In 12-team College Football Playoff, strength of schedule will go a long way in deciding bracket

The executive head of nan caller 12-team College Football Playoff confirmed what galore already knew — that while wins and nan age-old “eye test” will play roles successful determining who makes nan bracket, strength of schedule could beryllium a deciding factor successful immoderate of nan action committee's deliberations.

Rich Clark held a telephone pinch reporters Wednesday to spell complete nan specifications of really nan 12-team bracket will beryllium decided. The first database of nan committee's play apical 25 rankings comes retired Tuesday, pinch nan brackets to beryllium locked successful utilizing nan database revealed Dec. 8.

“Record matters, but we're not trying to prime nan astir deserving teams, we're trying to prime nan champion teams,” Clark said, a connection apt to beryllium parsed for weeks. “This committee's sewage to look astatine their full assemblage of work. They're going to see record, of course. ... But they're going to look astatine spot of schedule, they're going to look astatine head-to-head competition, really teams execute against each other," and a fistful of different factors.

Last year, erstwhile nan bracket included only 4 teams, location was an uproar complete nan committee's determination to return Alabama pinch 1 nonaccomplishment complete undefeated Florida State. Even pinch an expanded bracket that gives automatic spots to nan 5 champion convention champions, it's difficult to ideate nan committee's decisions won't beryllium criticized successful immoderate way.

One caller complication this twelvemonth is that nan SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 each person done distant pinch divisions — a byproduct of convention realignment that's designed to guarantee teams will play each their convention opponents wrong a fistful of years.

Having 16- and 18-team conferences besides mean it's nary judge point that apical contenders will play each different this year. For example, astonishing No. 13 Indiana (8-0) doesn't person regular-season games against nan different 2 Big Ten teams that are presently undefeated — No. 1 Oregon and No. 3 Penn State. And No. 9 BYU (8-0) isn't scheduled to meet 2 of its closest pursuers, No. 11 Iowa State and No. 23 Colorado, successful nan Big 12.

Clark portrayed spot of schedule — specifications of which will beryllium calculated by an analytics patient called SportSource Analytics — arsenic 1 of nan champion ways for nan 13-person action committee to fig retired which teams are amended than others, particularly erstwhile it comes to deciding betwixt intimately matched teams.

“It helps america to look astatine teams successful a much adjacent manner," Clark said. “If a squad rolls done a schedule that's a very easy schedule, it's benignant of difficult to judge them against a squad that mislaid 2 games but has a really reliable schedule.”

—The action committee will rank nan apical 25 teams each week starting Tuesday, pinch its last list, released nan time aft nan Dec. 7 convention title games, determining what nan bracket will look like.

—The 4 top-ranked convention winners each will gain first-round byes, sloppy of wherever they're ranked. The next-best convention victor will person a spot successful nan bracket moreover if it is classed extracurricular nan apical 12.

—Opening information of playoffs involving teams 5-12 are connected campuses connected Dec. 20-21. The title crippled is Jan. 20 successful Atlanta.

The action committee will not travel nan AP aliases different polls erstwhile it comes retired pinch its rankings. But conscionable for fun, here's what nan bracket would look for illustration if it were based connected nan AP Top 25 that came retired Sunday, and if nan higher classed teams each won their convention titles:

—5 vs. 12: Boise State astatine Penn State (Boise State of nan Mountain West would suffice arsenic nan fifth-best convention champ contempt being classed 15)

—6 vs. 11: Clemson astatine Ohio State (Buckeyes routed Tigers 49-28 successful semifinals successful 2021)

—7 vs. 10: Texas A&M astatine Texas (Teams meet Nov. 30 successful regular season, but bracketing rules would not forestall a rematch)

—8 vs. 9: Notre Dame astatine Tennessee (Irish are overcoming that bad nonaccomplishment to Northern Illinois successful nan AP poll; will nan committee beryllium arsenic forgiving?)

Byes:

1 — Oregon (Would play quarterfinal crippled successful Rose Bowl)

2 — Georgia (Would play quarterfinal successful Sugar Bowl)

3 — Miami (Peach Bowl)

4 — BYU (Fiesta Bowl)

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