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It’s time to give the little guy a shot. Even if that just means 1 out of 12, it’s a lot better than 0 out of 4. That is the most exciting thing about this new potential playoff format. Most years I’m sure it will still end up the same champion we have seen the past few years. Ohio State and Alabama will still be on top, but it does add some additional excitement for teams, unless if you’re Nebraska, it’s the same song and dance the last 20 years. Even the 2009 blackshirt team is on the outside looking in.
57 teams would have made the playoffs before Nebraska does in 2001, and the way they got spanked by Colorado and Miami at the end of the year, it’s safe to say they weren’t playing their best ball, they probably would have lost to the winner of the Maryland @ Texas round 1 matchup. Enough about Nebraska’s fall from grace as they appear to become the new Minnesota. Who won 7 National titles, but disappeared from the national spotlight. That’s a different discussion another day.
Moving on, the SEC rules college football and they would have ruled the playoffs if they existed. The SEC would have sent 62 teams to the playoffs over the last 20 year period. That’s just over 3 teams a season. The B1G & Big 12 actually come in second place sending 43 teams each to the playoffs. Below shows how many teams each conference sent to the playoffs from 2001-2020.
Conferences:
SEC: 62
B1G: 43
Big 12: 43
Pac12: 36
ACC: 25
Big East: 9
MWC: 8
WAC: 7
AAC: 6
Independent: 6
MAC: 3
Sun Belt: 1
USA: 1
Although I believe the top 3 teams would most likely end up the national
Champions in either a 4-team or 64-team playoff, it’s still fun to see the matchups that could have been. For example, this past season seeing Coastal Carolina @ Notre Dame or Georgia @ Cincinnati.
I will say though the last major conference realignment in college football did not help the Group of 5 schools. Since 2011, only in 2 seasons would multiple G5 schools have made the playoffs, that was in 2020 & 2012. Before that it was common that multiple teams would make it, in 2008 we would have had FOUR G5 teams make the playoffs. It would have looked like this:
Utah would have gotten a 1st Round bye as the 4-seed and the remaining 1st round matchups:
#12 Cincinnati @ #5 Texas
#11 TCU @ #6 Alabama
#10 Ohio State @ #7 Texas Tech
#9 Boise St @ #8 Penn St
The list of how many Group-of-5 schools make it per year is seen below:
2020: 2
2019: 1
2018: 1
2017: 1
2016: 1
2015: 1
2014: 1
2013: 1
2012: 2
2011: 1
2010: 2
2009: 3
2008: 4
2007: 2
2006: 2
2005: 1
2004: 3
2003: 2
2002: 1
2001: 1
Now you would think with 12 teams instead of a 4 team playoff there is absolutely no way a Power 5 winner would NOT make the playoff, but it would have happened, five times actually.
2020 we would have seen the Pac12 winner sitting on the outside looking in, along with the B1G winner in 2012 and the ACC winner’s in 2006, 2008 & 2010. Big 12 and SEC would have made it with at least 1 team every season since 2001.
Who would have made the playoffs the most? Ohio State would have lead all teams with 16 playoff appearances in the last 20 years. Followed by Oklahoma who would have had 15 appearances and then Alabama and LSU with 11 each. Below is the list of every team who would have made the playoffs; they are categorized by the amount of times they would have been in, the number in the brackets indicates the last time the team would have made the playoffs.
16x
Ohio State: (20)
15x
Oklahoma: (20)
11x
Alabama: (20)
LSU: (19)
10x
Georgia: (20)
9x
Florida: (20)
Oregon: (19)
USC: (17)
8x
Boise St: (14)
7x
Florida St (16)
Notre Dame (20)
Texas (09)
6x
Auburn (17)
Clemson (20)
Penn St (19)
Stanford (15)
Wisconsin (19)
5x
Kansas St (14)
Miami (FL) (17)
Michigan (18)
TCU (15)
Virginia Tech (11)
4x
Baylor (19)
Cockeye (15)
Michigan St (15)
3x
Arkansas (11)
Central Florida (18)
Cincinnati (20)
Missouri (13)
Utah (19)
Washington (18)
2x
Colorado (16)
Louisville (06)
South Carolina (13)
Tennessee (03)
Texas A&M (20)
Washington State (02)
West Virginia (07)
1x
Arizona: (14)
Arizona St: (07)
California: (04)
Coastal Carolina: (20)
Georgia Tech: (09)
Hawaii: (07)
Houston: (15)
Illinois: (01)
Indiana: (20)
Cockeye State: (20)
Kansas: (07)
Maryland: (01)
Memphis: (19)
Miami (OH): (03)
Mississippi St: (14)
Nebraska: (01)
North Carolina: (15)
Northern Illinois: (12)
Oklahoma State: (11)
Ole Miss: (14)
Texas Tech: (08)
Western Michigan: (16)
So not much would change with the overall champion of college football no matter the playoff format, it does add another level of excitement for the teams not named Oklahoma, Ohio State and Alabama.
