Razorbacks Now Have Path Like Old SWC Days to Title Shot

Expanded playoff means Hogs don't really have to run table to have shot

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In 10-20 years when we get a streaming documentary on how things used to be in college football, this week will play a role.

As suspected, though, the topic that has been discussed since the original deal blew up earlier this year got hot this week with secret meetings.

Well, at least they were secret until Ross Dellenger at Sports Illustrated broke the news Wednesday and the cat was out of the bag.

In the end, once some heavy lobbying and probably some leverage gained by USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten, it was obvious to everybody the College Football Playoff had to be expanded.

Or else everybody was going to lose what little control they had left.

The guess here is SEC commissioner Greg Sankey had just shrugged earlier this year and walked away and we may find out there was a plan that was going to change the entire landscape.

Now, at least, the CFP has laid out a path that can actually fit pretty well with fewer conferences and looking more like a bloated NFL.

This could actually work well for Arkansas. For us old people, we remember when a midseason loss to Texas didn't kill the season.

Or national title hopes.

Under the current setup, there's no believable path in the near future for the Razorbacks to make the existing four-team playoff. They might actually beat Alabama at some point, but it's doubtful they could also handle Georgia.

Who knows about five years from now, but right now that's a dim possibility.

With the 12-team playoff essentially a done deal now, the Razorbacks could actually lose to an Alabama and maybe somebody else and still slip into the thing. Hey, if you're anywhere in the playoff you have a shot.

Under the new arrangement, Ole Miss would have been in it last year.

For the major bowls to continue, they are going to have to accept whatever they are told to take or get some meaningless game where many of the main players on the teams opt out of the whole thing.

This might mean an even bigger SEC. Would it really be surprising if there's a rash of teams suddenly joining the league?

It might accelerate the timeline for Texas and Oklahoma to come into the league.

This new playoff setup was approved to start no later than 2026, but it sounded like they are moving at warp speed to get the thing up and running as soon as 2024.

"(Next week) will be the beginning of the implementation process,” CFP executive director Bill Hancock told Sports Illustrated. “I’d say identify the steps that need to be taken to implement in 2026 but also what might need to be done in ’24 and ’25. There’s a lot of work to be done."

Most people actually involved the process whisper that's what has held up the Longhorns and Sooners making the change sooner the announced 2025 date.

The public excuse is the buyout money, but that's not a number is particularly a problem for some folks at either school.

What we don't know is if this whole conference expansion now hits high gear.

But it probably won't be the same we've seen even in the last decade.

HOGS FEED:

PERSONAL JOURNEY BRINGS REASON TO BE EXCITED FOR KICKOFF AGAINST CINCINNATI THAT'S DIFFERENT FROM RAZORBACK FANS

PLAYOFF EXPANSION CAN REALLY BENEFIT RAZORBACKS

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR HOGS-CINCINNATI OPENER SATURDAY

RAZORBACK FANS HAVE BELIEVED FOR NEARLY 60 YEARS THEY ACTUALLY WON A NATIONAL TITLE WITH FOUR VOTES

WHO STARTS AT QB FOR CINCINNATI WILL DETERMINE VERY DIFFERENT GAME PLANS FOR BEARCATS

SEC ROUND-UP: KELLY HAS LSU CALLING TEENAGERS AFTER MIDNIGHT ON SCHOOL NIGHT, AUBURN HAS AD INTEREST, PLUS MORE

FORMER RAZORBACK MAY SOON BE WITH DALLAS COWBOYS

CHANCE FOR RAZORBACK FANS TO WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

WHY RAZORBACK FANS NEED TO COOL DOWN THE HYPE THIS SEASON

PLENTY OF GAMES FOR HOGS' FANS TO WATCH ON TV THIS WEEKEND

HOGS WON'T CATCH CINCINNATI OFF-BALANCE TRYING TO RUN THE BALL SATURDAY

SAM PITTMAN COULD USE SOME OF JIMMY JOHNSON'S PSYCHOLOGY FOR DEALING WITH HOT DAY

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