How Miami Can Factor Into The New College Football Playoff Format
An important vote will take place on February 20th to iron out the details of the new College Football Playoff format.
While the expansion from four to twelve teams has already been finalized, the details of the selection process have not. The collapse of the PAC 12 conference has prompted the CFP board of managers to decide how many conference champions earn automatic bids.
In six days, they'll vote on a proposal for a "5+7 model."
This would mean the five highest ranked conference champions would get in to the playoff, followed by the seven remaining highest ranked teams, regardless of their conference affiliation. The prior idea was for a 6+6 format, but now that only two teams (Washington State and Oregon State) remain in the former PAC 12, the goal is to expand the at-large opportunities.
This is a lifeline for Oregon State and Washington State since their only opportunity is to be one of the additional seven. The same can be said for Notre Dame, since the Fighting Irish are independent in football.
The Miami Hurricanes also stand to benefit if the 5+7 proposal passes. While winning the ACC would be the safest route to selection, the Hurricanes could conceivably sneak in if they have a strong season but come up just short in the conference.
Miami appeared at number twelve in 247Sports' "way too early Top 25," published earlier this week. The Canes are expected to improve considerably after adding transfer quarterback Cam Ward and pulling in a second consecutive top ten recruiting class.
But if I can take a more cynical point of view, there's a chance that the SEC and Big 10 will benefit most of all from a 5+7. These super conferences are now viewed as a "power two" and could very well end up monopolizing the seven bids after the conference champions are awarded.
It's not difficult to imagine a scenario where five or more of the extra seven spots are handed out to Big 10 or SEC teams.
In last year's final CFP rankings, six of the teams between 5-12 were teams that are now part of the Big 10 or SEC in the new alignment. 5th ranked Florida State was the only exception, but six through twelve consisted of Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon (now Big 10), Missouri, Penn State, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma (now SEC).
