida    Duke    App St
Southern Miss    SMU    San Diego St    UAB    Troy    Duke    Marshall    North Texas    La Tech    Mississippi St    FAU
Stanford    Oregon St    Fresno St    Boise St    California    Kansas    Oregon    UCLA    USC    Washington St    San Jose St
Syracuse    Illinois    Boston College    East Carolina    Rutgers    Maryland    Virginia    Louisville    Army    California    Georgia Tech
TCU    Baylor    Indiana    Arizona St    Colorado    Texas Tech    Oklahoma    Kansas    Kansas St    UCF    OK State
Temple    Duke    James Madison    Navy    Marshall    Army    Troy    Uconn    Tulane    Maryland    Penn State
Tennessee    Georgia    South Carolina    Auburn    Texas    Alabama    LSU    Ohio St    Georgia St    Clemson    Charlotte
Texas    Texas A&M    LSU    Oklahoma    Tennessee    Alabama    Baylor    Texas St    UTSA    Sam Houston    Ohio St
Texas A&M    Texas    LSU    Alabama    Ohio St    Rice    Penn State    Texas St    Sam Houston    Houston    Michigan
Texas St    Louisiana    La Tech    Arkansas St    Tulsa    Ga Southern    Georgia St    Texas A&M    Texas    UTEP    Oklahoma
Texas Tech    OK State    Iowa St    Mississippi St    Kansas St    TCU    Baylor    NC State    Kentucky    USC    Ole Miss
Toledo    FAU    Uconn    Ohio    Western Michigan    James Madison    Liberty    Rice    Eastern Michigan    Michigan    Old Dominion
Troy    Marshall    Southern Miss    SMU    App St    UAB    Temple    Vanderbilt    Duke    Ga Southern    Auburn
Tulane    South Alabama    Rice    Uconn    Tulsa    FAU    Jacksonville St    La Tech    Old Dominion    Temple    Arkansas St
Tulsa    UTEP    La Tech    Tulane    Texas St    Arkansas St    South Alabama    Jacksonville St    Oklahoma    Memphis    North Texas
UAB    Vanderbilt    Southern Miss    UTSA    Troy    SMU    Washington St    Colorado St    Wake Forest    Auburn    App St
UCF    USF    Rutgers    Georgia Tech    Virginia    Miami    East Carolina    Florida    UCLA    TCU    Florida St
UCLA    Arizona St    Colorado    California    USC    Arizona    Utah    Stanford    UCF    Fresno St    Washington
Uconn    Toledo    Liberty    Tulane    Old Dominion    Umass    FAU    Temple    Rice    James Madison    Boston College
Umass    Ball St    Northern Illinois    Army    Kent St    Uconn    Charlotte    Buffalo    Boston College    Rutgers    NC State
UNLV    San Diego St    Wyoming    Utah St    North Texas    Nevada    Air Force    San Jose St    Fresno St    Hawaii    Oregon St
USC    Ole Miss    Washington    BYU    UCLA    Iowa St    Arizona    Arizona St    Stanford    Texas Tech    California
USF    UCF    Memphis    Kansas    Minnesota    Northwestern    Florida    Florida St    Boise St    FIU    Miami
Utah    Arizona St    Colorado    Oregon    BYU    UCLA    Arizona    California    Washington    Utah St    Georgia Tech
Utah St    Wyoming    Nevada    UNLV    UTEP    South Alabama    San Jose St    New Mexico    Liberty    Utah    Colorado St
UTEP    Tulsa    Louisiana    La Tech    Utah St    Rice    New Mexico St    Texas St    Jacksonville St    North Texas    New Mexico
UTSA    Houston    SMU    Sam Houston    UAB    Washington St    North Texas    Colorado St    Vanderbilt    Texas    Air Force
Vanderbilt    UAB    Wake Forest    Houston    App St    UTSA    Troy    Kentucky    Memphis    Colorado St    Northern Illinois
Virginia    Rutgers    Georgia Tech    Pittsburgh    UCF    North Carolina    Louisville    Syracuse    Miami    West Virginia    Arizona
Virginia Tech    BYU    Kentucky    Florida St    NC State    Clemson    Notre Dame    South Carolina    Pittsburgh    Mississippi St    Ole Miss
Wake Forest    App St    Vanderbilt    Army    Navy    Duke    Marshall    Boston College    UAB    Charlotte    Air Force
Washington    Oregon    USC    BYU    Oregon St    Washington St    California    Colorado    Utah    Arizona    UCLA
Washington St    Colorado St    Oregon St    Air Force    UTSA    Washington    UAB    Houston    Stanford    San Diego St    Arizona St
West Virginia    Oregon    Missouri    Kansas St    Purdue    Miami    Pittsburgh    North Carolina    Virginia    NC State    Army
Western Michigan    Eastern Michigan    Ohio    Buffalo    Northern Illinois    Toledo    Coastal Carolina    Central Michigan    Bowling Green    Ball St    WKU
Wisconsin    Michigan St    Notre Dame    Iowa    Purdue    South Carolina    Nebraska    Northwestern    Arkansas    Illinois    Minnesota
WKU    Coastal Carolina    Charlotte    Middle Tennessee    FIU    Buffalo    Georgia St    Jacksonville St    Sam Houston    Western Michigan    Kent St
Wyoming    Utah St    UNLV    Colorado St    North Texas    Air Force    James Madison    San Diego St    Boise St    New Mexico    Nevada

This is a bit opposite of my approach which would maintain existing conferences but schedule two OOC games as part of a multi-season competition.

