A “Super League” of college football? It may not be as far-fetched or far-fetched as once thought. But what if that happens?
Using the basic outline discussed by a 20-member group touting plans to one day revamp college football's top level, such a regime is already in place, using the 2023 season as a test case. I decided to see how it would play out if it were implemented.
In addition to the former Power 5 schools, we have expanded independent Notre Dame and soon-to-be ACC member SMU from 10 teams toward the permanent 70 teams envisioned in the College Sports Tomorrow Plan. It has been organized into seven divisions. For the eighth 10-team division, which is eligible for promotion and relegation, the 2022 conference championship game participants from Group 5 leagues were taken and “promoted” to 2023.
The division size constraints of 10 teams require some freedom, so be prepared for some unique and perhaps awkward fits. But it also allowed us to revive an old rivalry. (Welcome back, Southwest Conference and Big East!)
We used the teams' 2023 regular season records to seed them for the proposed 16-team playoffs before the conference championship games were held. The winners of the eight divisions earned the top eight seeds, and eight wild cards earned the remaining seeds. In case of any ambiguity, we defaulted to his penultimate 2023 College Football Playoff rankings (which is why Georgia is the No. 1 seed and Michigan is No. 2).
Below are hypothetical 2023 College Football Super League results.
ACC
| team | whole | 2023 Conference |
|---|---|---|
|
12-0 |
8-0 (ACC) |
|
|
9-3 |
6-2(ACC) |
|
|
8-4 |
4-4(ACC) |
|
|
8-4 |
4-4(ACC) |
|
|
7-5 |
4-4(ACC) |
|
|
7-5 |
4-5 (Big Ten) |
|
|
6-6 |
5-3(ACC) |
|
|
5-7 |
3-5 (SEC) |
|
|
3-9 |
2-6(ACC) |
|
|
4-8 |
1-7 (ACC) |
The division retained its current eight ACC teams, returning former member Maryland and adding South Carolina, which was a charter member of the ACC until it became independent in 1971. Florida State earned a legitimate playoff berth that was denied by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, but no wild card will emerge from this group.
big east
| team | whole | 2023 Conference |
|---|---|---|
|
10-2 |
7-1 (ACC) |
|
|
9-3 |
— |
|
|
8-4 |
6-3 (Big 12) |
|
|
7-5 |
3-5(ACC) |
|
|
6-6 |
5-3(ACC) |
|
|
6-6 |
3-5(ACC) |
|
|
6-6 |
3-6 (Big Ten) |
|
|
6-6 |
2-6(ACC) |
|
|
3-9 |
2-6(ACC) |
|
|
3-9 |
1-8 (Big 12) |
Notre Dame has fiercely defended its independent status amid the current wave of realignment, but in order to be part of this Super League vision, the Fighting Irish will need to play within the division. be. Place them in the resurgent Big East, which basketball was a member of from 1995 to 2013. They join a host of returning Big East former members, with Louisville, his 23-year ACC runner-up, earning an automatic playoff berth.
big ten
| team | whole | 2023 Conference |
|---|---|---|
|
12-0 |
9-0 (Big Ten) |
|
|
11-1 |
8-1 (Big Ten) |
|
|
10-2 |
7-2 (Big Ten) |
|
|
10-2 |
7-2 (Big Ten) |
|
|
7-5 |
5-4 (Big Ten) |
|
|
5-7 |
3-6 (Big Ten) |
|
|
5-7 |
3-6 (Big Ten) |
|
|
4-8 |
3-6 (Big Ten) |
|
|
4-8 |
2-7 (Big Ten) |
|
|
3-9 |
1-8 (Big Ten) |
The Big Ten's reconfiguration presented a dilemma. Go back to the original 10 (minus Penn State) or support the Nittany Lions and boot one of them? Knowing that college football decision-makers often side with money over history, Penn State will be able to stay and unfortunately Northwestern will be the eliminated team. The conference is very exciting and will have four teams participating in 2023.
mileage department
| team | whole | 2023 Conference |
|---|---|---|
|
10-2 |
6-2 (SEC) |
|
|
8-4 |
6-3 (Big 12) |
|
|
8-4 |
5-4 (Big 12) |
|
|
8-4 |
5-4 (Pack-12) |
|
|
7-5 |
6-3 (Big 12) |
|
|
7-5 |
5-4 (Big Ten) |
|
|
6-6 |
3-6 (Big 12) |
|
|
5-7 |
3-6 (Big Ten) |
|
|
5-7 |
2-7 (Big 12) |
|
|
4-8 |
1-8 (Pack-12) |
It wouldn't be college football without divisions with awkward geography. Look at FFD. I couldn't think of a better name. FFD includes six former Big 8 member schools, but also includes schools excluded from other geographically appropriate divisions: BYU, Utah State, and UCF. Missouri wins the league while gaining tons of miles.
pack 10
| team | whole | 2023 Conference |
|---|---|---|
|
12-0 |
9-0 (Pack-12) |
|
|
11-1 |
8-1 (Pack-12) |
|
|
9-3 |
7-2 (Pack-12) |
|
|
8-4 |
5-4 (Pack-12) |
|
|
7-5 |
5-4 (Pack-12) |
|
|
7-5 |
4-5 (Pack-12) |
|
|
6-6 |
4-5 (Pack-12) |
|
|
5-7 |
2-7 (Pack-12) |
|
|
3-9 |
2-7 (Pack-12) |
|
|
3-9 |
2-7 (Pack-12) |
Remember the storied Western College Football Conference, which had so much fun last year and produced one of the two teams that qualified for the national championship? Ta. Washington earned an automatic berth and the No. 3 seed, while Oregon qualified as the highest-ranked wild-card team.
