Pursuit of Happiness: Winners and Losers of the BCS “Final Four”

It’s official…almost. This week a consensus was reached on a four-team playoff in college football. Right now, the recommended model suggests that there would be a selection committee that would pick the top four teams to be involved in the the playoff format. This committee would considers conference champions and strength of schedule, but being a conference champion would not be required.

But who wins and loses from this playoff format? Here are some that come to mind.

Conference Winner – SEC

There is no doubt that the SEC has a huge smile on their faces after looking at the consensus on the four-team playoff. Even though conference champions are not automatic, the SEC is almost guaranteed one team because of their conference champion. On top of that, they can easily grab a second slot of the four available. Especially after 2011, there could be some years where the SEC could have two teams in the playoffs and that not every team would be a conference champion (conference champions will be “considered”).

Conference Loser – Big East

When it comes down to the Big East, many forget that they are technically a “power conference.” At the BCS meetings in Chicago, the Big East was completely against the selection committee idea for picking the four teams to play in the BCS postseason. The reason why they did not a selection committee is because they feel like they would get the shaft even if their team was a conference champion. With the selection committee in play, the Big East will be on the outside looking in.

Team Winner – Notre Dame Fighting Irish

A team that no one is really talking about because of all the conference champion talk is Notre Dame. Notre Dame has the possibility to do what many teams cannot. That would be scheduling the toughest opponents to beef their strength of schedule. Now I’m not saying that Notre Dame will schedule every tough team in the country while playing Alabama, LSU, and Florida on the road, but it is a strategic advantage. For example, using their 2012 schedule, they could take their game against Boston College and pick a tougher opponent (if the playoffs were active in 2012).

Team Loser – Boise State Broncos

The Boise State Broncos moved to the Big East beginning in 2012 to have a better chance at contending for a National Championship, but now those chances might not look any better. The Broncos’ biggest problem is none of the top teams in college football want to play them for some reason. The only way they would be considered for the four-team playoff would be to schedule road games at Alabama, Ohio State, LSU, and USC, but that is a LONG shot. It’s really a shame because the Broncos have been trying to prove they can play with the big boys. Anyone remember their first game of the 2010 season against Virginia Tech at FedEx Field?

There are still many questions to be answered about the four-team playoff in college football. The questions will most likely be answered next week as the BCS presidential oversight committee will meet in Washington D.C. on June 26th.

For a difference perspective on the playoffs in college football, check out Brian Spaen’s (Lead Editor of Autzen Zoo) article.

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