{"id":49906,"date":"2025-07-31T11:26:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T11:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/49906\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T11:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T11:26:11","slug":"heres-how-to-improve-college-football-season-with-plan-from-alabama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/49906\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s how to improve college football season with plan from Alabama"},"content":{"rendered":"

I initially thought Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne<\/a>\u2019s idea for how to tweak the College Football Playoff<\/a> selection process must be self-serving. After all, most playoff ideas that originate from a university or conference administrator are rooted in self-interest.<\/p>\n

But, the more I considered Byrne\u2019s idea to more greatly reward non-conference strength of schedule during the at-large selection process, the more I liked it.<\/p>\n

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My lasting thought: Byrne suggested a worthwhile idea for how to improve the college football season.<\/p>\n

This came after I asked Byrne, one of the nation\u2019s most prominent athletic directors, last spring how he\u2019d address the playoff. He shared a few thoughts, but he emphasized he felt most passionately about the selection process needing to place additional merit on non-conference strength of schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am 100% convinced that (would be) good for the game and everybody around it,\u201d Byrne told me.<\/p>\n

\"Alabama<\/p>\n

Alabama running back Jam Miller (26) scores a touchdown against Missouri during the second quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s right. Weighting non-conference strength of schedule would encourage Power Four teams to schedule more games fans want to see and media partners want to televise. That\u2019s good for the game.<\/p>\n

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The playoff is not broken. Neither is the selection process, subjective and controversial though it is. But, playoff ideas that would boost the season interest me. This idea would do that, by incentivizing schools to schedule better non-conference games.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d add an addendum to Byrne\u2019s suggestion. Don\u2019t just value non-conference schedule strength. Value teams that win key interleague games.<\/p>\n

The March Madness selection process has figured this out better than college football. Consider last basketball season, when the SEC dominated non-conference play, including a 14-2 record in the ACC-SEC challenge. The SEC\u2019s NET ranking topped all conferences, and it appropriately qualified 14 of its 16 teams for the tournament. Throughout the postseason, the SEC lived up to the reputation it built during the season.<\/p>\n

ON CAMPUS: What is the best college football stadium? Our top 25 ranking<\/a><\/p>\n

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BAD IDEA: Big Ten’s playoff plan a recipe to make season worse, not better<\/a><\/p>\n

Byrne, who serves on the NCAA men’s tournament selection committee, says he pays particular attention to non-conference metrics as he partakes in the selection process.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the first things I look at is non-conference strength of schedule in men\u2019s basketball,\u201d Byrne said, \u201cbecause I think that\u2019s good for men\u2019s basketball to have it not be just a January to March sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, he\u2019s right. Likewise, wouldn\u2019t it be better if college football\u2019s September docket featured more non-conference blockbusters like Texas-Ohio State or LSU-Clemson, while reducing the number of games like Houstin Christian-Nebraska and Austin Peay-Georgia?<\/p>\n

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The abundance of lopsided, lackluster non-conference games creates a drag on the regular season. Too many coaches and their bosses gravitate toward the path of least resistance, after seeing that strategy rewarded.<\/p>\n

The past two national champions, Ohio State and Michigan, finished on top after neither played a Power Four non-conference opponent. Penn State crafted a similar road map for this year. The Nittany Lions will begin the season by chowing down on Nevada, Florida International and Villanova.<\/p>\n

Indiana wriggled into the playoff last season after rolling through a non-conference feast of Florida International, Western Illinois and Charlotte. The Hoosiers recently doubled down on this strategy<\/a>, adjusting their future non-conference schedules to make them as easy as possible.<\/p>\n

Washington coach Jedd Fisch called Indiana\u2019s strategy of playing three non-conference nobodies \u201cdead-on right.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s doggone pathetic, too, and it doesn\u2019t stop with Indiana.<\/p>\n

Big Ten, SEC teams among those seeking out cupcakes<\/p>\n

Big Ten teams will play four times as many MAC foes as they will SEC opponents. SEC teams will square off against the Ohio Valley as often as they’ll face the Big 12.<\/p>\n

Six Big Ten teams won\u2019t play a single non-conference game against either a Power Four opponent or Notre Dame.<\/p>\n

Alabama<\/a>, Florida and South Carolina are the only SEC teams that will play two Power Four non-conference games, for a total of 10 games against Power Four competition. The rest of the conference opted for additional patsies.<\/p>\n

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Teams might lose their appetite for cupcakes if the playoff committee more heavily weighted non-conference metrics. And, if teams stiffened their non-league schedules, that would assist the committee\u2019s task of evaluating at-large playoff contenders.<\/p>\n

How might this idea affect playoff selection?<\/p>\n

If non-conference metrics had been more heavily weighted last season, that might have exposed Indiana, one of the last at-large teams admitted into the field. The Hoosiers didn\u2019t bother to play a Power Four non-conference opponent.<\/p>\n

The committee admitted Indiana thanks to its 11-1 record and its avoidance of a bad loss.<\/p>\n

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If non-conference results had been more greatly valued, a 10-2 BYU team that beat SMU, a playoff qualifier, might have appealed more to the committee.<\/p>\n

Two-loss Miami, which beat Florida at The Swamp, also would have merited a stronger look. Three-loss South Carolina could have gained more of a boost from winning at Clemson, the ACC\u2019s champion.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s revisit my original thought: Would adding weight to non-conference schedule strength be self-serving for Alabama? Perhaps.<\/p>\n

Starting this year, through 2034, Alabama has two games scheduled per season against either Power Four non-conference opponents or Notre Dame. Adding playoff selection value specific to non-conference metrics might therefore accelerate Alabama in bubble situations.<\/p>\n

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But, shouldn\u2019t we want teams to follow Alabama\u2019s lead of seeking out challenging non-conference opponents, rather than ducking Power Four opponents in favor of Austin Peay?<\/p>\n

To Byrne, the answer seems obvious.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood non-conference games are really good for college football,\u201d Byrne said.<\/p>\n

Rewarding teams that play good non-conference games would help ensure those games remain part of college football\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Blake Toppmeyer<\/a>\u00a0is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at\u00a0BToppmeyer@gannett.com<\/a>\u00a0and follow him on X\u00a0@btoppmeyer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football season improvement plan has Alabama’s help<\/a><\/p>\n