Will never happen.
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There is already talk of the Big 12 and ACC merging to keep up with the Big 10 and SEC. The ACC will have to do something following Florida State being left out of the Final 4 and threatening to leave and sue the conference. Of course, that will create a massive conference of 33 teams (16 - Big 12) & (17 - ACC) which does not appear viable. The Big 10 will have 18 members next year and the SEC will have 16 for a total of 34 teams. That is 67 P5 schools out of 134 or 50%. 11 of those 67 P5 schools will make the playoffs. 1 of the 67 G5 schools will get in. Maybe it is time for a G5 championship. A P5 and a G5 playoff system will have 24 teams competing and can use bowl games for the bracket games. Or the G5 can create a 16 team playoff model as you suggested which would be favorable.
There were 82 bowl slots this year with only 79 eligible teams, so 3 ineligible teams were added. And this is outside of the 4 teams competing for the national championship. The bowl games are becoming a joke with 6-6 minimum records and players opting out with poor attendance. While it is better to be in a bowl game than not, it is no longer a great accomplishment.
Will bowl games continue to be viable in the future with players opting out and transferring (like Florida State this year) and 6-6 minimum records making bowl games a farce? There was only 14,485 announced attendance at the N.O. Bowl. Other bowls struggled with attendance as well. I don't know what the viewership was, but these games pretty much have meaning only to fans of the participating schools. Will sponsors continue to fund those games? Having a national championship for G5 with a 12 or 16 team playoff may be the only thing meaningful going forward and a true reward for G5 schools who have no real shot at a P5 national championship.
The bowl reward system is unique however becoming less relevant with each passing year. If in a G5 playoff bracket, I'd vote for hosting a home playoff game at OLOL Cajun Field instead of going play in a bowl in first or second round. Maybe the finals you advance to NOLA bowl or Gator Bowl, etc. There could still be a several useful bowls alive and kicking.
Agreed, and, as a fan, I'd rather travel to a Utah State, South Florida, or Fresno for a playoff game and experience their campus, town, and culture vs. playing those teams in Montgomery. Give me that all day long because, let's face it, they ain't letting the little guy in their party.
You are right. For the G5 playoff, play at the home of the highest rated team. More cost effective and a better reward for a great season. 16 out of 67 teams playing.
#1 vs. #16 at #1
#2 vs. #15 at #2
#3 vs. #14 at #3
#4 vs. #13 at #4
#5 vs. #12 at #5
#6 vs. #11 at #6
#7 vs. #10 at #7
#8 vs. #9 at #8
8 winners play 4 games the following week at the home of the highest rated remaining team.
4 winners play 2 semi-final games the following week at the home of the highest rated team.
2 winners play for the G5 National Championship at (neutral stadium to be selected).
Remaining 51 G5 schools can play in bowl games if they meet new criteria and if selected.
11 regular season games and the playoffs.
Winning record or stay home.
If there arent enough teams for your matchup that year, you get a bye.
The super league concept will fall apart, there simply won't be enough money to go around to keep this house of cards going. Salaries, facilities, scholarships, and NIL will be too much to fund, and the networks/streaming services won't keep paying more. Furthermore, the networks/streaming services will expect the super league teams to play each other, when these teams beat each other, and you have a bunch of .500 teams the super league won't be so super.
Since the NOLA Bowl was created in 2001 mainly for the SBC champ, another 21 bowl games were added. 21!!! Doubling the number of bowl games. Almost one new bowl per year, mainly ESPN driven. Yet WAC and Big East football disappeared during this time and PAC 12 is biting the dust. It could be argued college football, with big assist from media conglomerates, began eating itself 20 years ago.