112 replies to this topic

[Pedro Cerrano]

I’m always fascinated by the idea of negotiating with “The Rose Bowl”. Who are these people? Is their full time job to oversee one game a year? What are their backgrounds? Are they affiliated with UCLA? Lawyers? Agents?

[BSLMikeLowe]

https://tournamentof...adership-staff/

 

Long story short, they’re volunteers, and have various committees that oversee a bunch of stuff, of which the football game is just one part.

[BSLMikeLowe]

It’s official.

 

The schedules for the 2024 and 2025 season playoffs are partially set. The title games will be played January 20, 2025 and January 19, 2026, respectively. The first round games, featuring the 5-12 seeded teams, will be played on the campus of the higher seed (or a nearby stadium if the school is unable to host a game). The quarterfinals and semifinals will rotate between the six current CFP bowls (Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose and Sugar). Much as the CFP would like to avoid it, it seems likely quarterfinal games will have to go head-to-head against the NFL’s late December Saturday games.

 

Starting with the 2026 season, the playoff could look a little different. That's because all the TV contracts and contracts with the bowl games will have expired, and the CFP can negotiate from scratch something that better fits the 12-team format. Things that have been discussed are starting and ending the regular season a week earlier (which might enable them to avoid clashing with the NFL), and maybe having the quarterfinal games on campus too.

[BSLChrisStoner]

About time.  

[BSLMikeLowe]

Brett McMurphy

@Brett_McMurphy

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24m

Big Ten commish Kevin Warren & AAC commish Mike Aresco told me they’re open about having both 1st round & quarterfinals on campus sites in 12-team playoff. Warren said it would be “wonderful.” Quarterfinals set for bowls in 2024-25, so earliest for campus sites would be 2026

 

 

Would definitely be in favor of this.

[BSLMikeLowe]

We're getting some more clarity on what the 2024 CFP will look like.

 

The 1st Round (seeds 5-12, played at, or near, the home stadium of the higher seed) will be played the 3rd weekend of December. One game will be Friday night and the other 3 on Saturday. At least two, and probably all three Saturday games will go head-to-head against NFL games, an unavoidable consequence. The other tricky part will be the availability of campus stadiums on those dates (hence some might have to be played "near" the higher seed's home).

 

The quarterfinals will be around the New Years holiday and will incorporate 4 of the current New Years Six bowls. Three of the games will be played New Years Day, and the other will be either New Years Eve or Jan 2.

 

Each of the semifinal games will be played on a weeknight prior to NFL wild card weekend. They will formally be the other two NY6 bowl games (yes....weird). The exact days of the week haven't been specified, but it seems most likely to be Thursday and Friday nights.

 

The championship game would be the second Monday after the semifinals. For the 2024 season that's expected to be Jan 20, 2025....which is interesting, as that is the day the winner of the 2024 Presidential Election will be inaugurated. But I guess with the actual ceremony at noon ET and the game at night, they don't think it's a big deal.

[BSLMikeLowe]

Dates and approximate timeslots for the 2024 and 2025 CFP have been set.

 

 

2024 Season

• First Round (On-Campus)
  • Friday, December 20, 2024: One Game (evening)
  • Saturday, December 21, 2024: Three Games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)
  Quarterfinals
  • Tuesday, December 31, 2024: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (evening)
  • Wednesday, January 1, 2025: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl Game (late afternoon) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (evening)
  Semifinals
  • Thursday, January 9, 2025: Capital One Orange Bowl (evening)
  • Friday, January 10, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (evening)
  CFP National Championship
  • Monday, January 20, 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

2025 Season

• First Round (On-Campus)
  • Friday, December 19, 2025: One Game (evening)
  • Saturday, December 20, 2025: Three Games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)
  Quarterfinals
  • Wednesday, December 31, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (evening)
  • Thursday, January 1, 2026: Capital One Orange Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl Game (late afternoon) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (evening)
  Semifinals
  • Thursday, January 8, 2026: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (evening)
  • Friday, January 9, 2026: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (evening)
  CFP National Championship
  • Monday, January 19, 2026: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

[BSLMikeLowe]

Something to keep in mind, starting in 2026 the CFP could look somewhat different in terms of dates and bowl games. They were limited in what they could do in 2024-25 due to existing bowl and TV contracts.

[BSLMikeLowe]

Yahoo! Sports: SEC, Big Ten building momentum to further expand College Football Playoff to 14 or 16 teams

 

Ross Dellenger is the best follow for off-field news on college sports, from CFP expansion to the House settlement to conference expansion. Most of what’s in here I already knew, but a couple parts I hadn’t heard before.

 

- 2025 CFP format will be the same as last year. It would require a unanimous vote among all conferences to change it, which won’t happen, so that’s set in stone

- As for what it will look like from 2026-31, the SEC and Big Ten are calling all the shots. Really. They are only obligated to have “fair consultation” with the other conferences on what they decide. They have the leverage, and they are wielding it.

 

- It’s a given the field will expand, only a question of whether it’s 14 or 16 teams

 

- The Big Ten and SEC will have multiple automatic bids, and it’ll probably be 4 teams each. The ACC and Big 12 will probably get 2 each. The Group of Five will get one of their conference champions in….that’s already guaranteed in the ESPN broadcast contract. Notre Dame will guaranteed an at-large bid if they finish in the Top 14.

 

- No mention of the Pac 12, so it may be a Group of Six. Probably have to wait and see what their full membership will be in 2026.

 

- All the automatic bids are meant to take away control from the selection committee, who the SEC specifically is not happy with.

 

- With 4 automatic bids in hand, the SEC going to a 9 game conference schedule will probably be a formality. Just have to make the money work with ESPN, but those negotiations are ongoing and should reach an agreement.

 

Here’s the new stuff

 

- With this format implemented, the SEC and Big Ten will look at annual cross-conference scheduling opportunities (so expect regular season games like Georgia/Ohio State, Michigan/Texas, Oregon/Alabama, etc) every year. Again, with those guaranteed CFP spots, teams are not as concerned with a 3rd or even 4th loss. This will open up new revenue streams for those two conferences (because they just don’t make enough already)

 

- Expect a change to conference championship weekend, at least for the four power conferences. If the Big Ten and SEC have 4 automatic CFP bids, they may elect to crown their champion at the end of the regular season. They would then give a “bye” to that team  as well as the #2 team, and instead have two play-in games between the 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5 teams. More games = more money. This is also a move to try and eliminate what happened last season, where you could argue that teams that won their conference championship game were at a disadvantage in the CFP.

 

-After 2031 there are lots of contracts set to expire. What college football as a whole might look like after that is anyone’s guess. But expect it to be different from what it is today.

[BSLChrisStoner]

CBS Sports: Big Ten, SEC set to unveil grand plans for College Football Playoff change ... but is anyone else on board?

https://www.cbssport...-else-on-board/

[BSLChrisStoner]

CBS Sports: Explaining Big Ten, SEC 16-team College Football Playoff proposal; how it would look

https://www.cbssport...F8YdVZGpIKjPOtA

[BSLChrisStoner]

ESPN: College Football Playoff format: SEC debate, chances of lost bids and more

https://www.espn.com...g-sankey-debate

[BSLChrisStoner]

• Big 12 chief: Big Ten, SEC must serve all football