57 teams would have made the playoffs before Nebraska does in 2001, and the way they got spanked by Colorado and Miami at the end of the year, it’s safe to say they weren’t playing their best ball, they probably would have lost to the winner of the Maryland @ Texas round 1 matchup. Enough about Nebraska’s fall from grace as they appear to become the new Minnesota. Who won 7 National titles, but disappeared from the national spotlight. That’s a different discussion another day.
Moving on, the SEC rules college football and they would have ruled the playoffs if they existed. The SEC would have sent 62 teams to the playoffs over the last 20 year period. That’s just over 3 teams a season. The B1G & Big 12 actually come in second place sending 43 teams each to the playoffs. Below shows how many teams each conference sent to the playoffs from 2001-2020.
Conferences:
SEC: 62
B1G: 43
Big 12: 43
Pac12: 36
ACC: 25
Big East: 9
MWC: 8
WAC: 7
AAC: 6
Independent: 6
MAC: 3
Sun Belt: 1
USA: 1
Although I believe the top 3 teams would most likely end up the national
Champions in either a 4-team or 64-team playoff, it’s still fun to see the matchups that could have been. For example, this past season seeing Coastal Carolina @ Notre Dame or Georgia @ Cincinnati.
I will say though the last major conference realignment in college football did not help the Group of 5 schools. Since 2011, only in 2 seasons would multiple G5 schools have made the playoffs, that was in 2020 & 2012. Before that it was common that multiple teams would make it, in 2008 we would have had FOUR G5 teams make the playoffs. It would have looked like this:
Utah would have gotten a 1st Round bye as the 4-seed and the remaining 1st round matchups:
#12 Cincinnati @ #5 Texas
#11 TCU @ #6 Alabama
#10 Ohio State @ #7 Texas Tech
#9 Boise St @ #8 Penn St
The list of how many Group-of-5 schools make it per year is seen below:
2020: 2
2019: 1
2018: 1
2017: 1
2016: 1
2015: 1
2014: 1
2013: 1
2012: 2
2011: 1
2010: 2
2009: 3
2008: 4
2007: 2
2006: 2
2005: 1
2004: 3
2003: 2
2002: 1
2001: 1
Now you would think with 12 teams instead of a 4 team playoff there is absolutely no way a Power 5 winner would NOT make the playoff, but it would have happened, five times actually.
2020 we would have seen the Pac12 winner sitting on the outside looking in, along with the B1G winner in 2012 and the ACC winner’s in 2006, 2008 & 2010. Big 12 and SEC would have made it with at least 1 team every season since 2001.
Who would have made the playoffs the most? Ohio State would have lead all teams with 16 playoff appearances in the last 20 years. Followed by Oklahoma who would have had 15 appearances and then Alabama and LSU with 11 each. Below is the list of every team who would have made the playoffs; they are categorized by the amount of times they would have been in, the number in the brackets indicates the last time the team would have made the playoffs.
16x
Ohio State: (20)
15x
Oklahoma: (20)
11x
Alabama: (20)
LSU: (19)
10x
Georgia: (20)
9x
Florida: (20)
Oregon: (19)
USC: (17)
8x
Boise St: (14)
7x
Florida St (16)
Notre Dame (20)
Texas (09)
6x
Auburn (17)
Clemson (20)
Penn St (19)
Stanford (15)
Wisconsin (19)
5x
Kansas St (14)
Miami (FL) (17)
Michigan (18)
TCU (15)
Virginia Tech (11)
4x
Baylor (19)
Cockeye (15)
Michigan St (15)
3x
Arkansas (11)
Central Florida (18)
Cincinnati (20)
Missouri (13)
Utah (19)
Washington (18)
2x
Colorado (16)
Louisville (06)
South Carolina (13)
Tennessee (03)
Texas A&M (20)
Washington State (02)
West Virginia (07)
1x
Arizona: (14)
Arizona St: (07)
California: (04)
Coastal Carolina: (20)
Georgia Tech: (09)
Hawaii: (07)
Houston: (15)
Illinois: (01)
Indiana: (20)
Cockeye State: (20)
Kansas: (07)
Maryland: (01)
Memphis: (19)
Miami (OH): (03)
Mississippi St: (14)
Nebraska: (01)
North Carolina: (15)
Northern Illinois: (12)
Oklahoma State: (11)
Ole Miss: (14)
Texas Tech: (08)
Western Michigan: (16)
So not much would change with the overall champion of college football no matter the playoff format, it does add another level of excitement for the teams not named Oklahoma, Ohio State and Alabama.
