Roll Tide

[Bestoutwest]

Yep, 8 team playoff with P5 conference champions automatically in regardless of record. Then top rated G5 team and two at large bids. As things sit now, the conference championships don't necessarily mean anything, no need to play them. Take B1G this year, Wisconsin vs. Ohio State, neither team benefits from winning. Also every team should play 9 conference games so teams don't schedule 4 cupcakes to pad their resume.

I agree with all of this except the 9 conference games. Here in the SEC we beat each other up like no other conference.

While the SEC may be a very strong conference at the top, the bottom is hardly decent. The wins against Arkansas, Ole Miss and Miss. State were hardly high quality. The nonconference schedule this year was an absolute joke. NM State, Duke, and WCU (whoever that is) hardly count as anything other than a scrimmage attended by the band and a bunch of drunks. Let's be honest here, there are a bunch of other schools that would have been a better choice for the nonconference schedule that would have actually been challenging.

 

[ChrisB]

While the SEC is arguably the toughest conference, they do get the benefit of perception. Here are each conferences bowl records last year. When playing other P5 conferences, the results don't show the SEC as being superior. The top SEC teams are some of the top teams in the country but after that, they are average.

Final conference bowl records for the 2018 season

•American Athletic Conference. Record: 2-5. Wins: Tulane, Cincinnati. ...
•Atlantic Coast Conference. Record: 6-5. ...
•Big Ten Conference. Record: 5-4. ...
•Big 12 Conference. Record: 4-3. ...
•Conference USA. Record: 4-2. ...
•Pac-12 Conference. Record: 3-4. ...
•Southeastern Conference. Record: 6-6. ...
•Sun Belt Conference. Record: 3-2.

 

[sstterry]

While the SEC may be a very strong conference at the top, the bottom is hardly decent. The wins against Arkansas, Ole Miss and Miss. State were hardly high quality. The nonconference schedule this year was an absolute joke. NM State, Duke, and WCU (whoever that is) hardly count as anything other than a scrimmage attended by the band and a bunch of drunks. Let's be honest here, there are a bunch of other schools that would have been a better choice for the nonconference schedule that would have actually been challenging.

I agree with you on the non-conference scheduling. But the teams you listed are all in the West. Tennessee has to play Florida, Georgia, and Alabama every year. Vanderbilt is the only team in the East that should be a "gimme" and they have been pretty good in recent years.

 

[DLD]

I guess you can blame it on my big 12 bias, but I like the idea of having to play 10 games against Power 5 opponents in order to be considered for the playoffs/National Championship...