Question: Moving forward…will there be more diversity of teams winning the NCG?

[TideEngineer08]

This will be the first season since 2014 (Ohio State) that a team north of the Mason-Dixon line will win the NC.

It will be only the 2nd time since 2004. And in 2004, it was *USC who won it. You have to go back to 2002 to find a true north/midwest team who won and that was again, Ohio State.

Over the last 40 or so years, it has become rare that a non-Southern team wins the NC. Very rare.

Was this year an anomaly that 2014 proved to be? We'll see but my prediction is the expanded playoff, NIL, and portal are going to make southern teams winning it all become less frequent. They still might win the majority, but not at the percentage we've grown used to.

 

[hfhmilkman]

This will be the first season since 2014 (Ohio State) that a team north of the Mason-Dixon line will win the NC.

It will be only the 2nd time since 2004. And in 2004, it was *USC who won it. You have to go back to 2002 to find a true north/midwest team who won and that was again, Ohio State.

Over the last 40 or so years, it has become rare that a non-Southern team wins the NC. Very rare.

Was this year an anomaly that 2014 proved to be? We'll see but my prediction is the expanded playoff, NIL, and portal are going to make southern teams winning it all become less frequent. They still might win the majority, but not at the percentage we've grown used to.

You are correct. One, southern teams have the best talent. Two northern teams travel to the south to play the southern teams in bowl games. Three, northern teams to succeed up north have to be built to succeed in terrible weather. Example Michigan State beat OSU in 2015 in Columbus in the freezing rain. OSU was the better team. MSU was the better team in bad weather.

 

[TexasBama]

The NCAA, like the designated hitter, NASCAR Car of Tomorrow, and Buddy Biancalana is a bad idea.

Only one of these was on Letterman, though

 

[selmaborntidefan]

You are correct. One, southern teams have the best talent. Two northern teams travel to the south to play the southern teams in bowl games.

Oh jeez, this one again....

Wanna know what frustrates the hell out of me?
If warm weather is such an advantage, why the hell did the Big Ten spend years throwing hissy fits at every single suggestion that the Rose Bowl contract might be changed? The average temp in Pasadena on January 1 is 74 degrees.

Three, northern teams to succeed up north have to be built to succeed in terrible weather. Example Michigan State beat OSU in 2015 in Columbus in the freezing rain. OSU was the better team. MSU was the better team in bad weather.

The game was in Columbus.

Have they like never seen rain or never played in it before?????

 

[bamacon]

I can’t wait until the starters sit for an Iron Bowl or the UM/tOSU game if it doesn’t matter. It’s going to happen.

I know it’s different than the NFL but why would an automatic qualifier risk it?

 

[B1GTide]

I can’t wait until the starters sit for an Iron Bowl or the UM/tOSU game if it doesn’t matter. It’s going to happen.

I know it’s different than the NFL but why would an automatic qualifier risk it?

Depends - if conference champions get a bye, starters will play. And if you are not in a conference championship game, a loss late in the season would put you out of the CFP.

 

[bamacon]

Depends - if conference champions get a bye, starters will play. And if you are not in a conference championship game, a loss late in the season would put you out of the CFP.

I hear ya but when the group of five team is undefeated and the next closest one is not in the rear view mirror….

Then Championship games are going to get cut. Too many games and why hurt a strong conference its contenders positions? I just believe that there will be more unintended consequences than the creators of this had planned that’s all. And I certainly could be wrong.

 

[B1GTide]

I hear ya but when the group of five team is undefeated and the next closest one is not in the rear view mirror….

Then Championship games are going to get cut. Too many games and why hurt a strong conference its contenders positions? I just believe that there will be more unintended consequences than the creators of this had planned that’s all. And I certainly could be wrong.

I am not saying that the scenario does not exist where this might happen, but it would be rare and probably not include any team with real championship aspirations. Those teams are just built and coached diffently.

 

[JDCrimson]

If I am a coach on a fringe team with limited NIL to attract top talent from the portal, given the value of a scholarship, room, board, etc, do you start having open tryouts to build a roster of slightly older players? Think the movie Invincible or staffing rosters for the USFL or XFL. You might even find some washed out minor league baseball players to fill rosters.

 

[theballguy]

The rule makers always adjust but those best at adjusting make the most of the adjustments. This is why the best teams will always be the best teams and of course why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Just the way it is fair. Life isn't fair in the way people think it should be.

 

[bamacon]

I am not saying that the scenario does not exist where this might happen, but it would be rare and probably not include any team with real championship aspirations. Those teams are just built and coached diffently.

Like 4 spots for 5 teams?

Honestly I can’t believe that it didn’t implode earlier. I still believe 12 is a joke. Liberty? Really? Penn St. 6-8 would have been better. Are they going to build in a 2nd bye week?

 

[bamaga]

It will be interesting to see when players start "opting out" next year - after game 6 or 7, when it becomes obvious they won't make the playoffs?

If a player opts out that early in the season, The schools should bill the athlete for that semester as they will not have fulfilled the athletic scholarship obligations.

 

[uafan4life]

In a word, no.

 

[uafan4life]

In more words...

First, there are generally 0, 1, or 2 genuinely elite teams in any given season. Once every 15-20 rewards or so there might be 3 or 4. It often looks like there are three or more during the season but we usually find out - especially in the playoff era - that some teams are pretenders who don't really baking in the same field as a truly elite team.

Second, the more difficult the schedule, the more difficult it is to win out. Sometimes it's even impossible for an elite team to go undefeated when you factor in a tough stretch of schedule, injuries, etc.

Finally, we are now entering a system where we are virtually guaranteeing that every team in the playoff will play anywhere from 2-of-3 to 4-of-5 of their toughest games on the season during their final stretch of games, from a Conference Championship Game through the playoffs. This gives a huge advantage to the smallest handful of teams with the most overall talent because of their quality depth. No longer do teams get to heal up for a month to play one game to get into the National Championship Game - now they have to win a series of games against quality opponents with at least one or two top-tier teams in the mix.

We'll be going from a system where anywhere from 8-12 teams had a legitimate shot to win the NC when the season began to, at least in most years, only four or five. And, like the teams that made the 4-team playoff, it'll be the same names over and over...