Polls CFP selection committees Cupcake scheduling Uneven schedules Mega-playoff that erodes the regular season Showing favoritism to media darlings "Vacating victories" when you can just give points deductions in real time, which is a more effective punishment. What am I missing?

Essentially, 2/3 of the current P4 would be permanently relegated to the next tier down. Premier league plays a 38 game league schedule, 20 teams playing each other home and home. Teams can also play unlimited 'friendlies' and invitational championships that also help drive revenue, especially for the Big Six clubs. The Big Six (Man U, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham) are pushing for imbalanced TV revenue sharing, much like FSU and Clemson got from the ACC. The EPL Big Six owners do NOT believe in the NFL equal revenue sharing model. They believe they drive the revenue in global EPL TV contracts, so they should benefit the most. Their next step is a Super League withe top teams from other European National Leagues (Bayern Munich, FC Barecelona, International Milan). Same as we have heard proposed in college football. The EPL Big Six are as eager to stop subsidizing Everton and Newcastle as USC and Oregon were of subsidizing Washington State and Cal. Trashing long time rivalries is easy when the path to championships means having the most money to outbid other teams for the best players. It us a universal sentiment.

I can’t see a P1 without Michigan, Ohio State, USC-w etc. “If” there is a P1 with 32 teams, it makes me think each P1 team would have a NFL team attached to them. Then just adapt the NFL rules for checks and balances. No reason to reinvent the wheel. If you list NFL teams, list a P4 that is close to them: Detroit Lions—Michigan Jacksonville Jaguars—Florida State Dallas Cowboys—Texas Los Angeles Rams—USC Seattle Seahawks—Washington Miami Dolphins—Miami I know, I hate it too, and I hope it doesn’t happen, but I don’t think the P1 “if” were to happen would not have a smaller number of teams than the NFL. Let’s hope the playoff expands and is more inclusive like the NCAA 🏀 tournament. I am good with 24 bids with no Conference Championships games (make up the money by everybody playing week 0 in a rivalry game), the playoff games are way more interesting than Conference Championship game. . I like the highest ranked Conference teams in each of the P4, and the highest the ranked G6 team getting automatic bids. That leaves 19 at large, ND if you can’t get one of those, sit home like you did this year. Have no byes and the top 12 ranked teams get a home game for round 1. Let Army Navy play the first Saturday in December by themselves. Then do the 12 on campus games during the next week or two. Round three 6 games is over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Complaint don't get resolved in any realignment scenarios. Complaining is as much as part of college football Fandom as tailgating. Yes you are right, any college football super league would have 32 to 48 teams. That realignment does NOT solve unbalanced schedules. There may be balanced schedules within a region/conference, but there won't be balanced schedules across college football, unless you go to 15 to 25 games per year. There never was schedule balance across college football. Fans of various conferences (cough SEC cough) always complained that their schools played a tougher schedule than anyone else and took losses that others with weaker schedules did not. We don't like the polls and playoff committees,because they are subjective. Division winners plus wild card teams defined by objective criteria may feel better. Even with that, there will always be fans of the 1st team out complaining that the last team in don't deserve it. It's what college football fans do - It's an ingrained part of the Fandom. In the NFL, the Patriots played a 4th place schedule this year. They won the games on the schedule, but their SOS was lower. They got a favorable bracket to the Super Bowl, with no Ravens or Chiefs due to in season injuries, Bills knocked out before playing the Pats, and the Broncos losing their QB the previous game. It feels better than playoff committees choosing teams from the players, but don't think that it is balanced.

that it should be 32 is not by accident. I have been around TV, and 90+% is planned before it ever comes out of their mouth. That said, I think Fox and the other networks want in on the playoff numbers now that they see them. They also know that Indiana going 16-0, with the Portal and NIL, that at least 48 can win it. I also am a little surprised that people are not talking about Franklin turning down SEC team(s) to come to the ACC. Winning the ACC automatic bid “right now” admittedly is easier than the SEC or B1G. Virginia Tech in our darkest years in 35-40 years has competed with Miami lately, that was one or two plays from winning the National Championship this year. You could easily say that if Mendoza wasn’t unbelievably motivated by his Mom’s physical challenges, Miami is your National Champion this year, and again, Virginia Tech has competed closely with Miami, and probably ripped off in 24 game by the replay officials. ** Edited by Stech at 2/21/2026, 2:27:06 PM

Indiana, if the decision was based on the merits and maximizing TV markets etc. would have been OUT at 32, and possibly even 48 had the decision been made two years ago. This is why relegation and promotion is so important. It keeps everyone in the hunt. There is continuity without permanency.

so would 48 versus 32. The more representation, the more people that will watch. College football schools with good ratings are often located in smaller populated areas and do well because they don’t have a Pro team close by. The NFL schools like Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Miami and even Georgia Tech to some degree often have empty seats. However, it seems like the mathematics who often make the case for these things, are often forgetting that incredibly important part of the formula.

