loss for a school that wasn't raked high in the preseason, would almost always take that school out of the talk of a national championship unless their schedule included other top 10 schools. When was a 2 loss school ever crowned a national champion using polls? Today, a 2 loss school has a shot in the playoffs with power 4 schools. Win the conference, and your in. That makes the conference games that much more important. As long as VT has a shot of winning the conference, every game is important. If for instance they lose to USC, and are upset by some one out of the blue this year, they had no chance of being a national champion - no matter the odds. Today, even with 2 or 3 losses, that last game against Virginia becomes huge, as it's not just a bowl pecking order at stake, it's the chance to get into the playoffs, get hot, and go on a run. That goes for any school in the P4, or G6 for that matter. I think it makes the regular season exponentially better. Mid wee games are another story. You guys know I follow Toledo, and I can tell you first hand that those midweek Maction games kills attendance. The trade off for the meager media deal actually loses money to the bottom line for Toledo, but not so much for the other MAC schools with meager attendance. The exposure however, is ever so important, as the kids, no matter which level, want to be on TV. This year, Toledo returns their quarterback, is incredibly deep on the offensive line, and have a 4 star transfer from Kentucky at running back. If they win their first two games, (@Kentucky, home against Western Kentucky), they will be in the playoff discussion, and have a chance to run the table, and actually get in. That makes homecoming against Akron a much more important game than just winning a MAC conference title. Expand the playoffs to look like the FCS playoffs, and the country and media partners will buy into it.