SEC
| team | whole | 2023 Conference |
|---|---|---|
|
12-0 |
8-0 (SEC) |
|
|
11-1 |
8-0 (SEC) |
|
|
10-2 |
6-2 (SEC) |
|
|
9-3 |
6-2 (SEC) |
|
|
8-4 |
4-4 (SEC) |
|
|
7-5 |
3-5 (SEC) |
|
|
6-6 |
3-5 (SEC) |
|
|
5-7 |
3-5 (SEC) |
|
|
5-7 |
1-7 (SEC) |
|
|
2-10 |
0-8 (seconds) |
While many would like to join the SEC, for this exercise we have gone back to the 10 founding members who are still in the league. Naturally, it will send multiple teams to the postseason, including Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss.
southwest
| team | whole | 2023 Conference |
|---|---|---|
|
11-1 |
8-1 (Big 12) |
|
|
10-2 |
8-0 (AAC) |
|
|
10-2 |
7-2 (Big 12) |
|
|
9-3 |
7-2 (Big 12) |
|
|
7-5 |
4-4 (SEC) |
|
|
6-6 |
5-4 (Big 12) |
|
|
5-7 |
3-6 (Big 12) |
|
|
4-8 |
2-7 (Big 12) |
|
|
4-8 |
1-7 (SEC) |
|
|
3-9 |
2-7 (Big 12) |
Long live the now defunct Southwest Conference. Eight of the SWC's nine teams return, with Rice the only one missing, competing in the 50-team second division. To fill the remaining two spots, we stole from the old Big Eight by acquiring Oklahoma State and Oklahoma State.
This split created two predicaments. By moving SMU, the AAC champion who will join the ACC in 2024, here, the league will have two 2023 conference champions. We gave the nod to Texas given the team's overall talent advantage.
Also, although Oklahoma State defeated Oklahoma in a head-to-head matchup, both teams' conference records were the same, with Oklahoma having a better overall record and higher CFP ranking. How would Super League deal with the wildcard tiebreaker in that scenario? The Sooners get credit for this exercise because of their dominant overall record in the NFL (which seems to be the model this plan follows most closely).
Promotion/demotion
| team | whole | 2023 Conference |
|---|---|---|
|
11-1 |
8-0 (AAC) |
|
|
11-1 |
8-0 (MAC) |
|
|
10-2 |
7-1 (Sunbelt) |
|
|
9-3 |
6-2(MAC) |
|
|
8-4 |
7-1 (Sunbelt) |
|
|
8-4 |
4-4 (Mountain West) |
|
|
7-5 |
6-2 (Mountain West) |
|
|
7-5 |
5-3 (Sunbelt) |
|
|
5-7 |
4-4 (AAC) |
|
|
5-7 |
3-5 (USA) |
For those of us who love Group of 5 ball, this is a high-stakes, fun and competitive division. Tulane clinches the division and a playoff berth. Key question: Will stakeholders allow a wild card from this division? Or will these eight playoff spots only come from the permanent No. 70? That's an unknown. Once again, let's follow typical college sports power broker behavior and assume only the divisional winner gets the nod here. It was a disappointing result for Toledo. Let's hope we're wrong and wildcards in this category get equal consideration.
There are no details on how many teams will be subject to relegation, so let's assume teams with losing records will benefit. That means Navy and North Texas will be kicked out. Which two teams will advance to that spot? The teams with the best 2023 regular season records that are not in this group are Liberty (12-0), James Madison (11-1), and Miami-Ohio. (10-2) and New Mexico State (10-3). and Memphis (9-3). Liberty and JMU receive invitations to the big show.
new playoffs
Here's how the seed goes down with the above configuration: The winners of the eight divisions will earn the top eight seeds, with wild cards filling out the field. Since we didn't have a full tiebreaker structure, we determined the seeding based on his second-to-last CFP ranking (before the conference championship weekend). Although SMU defeated Tulane in his AAC title game, they were no longer in the same division as the Green Wave, so they did not earn a top-eight seed.
first round
(1) Georgia (16) SMU or higher
(9) Oregon (8) Tulane or higher
(5) Texas (12) Pennsylvania State University
(13) Ole Miss (4) Florida and above
(11) Alabama (6)Missouri and above
(3) Washington Oklahoma and above (14)
(10) Ohio State University (7) Louisville and above
(2) Michigan Over (15) Iowa
Quarter finals
You'll see some huge games here, including the Michigan vs. Ohio State rematch.
(1) Georgia (9) Oregon
(5) Texas Over (13) Ole Miss
(3) Washington (11) Alabama and above
(2) Michigan (10) Ohio and above
Semi-final
One semifinal will determine the actual 2023 national title match, and the other will be an upset.
(5) Texas (1) About Georgia
(2) Michigan Over (3) Washington
national championship tournament
(2) Michigan (5) Texas and above
The Wolverines will eventually hoist the trophy, but the postseason road to get there is long but not entirely unfamiliar, as they beat three teams en route to the actual 2023 title. You will be competing against.
(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
