Pac-12 Discussing Dropping Down To Eight Conference Games

[Tony (admin)]

I love having such great conference games, but the Pac-12 eats itself every season. SI article on Pac-12 reducing to 8 conference games. 

[UteBacker]

While I don’t like the idea of dropping Oregon State for Montana State, I do think we need to be on a level playing field with the SEC.  Those six guaranteed extra losses for our conference hurt each year.  When the playoffs go to 12 teams, we’ll want as many Pac12 teams to qualify as possible.  And this is where the argument that expanding the playoff will diminish the quality of the regular season comes into play.

[AlohaUte]

I think the counter argument on diminishing the quality of the regular season is that with the 12 team playoff one, even two losses don’t eliminate you (not that one loss really eliminated P5’s anyway). Thus, playing another power team in the non-conference and losing is less likely to hurt you, and therefore P5’s may be more apt to play that additional headliner, moneymaking game.

[dystopiamembrane]

I look forward to an additional game per year against a team we don’t regularly play. The D-I college football landscape is vast.

[Charlie]

Trouble is as long as a win against Weber State is better than a close loss to a P5 for getting into the playoffs the vast options for games will look more like Weber State than Florida. I love the OOC games that are other P5. Vast options need to eliminate FCS and ration G5 games to very few.

[dystopiamembrane]

I understand and respect your opinion. Thank you.

[Danilo]

I’ve been out of the loop a bit, how serious is this switch to a 12 team playoff?

[AlohaUte]

I really wish there was a way to force the SEC’s hand to play 9 games. I like playing more Pac-12 teams, not less. But at the same time, I get it and a move to 8 from a pure practicality standpoint is probably for the best. The Pac-12 teams that seem to always sell out or come close to it are likely to have minimal impact from, say, dropping Cal and replacing with Northern Colorado; such schools will still probably sellout or come close to it. Unfortunately, there are only two schools that are likely to have no to very small impact, Oregon and Utah as they always sellout. Three others are consistently at 90% capacity or above, which suggests that big games will sell out, but small teams are likely to have some open seats (but still relatively minor impact), they are Washington, Wazzu, and Colorado. Every other team averages below 80% capacity and losing a conference game and replacing it with an FCS school or weak G5 will do some damage. The Pac-12 just doesn’t generally have the dedicate hard core fanbase that the South has.

[UteBacker]

Nick Saban would like to see 9 or 10 conference games…

Kind of an older article

[PhiladelphiaUte]

It’s not just the SEC.  The ACC has been gaming the system the exact same way as the SEC had been.  And just look at who all the national championships have been since the dawn of the CFP.  Ohio St is the only non-SEC/ACC team to have won one, and even then, they did so back when the BigTen was playing only 8 league games.

And while I agree with you that it should be THEY who change rather than us, we have no authority to force them to do so.  And that kind of forces OUR hand to drop down to 8 conference games.

I’m in favor of it!

[UtesRule]

Just win baby!

[Charlie]

Very sad for college football. If reducing the quality of games to increase the odds of fewest possible losses becomes a trend, where will it end? A more practical solution would be a separate subdivision for the P5 with a limit of 1 G5 preseason game. No FCS games. Any other entertainment option would be driven to improve the quality of their inventory. One third or one forth the inventory of games being non competitive near sure wins is a giant waste of time for season ticket holders. Next up, a move to consider bye weeks a win, very little difference.

[RedLine]

Assume this comment is in regards to SEC not playing enough quality games?  We all should be playing the same amount of conference games right?

[UteBacker]

If I’m Mark Harlan and Kyle Whittingham, what would be our main goal once the playoffs move to 12 teams?  To GET to the playoff.  Right now, I think the main goal is to win the conference, but when that change is made I think that goal shifts to making the playoffs.  Why?  Because you can STILL make the playoff without winning the conference (unlike now).  So if I’m putting a schedule together, I’m going to try and build one that gives me the best bang for my buck.  I’d want to schedule three sure wins out-of-conference and hope to win 7 of the 9 conference games.  10-2 would probably get us to the playoffs in most years.  So no WAY would I schedule Florida, LSU or Wisconsin.  Too risky for my grand plan.  

[MDUte]

Completely agree. I hope the P5s agree to some level of scheduling uniformity that prevents teams from loading up schedules with guaranteed wins. Otherwise this would really suck for the fans and season ticket holders to get low quality, crappy games to watch/attend. Personally I think all P5s should agree to play a min of 10 P5 games per year, and a max of 2 G5 games. FCS games should be done away with.

