IRVING, Texas (AP) — A fun thing to do this season has to been ponder how the College Football Playoff race would have played out if expansion to 12 teams had already happened.
By RALPH D. RUSSO IRVING, Texas — A fun thing to do this season has to been ponder how the College Football Playoff race would have played out if expansion to 12 teams had already happened. The CFP selection committee set the four-team field on Sunday, matching top-seeded Alabama against No.4 Cincinnati in one semifinal and second-seeded Michigan against No.3 Georgia in the other. The committee ranks 25 teams to help fill out the lineup for some of the other marquee bowl games, too. In the 12-team playoff model proposed earlier this year — and still being debated by the conference commissioners who manage the CFP — a selection committee would still have a role, but it would be less impactful because it would place more emphasis on winning a conference. Which conferences are emphasized — if any — is one of biggest unresolved issues. The original 12-team proposal included spots for the six highest-ranked conference champions and the next six highest-ranked teams, regardless of conference. In the last few weeks, the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference commissioners have pushed for a tweak that would guarantee automatic bids only to the Power Five conference champions and the highest-ranked champion from the other five conferences in the Bowl Subdivision.