Basically take all the D1 schools in current SEC states. Add the states of VA and NC. That would be about half of the schools in FBS. Take the B1G states, plus the rest of the states not already aligned. That would give you about the exact amount of teams as the SEC states. There are currently 138 FBS schools (with Sac State and NDSU). I would actively recruit 12 more from FCS to get to an even 150. SDSU, Montana, Montana State, et. al.). This would give us 5-tiers within each conference. If you promote-relegate three in each conference and tier every year, there would be massive interest in the sport. And it would be big money. Side note: if you would do a Super League of 32 or 48. The line you draw would be permanent, and you are shutting schools and fans out of the system permanently. Not good for the sport IMO.

will be because football has separated IMO. If that happens, we could very well see a realignment of conferences closer to the way things should have been.

Pac-10 SEC (10) Big (actual) 10 Big 8 SWC ACC (8) Eastern Independents/Big East WAC

And in the PL, uneven schedules don't exist. Manchester City has the same schedule as Bournemouth. Brentford plays the same schedule as Chelsea. If I had my way, there would be no OOC games. I'd divide the country into SEC states and B1G states (then add the states not in the SEC or the B1G to one of the two P2s). Then, I'd have 30 teams in the Top Tier (15 in the SEC-plus, and 15 in the B1G-plus), Each team gets 14 games, 7 home/7 away. First place teams from each conference play for a one-game national championship. All your opponents play the same schedule. Then do relegation and promotion off the 14-game results. You also mention that Wisconsin or Nebraska would get relegated from the Big Ten. No, they wouldn't. They would still be in the Big Ten. But if they sucked at football (for example, 0-14 or 1-13, or 2-12 in the Top Tier), they would be down in Tier Two the next year. And some other Big Ten teams would be with them. Not every tier has to be 30 teams, but if it would be near that, that would make for 4 or 5 "FBS" Tiers. There would be a national championship for each tier. I know you said that the risk is too great for certain schools to go for this. You are probably correct in assuming this. But that is the heart of the problem. The "risk" is the on-field competition, which, in the end, is what sports is supposed to be about and what also draws viewers. Side note: Tottenham plays Everton in their last match. If that is a game that Tottenham has to win to survive relegation, the ratings will be MASSIVE. ** Edited by Maroon Baboon at 2/21/2026, 1:19:45 PM

8 bye's AND a home playoff game. The rest of the field would be considered play in games from my perspective. You have a better chance of having the top 16 playing for the national championship in that scenario. If they did that, and pay out the playoff money in units, like the NCAA's, conference expansion would come to a halt IMO. teams like FSU could make up a lot of the difference in regular season media money by being successful in the playoffs as they would have an easier path to the layoffs than if they were in the SEC. (*same goes for B12 schools as that should be implied). It also saves the G6 schools that continue to invest as a "P" level, and the playoffs could give them an ROI on their investments. I would like to see the B12 and other conferences allow schools to keep at least 1/2 of their post season revenue - that would reward success on the field and on the court, and dispense with carrying the lower tier schools in the conference.

1. You ignore relegation and promotion. That is the heart of EVERYTHING in the EFL. The Premier League (Tier 1) isn't a permanent 20. In fact, 51 different clubs have been in the PL since it started in the early 1990s. So if we applied that same concept and time period to college football, programs like Virginia Tech and Boise State would have spent considerable time in the PL. 2. The Super League that you describe has been rejected by the culture of the sport. They floated a European Super League several years ago, and the backlash was so great, that it never got off the ground. Even fans of the big time clubs rejected it. Also, they have the "Champions League" in Europe. But entry is based on merit and clubs have to earn it every year. It just isn't handed out based on name, prestige and wealth. ** Edited by Maroon Baboon at 2/20/2026, 11:28:00 PM

Financial risk just too high. The big Six clubs want to eliminate the relegation risk, and have guaranteed income streams, like we see in American sports. The EPL agreed to relegation in exchange for major financial autonomy when they started in 1992. Yes, it is a huge tradition beloved by fans in English football, but it does prevent the big name clubs from breaking away, joining with other high revenue European clubs and maximizing revenue. To me, the closest comparison in college sports is March Madness-It prevents the highest football revenue schools from gathering together and maximizing their own revenue. Too much fan blowback at this point, so they haven't had the cajones to take the leap. YET. The Athletic had a recent article on the impact on Tottenham if they relegate. From below, their TV revenue share would drop from almost GBP100 million per year (I assumed the value divided by 5 years, then divided by 20 teams to keep the math simple )to less than GBP10 million. The jersey sponsor, AIA, would also likely decrease it's deal by 90%, due to lower visibility in a lower league. Wealthy competitors would scavenge the Hotspur roster. Applying this to college sports, Think Wisconsin or Nebraska getting relegated from the BIg 10 to The American, or worse the MAC, and you see why relegation will be a nonstarter in any future college realignment.

and follow this. Most paradigm shifters read something like he is doing and get inspired to go in that direction. Clearly ESPN wants to make this happen too, but unless they are playing poker, I think Fox and possibly other networks want to stop it. Thus the 24 team playoff proposal, that will be modeled more like the NCAA Basketball Tournament, and include mainly the P4, and a token or two from the G6. Way more inclusive of other D1 football programs! Thanks for sharing, I look forward to seeing more posts from you on it. Some may not realize it, but it’s a really big deal.