A Group of Five team may never make the playoff, and it has nothing to do with the team itself.
A team from a Group of 5 conference may do everything in its power to show its strength and dominance in college football, but it will never have a shot. All in thanks to the current structure of the College Football Playoff (CFP).
As it stands, the CFP allows the top four teams in the nation the chance to fight for the national championship. The four teams must battle it out in the semi-final game, a highly valued bowl game, before advancing to the championship.
The CFP Committee sits around a table debating the top teams, giving the lucky four the chance to fight for the title.
Meredith Spelbring
Yes, lucky.
The CFP is a much more favorable option in comparison to the BSC rankings that came before it, where teams were ranked blindly based solely off statistics. Numbers clearly don’t see the full picture, but the full picture will never be brought to light as long as only four teams have a shot at the championship.
The committee is a much more comprehensive evaluation of college football’s best, but the 13 individuals around the table cannot fully and accurately evaluate the best teams as long as there are only four given the shot.
Power 5 programs automatically are favored ahead of lesser known programs, even if those lesser known schools are teams like UCF, who have gone 25-0 over two years.
It is quite simple — these Group of 5 programs can and should have a shot at the natty, just change the system.
As it currently stands, the Committee puts Power 5 schools ahead of all others. Yes, strength of schedule is undoubtedly important. But a perfect two years should be of equal importance. Until the bracket is expanded to include all Power 5 conference champs with room for “bonus” teams, fans will never truly know who the best college football team in the country is.
Reevaluate, then we will see many Group of 5 fans vying for their time with millions of eyes watching.
Meredith Spelbring can be reached at [email protected]