Play-offs expanding to 12 teams

[BeauFoster]

Having only 12 teams makes it more likely that a “big” team still wins and helps minimize the risk of a big upset - the top 4 get a buy and the bottom 8 have to play an additional game. Teams like App, who may not have the same depth as Bama, Clemson, etc and playing one more game increases the chances for injury and fatigue. That may be slightly conspiratorial, but I fully believe that the P5 goal is to ensure they give themselves every single advantage, while making TV happy with one more revenue-generating game.

[Rick83]

It still gives more teams a legit path to the championship. Also, there's a theory (we'll see if it pans out) that if the playoffs were expanded that it would have a possible effect of reducing the concentration of the top recruits going to the top 4 to 6 schools. The top players can actually go to their favorite school and still have a shot at a natty...again...we'll see if that happens.
I'm stoked!

[AppInDC]

I interpret it that way too. Going undefeated would be great and a huge boost to hopes but I have never felt it was a prerequisite for the NY6 either. App was super close to Boise and Memphis in the rankings in 2019 even with the GA Southern loss. Even with a blemish, we were one Boise loss and one Memphis loss away from potentially being in a big bowl.

The ranking committee regularly says strength of schedule is important. Cincy didn't make the playoff last year just because they went undefeated but because they had good out of conference wins like Notre Dame. App took care of business in 2019 against UNC and South Carolina so that's another reason we were so close.

To get a bid in the current system, the only two requirements for us are to win the conference and to finish ahead of the AAC, CUSA, MAC, and MWC champ. In the new system, we still need to win the conference but be among the top six conference Champs. May sound the same but depending on what happens, we could leapfrog even P5 Champs. 2020, Coastal and Cincy would have beat out Oregon.

I say schedule whoever will play us and if we lose, then it's not the end of the world. Paramount goal should always be to win the division and the conference and let the chips fall where they may.

Under the current system we have to do more than finish ahead the other G5 conference champs. Under the current system you don't have to be a conference champ. You just have to be among the top 4 teams in the country. The new system would clearly provide us a better chance than the current one.

I didn't make it clear in the above, but I was referring to NY6 bowl appearances rather than playoffs under the current system and how it only requires beating out other G5 Champs.

[Howard Street Hooligan]

Need to quit scheduling schools like A&M then. We have to go undefeated and games like that will only make that exponentially harder.

We need both FCS, and A5 games. FCS games to fine tune things and not forget where we came from and the A5 games to stay nationally relevant. We do not want to be like Georgia Southern was when they were an I-AA independent, play an easy schedule, then git a bid to the playoffs and run some type of offense that no one knows how to defend to win. Just like Ric Flair said, "To be the man, you have got to beat the man! Whoooooo!"

A5? We need to go undefeated to make the playoff so scheduling the top tier P5 schools make no sense. Schedule the middle of the road P5 schools if you can.

The playoff model that's been published has the top 6 rated conference champions getting in and then the remaining top 6 ranked non-champions. SO...with the AAC being decimated....the Sun Belt should become the top G5 conference...SO...if we win the SBC there's a really good chance we'll make the playoffs. Am I the only one interpreting the changing landscape this way? This is a huge deal for App...think about the recruiting aspects...am I wrong on this? Also, they're tying to implement this new format as early as the 2024 season, but definitely 2026.

I agree with you. I think the new format helps App tremendously but still would like to avoid scheduling top five teams in the country.