[UteBacker]

Totally agree.  I’m not necessarily opposed to a 12 team playoff, but there WILL be some unintended consequences on the regular season, which sucks.  College football has the best regular season of any sport, hands down.

[krindor]

It would be great to have more games against OOC opponents, but it very much depends on whether those are cupcakes or good games. The ideal would be that every conference is held to the same standard.

If that’s 8 conference games, 1 FCS, 1 G5, 2 P5 OOC, that’s fine. If it’s something completely different, that’s fine too.

[FountainofUte]

It’s a shame if we go to 8, even though I get why. But much of the blame rests at the feet of the playoff selection committee. The teams they rewarded with a spot became the teams to emulate. So rather than punish an SEC team for playing 8 conf games, 2 FCS games, and 10 home games by leaving them out of the playoff, they reward them and even invite a second SEC team to the party.

The committee needed to show some balls and say that schedule matters, and be willing to leave a team at home that puts together a pillow-soft schedule.

On a side note, it’s odd to me that Ute fb and hoops seems to shoot their toes off with scheduling for different reasons. Ute fb has too hard a conf schedule which the committee doesn’t reward. And meanwhile our men’s hoops schedule is too light which the selection committee punishes. Why can’t the U figure this out?

[AlohaUte]

Been pondering this, if we get a 4th OOC, I think our structure should be:
1. BYU or Utah State
2. Solid P5 team (e.g. Baylor, Florida, etc)
3. middling/crummy P5 (e.g. Illinois, Wake Forest, etc) or good G5 (Boise, SDSU, etc)
5. FCS or meh G5 (e.g. Montana, New Mexico, UNLV)

And yes, I am one who loves the BYU game and thinks it should be played every year. But I can live with rotating with Utah State.

[astUTE]

The potential problem with all of this, is that even if you elimate the FCS/G5 games, and require additional P5 games, booking them so far in advance still leaves everyone always guessing the relative strength of schedule of those games.  

Who really knows what sort of ranking the Arkansas team will have when Utah plays them at home in 2028?

While basketball is a little less so, both football and basketball have a HUGH level of subjectivity in projecting future matchup winners, and future opponent’s relative competitiveness.  

Unless we abadon conferences, and restructure to play round robin in small tiers of similarly capable teams (based on recruiting or previous record, or other criteria), strength of schedule is always going to be a very subjective metric.  

And, frankly, i’m sure the result of that sort of sturcture would turn out to be too subjective in terms of which teams were assigned to which tiers.

For my money, let’s just do away with the FCS/G5 games, require all conferneces to play 8 conference games, and live with the results.

At least then, fans are getting the most bang for their buck.

 

 

[Gugstanley]

FCS games need to go away. They are boring and just take money from the season ticket holders. I would like to see the G5 break off and have their own playoff. The revenue gap is too great for them to compete with P5 programs.

P5 only play P5. Each conference gets two bids to the 12 team playoff with two wild cards or just make it 10 teams.

I don’t see NFL teams playing the CFL in any games. Have everyone play at their level.

[GameForAnyFuss]

Never. Play. BYU-Provo. In. Any. Sport. Again. Ever.

[Tony (admin)]

#approved

[utefansince79]

A few years ago (before they changed from RPI to “quadrant records” or whatever) the NCAA Hoops Selection committee had a formula which penalized teams for playing DIV 2 or lower opponents no matter what the outcome (possibly still do the same).   Wish the football playoff rankings did the same for playing FCS opponents.  Pointless to have our annual boring drubbing of a Big Sky team.

 

 

 

 

[AlohaUte]

#disagree

[Staples]

I’m with you, I like the idea of having one local game slot and rotating it between BYU and Utah State. I would suggest a 4 year/2 year rotation with BYU obviously being the 4 year option with a two year break to play the Aggies.

[Charlie]

If it was up to me… take the P5 teams and form 4 16 team conferences in a separate subdivision. Sadly, one of the 65 including ND is out. Make the focus wining your division, 7 games. Play 4 other subdivision games, two in the other division scheduled by the conference and 2 OOC scheduled by the schools. With the conference championship being the first round the playoffs 8 teams will compete for the subdivision championship. The teams other than division champs move on to classic bowl games. The 12th game can be used for a G5 matchup to allow old games of interest to happen. The G5 should do something similar which will increase their revenue and make for a second exciting football playoff. This would allow everything to be settled on the field including criteria for tie breakers for divisional champs. Like the NFL, who would care at all about polls, simply win your division or hope for a bowl.

[dystopiamembrane]

You have a lot of great ideas.