There are now 100 days until college football kicks off for another season of football. I made a mistake in counting by missing a game between Georgia State and Abilene Christian on Wednesday, August 27. I know, how could I have missed that one, right?
There will be a number of changes in college football this season between coaching changes, new players, new uniforms and the latest batch of realignment changes. But no change to the game will be as significant as the introduction of the College Football Playoff, a four-team postseason model that will see a selection committee choose the top four teams in the country and pit them in a mini-tournament to determine the best team in the land on the field. The concept is similar to the old Bowl Championship Series as far as end-result is concerned, but the methodology of choosing the participants is now taking on even more of a human influence with the selection committee.
This is a great unknown, and one I cannot wait to see how it plays out.
In recent weeks one of the biggest debates entering the new playoff era is whether or not conferences should be playing eight or nine conference games. As I have stated before, the number of conference games played should not be mandated and the importance of eight vs. nine varies by conference. There is no perfect consensus number for conference games, but all that matters in the end is the same that has mattered for years under any postseason format. Win the games on your schedule and you will likely have a chance to at least be considered for a championship opportunity. In the end, it is just that simple. Win games and make it impossible for the selection committee to overlook you.
I have been asked time and time again how I think the selection committee will handle the responsibility of choosing four teams, and the answer I always give is always the same; I have no idea. Nobody does, really. We do know the committee is paying attention to strength of schedule and will be taking the body of work of the entire season into consideration. In many respects, that is exactly what poll voters have done for decades, but now the committee will be taking a concentrated look at everything a team does throughout the season, perhaps instead of just what they did in the most recent game and nothing more.
But this is all just a guessing game for now. Until we see how the selection committee does get their job done, we will just be hoping and wishing for the best possible outcome, one without controversy or debate.
