Saturday was one of those amazing days in college football that make the sport so great. Starting at noon and going until 2:30 EST there were massive upsets, incredible games, Heisman moments, and the entire country engaged in each and every result. From California to Florida to Idaho, results affected programs around the country. Gameday was even in Berkley, California for the first time and the scene was amazing.
UPSET SATURDAY
No. 1 Alabama loses to Vanderbilt
There is NOTHING like College Football
— Saturday Cadence Podcast (@SaturdayCadence) October 6, 2024
Here’s the part that despite all the fun all I could think about was how if SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big 10 commissioner Tony Petetti get their way they will destroy it all.
USA Today has an article titled, “Opinion: College Football Playoff will be glorious – so long as Big Ten, SEC don’t rig it” by Blake Toppmeyer.
Make no mistake, they will try.
And when Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC boss Greg Sankey gather next week, I wouldn’t trust them to do what’s best for the Big 12, ACC or the sport as a whole. These fellas are ruthless. They look out for No. 1. In doing so, they could wreck this whole magnificent thing before we even get our first taste of this 12-team format.
ESPN, citing anonymous sources, reported this week that the Super Two conferences could consider pushing a playoff format that guarantees four automatic bids apiece to the B1G and SEC.
What a farce that would be.
Toppmeyer is spot on.
There’s always been an eat or be eaten to modern-day realignment, but what Sankey and Petetti will attempt to do is strike at the core of the very competitiveness of the sport.
The system is already heavily weighted towards the P2. They already make the most money, get the benefit of the doubt from the playoff committees, and pollsters and now they will attempt to artificially game the system to such an extent with their multi-bid nonsense it will render upsets like yesterday as nationally completely meaningless.
The only reason yesterday mattered was because Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Washington lost to Georgia State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Washington State providing a frame of reference when those teams beat top 12 teams Alabama, USC, Tennessee, and Michigan. It’s obvious to everyone even them, that quality football is being played around the nation. The national banter yesterday was incredible, but lock those two leagues into automatic multi-bids, and you have created a sham of post-season.
In a year like this, it remains to be seen if there are even 8 playoff-worthy teams from the leagues combined, much less 8 automatic bids plus whatever at-large bids you may consider.
The ACC as it is currently constructed is 16-16 against the two leagues in the last years. The Big 12 is 6-7. That’s 45 Head to Head matchups between the SEC/Big 10, and the ACC/Big 12 and the result is just about exactly .500. That’s even taking out the Texas win over Alabama from 2023. I don’t know how math works for Greg Sankey and Tony Petetti, but that looks like much doesn’t separate the P4 leagues.
There is a desire to protect your league, and there is a desire to delegitimize the sport in your favor.
Greg Sankey and Tony Petetti are heading towards the latter. Enjoy the beautiful sport we say Saturday before the SEC and Big 10 gobble up bids they don’t deserve, and Gameday is just a weekly SEC 3 hour special. Well, it mostly is that anyway, but at least we occasionally get scenes like what we saw at Cal for the Cal and Miami matchup.
That will be a thing of the past if those two get their way.