But it sounds like it would be feasible to schedule the three-team groups based on minimizing the following three criteria:

(1) Geographic Distance;
(2) Interconference Play (0 = Different Conferences; 1 = Same Conference);
(3) Common Record (0 = Same number of wins; 1 = different records);
(4) Recent opponent (0 = played in last 2 seasons; 1 = 3 or more seasons).

These are in inverse order of priority (i.e., repeat matchup should not happen within three seasons; records should be tied, unless not possible to form 3-team groups; and no intra-conference opponents, unless can't be avoided).

Here is the same thing keeping 2024 conferences and only selecting 2 non-conference matchups. I disallowed pre-determined OOC matchups (like Clemson-South Carolina). Still don't see the need for 3-team groups. Some teams got nearby opponents, others got far-yet-similar opponents.

I still kept Average Attendance as another "distance" between teams, so that there wouldn't be so many Big Ten @ MAC games. Such games would ensure this idea never sees the light of day.

Realistically (or, closest to realistically), this is the type of thing that would start being used when the SEC begins a scheduling alliance with the Big Ten and/or ACC. Within one of these mega-alliances teams get, say, 4 annual opponents and an algorithm picks a mix of 6 opponents based on strength, attendance, geography, and frequency.

Small Team Sets:
Cincinnati - Illinois - Syracuse
Memphis - Kansas - Minnesota
NC State - Texas Tech - Mississippi St
La Monroe - New Mexico - Central Michigan
Arizona - Georgia Tech - Rutgers - Virginia

Large Eastern Loop:
Army - Boston College - East Carolina - North Carolina - App St - Wake Forest - Navy - Maryland - USF -Northwestern - Northern Illinois - Umass - Uconn - Utah St - Liberty - Old Dominion - Akron - Charlotte - Kent St - James Madison - Temple - Duke - Marshall - San Diego St - SMU - TCU - Oklahoma - OK State - Tulsa - La Tech - Arkansas St - Ball St - Middle Tennessee - Bowling Green - New Mexico St - Hawaii - Miami(OH) - WKU - Eastern Michigan - San Jose St - Stanford - Fresno St - California - Boise St - Oregon St - Army

Large Western Loop:
Iowa - Kansas St - Utah - UCLA - Arizona St - Louisville - Baylor - Texas A&M - Ohio St - Texas - UTSA - Houston - Vanderbilt - Air Force - Washington St - Colorado St - Southern Miss - UAB - Troy - Auburn - Nebraska - Florida - UCF - Miami - FIU - FAU - Toledo - Michigan St - Arkansas - Florida St - Iowa

Large Southern Loop:
Wyoming - North Texas - UNLV - Rice - Sam Houston - Texas St - UTEP - Nevada - Georgia St - Jacksonville St - Western Michigan - Coastal Carolina - Buffalo - Ga Southern - Ohio - South Alabama - Tulane - Louisiana - LSU - Penn State - Georgia - Clemson - Tennessee - Michigan - Alabama - Wisconsin - Notre Dame - South Carolina - Virginia Tech - Kentucky - BYU - Washington - USC - Ole Miss - Iowa St - Purdue - Missouri - Oregon - West Virginia - Pittsburgh - Indiana - Colorado - Wyoming

As a Gator fan, I like our draw of Nebraska & UCF; all 3 teams hungry for a bit more. I like the lack of geographical bounds. If Nebraska (or Utah) were a fitting match, we'd get to play them. For some teams this eats ALL 12 of their regular season games, which is why I initially started with replacing conference schedules themselves. The Gators' 10-game season in that scenario was:

Auburn, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Clemson, Georgia, USF, UCF, South Carolina, Florida St, Ga Southern

As stated in my initial post, these would all be home-and-away series with at least a 1 year hiatus afterward. ADs could mutually agree to extend up to 2 series to becoming annual. The Gators would likely do so with Georgia and Florida State. Tennessee is missing from this list, but as 4 of the above teams cycle off, the Vols are a likely addition and could continue 2 out of 3 years (even better than the 2 out of 4 the SEC is currently proposing).

I also like the "new" faces of Nebraska and Clemson (and even Oklahoma, though I am not wild about the RL prospect of playing them annually). Georgia Southern is a somewhat odd fit, the 10th team likely selected in part to balance the overall schedule strength. Statesboro will be hopping during that game; FBS would definitely have to increase their buy-in for FCS teams if that type of game is a possibility.