joshuahuskers
Utopia Football League
Let's time travel and re-write some history, ya'll.
It's the mid-1990s, and instead of Big 8 taking on four SWC schools and forming the Big 12, a much more grand scheme is devised - an outright merger of the Big 8 and SWC, forming the first super-conference two decades before the advent of the idea in the timeline we live in. The conferences form a super-league of 16 teams. The Big 8 comprises one "division" and the SWC the other. Each school plays everyone in their division (or conference) and two cross-over games. Texas and Oklahoma will play each year, but the other schools will have rotating cross-over games. The winner of each division will meet in a super conference championship game, boosting the odds of each conference obtaining a representative in the National Title game.
The idea of the league is an instant success, and the ACC and Big East form a similar alliance (In our fact pattern, Duke is kicked to the curb, as the ACC had 9 schools and I need two 8-team divisions). Again, Miami and Florida State would meet each year, but other cross-over games would rotate.
Rumblings started to emerge of a super conferences forming, and a college football playoff forming. Not wanting to be left out, the Pac-10 added Utah, and BYU as the Cougars parlayed their 1980s success into a power conference spot.
As the SEC had previously added Arkansas and a conference championship game, the Big Ten became the only leauge without a conference championship game. Both the league and Notre Dame seeing the writing on the wall as being in a conference with a championship game the easiest (if not the exclusive) way into the eminent college football playoff, the Irish and Big Ten finally agreed to join forces, and Notre Dame became the league's 12th school, leaving no major college football independents.
With all the power consolidated in five major conferences (SWC/Big 8, ACC/Big East, SEC, Pac-12 and Big Ten), the leagues formed a super-alliance and implemented a six-team college football playoff. Each major conference champion would be seeded 1-5 by a committee, with the 6th and final team being selected by the committee as a wild card. The 1st and 2nd seeded teams would receive byes, while teams 3-6 played in opening round playoff games. The playoff took on partnership with the five major bowl games: The Rose, Orange, Sugar, Cotton and Fiesta. The National Championship game would be put up for bid.
Traditional Bowl tie-ins remained, including one very special rule for the Rose Bowl (who would only come on board if tradition was maintained). If the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions were both in either the opening round or semi-finals of the playoff, the two would play in the Rose Bowl, regardless of seed. This meant that if the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions were seeded #1 and #2, the two would play a semi-final game in the Rose Bowl, with the two opening round winners meeting in the other semi-final.
Aside from the Rose Bowl, the four highest seeded conference champions would play in their "tie in" Bowl game, with the two lowest seeded teams being sent to whichever bowl game was appropriate for their seed. The Bowl that doesn't receive an opening round or semi-final game would be given the two best teams not qualifying for the playoff, and be deemed a "major" bowl game. The Bowl tie-ins are as follows:
Rose: Pac-12/Big Ten (as explained above)
Sugar: SEC
Orange: Big 8 (IF conference champion)
Cotton: SWC (IF conference champion)
Fiesta: ACC/Big East
For Example, let's suppose the final rankings are:
1. Ohio State (Big Ten)
2. Oklahoma (Big 8/SWC)
3. Florida State (ACC/Big East)
4. Alabama (SEC)
5. UCLA (Pac-12)
6. Miami (at-large)
7. Nebraska
8. Florida
The opening round matchups would be:
Sugar Bowl: 4. Alabama vs. 5. UCLA
Fiesta Bowl: 3. Florida State vs. 6. Miami
Cotton Bowl (non-playoff): Nebraska vs. Florida
Let's suppose UCLA and Miami win the opening round games.
Semi-final matchups would be:
Rose Bowl: 1. Ohio State vs. 5 UCLA
Orange Bowl: 2. Oklahoma vs. 6 Miami
Note that Ohio State plays UCLA in the Rose Bowl despite having the #1 seed, and the #6 seeded team being available. This is because of the "Rose Bowl Clause" Described above. Had Alabama beaten UCLA, Ohio State would have played the 6th seed, Miami, and Oklahoma would have gone up against 4th seeded Alabama.
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That's the jist of it, guys. I really like this set-up. It keeps the old school aspects of college football - traditional rivalries (Nebraska vs. Oklahoma ever year, along with the rest of the old Big 8 gang), bowl tie-ins and match ups, the importance of the regular season (#1 and #2 give byes), while also implementing a playoff, and expanded access to the National Championship, as new-age fans want (really, this is an 11 team playoff with the CCGs being an opening round).
I will be playing as Nebraska. However, to liven things up and keep me interest, I will also be playing a minimum of one additional game per week as other team(s). I will also probably play all conference championship games, and all playoff games. My Nebraska dynasties in the past have grown stale quickly, and I'm hoping that doing something like this will keep it from getting old too fast.
To summarize, here is the P5 set-up. I can post minor conferences if someone is interested.
SWC/Big 8:
Big 8:
Colorado
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
SWC:
Baylor
Houston
Rice
SMU
TCU
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
ACC/Big East:
ACC:
Florida State
Clemson
Maryland
NC State
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Virginia
Big East:
Boston College
Rutgers
Miami
Syracuse
Pitt
Temple
West Virginia
Virginia Tech
Big Ten:
East:
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
West:
Illinois
Iowa
Minnesota
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Wisconsin
Pac-12:
North:
Cal
Stanford
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
South:
Arizona
Arizona State
USC
UCLA
Utah
BYU
SEC:
East:
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
West:
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
LSU
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
It's the mid-1990s, and instead of Big 8 taking on four SWC schools and forming the Big 12, a much more grand scheme is devised - an outright merger of the Big 8 and SWC, forming the first super-conference two decades before the advent of the idea in the timeline we live in. The conferences form a super-league of 16 teams. The Big 8 comprises one "division" and the SWC the other. Each school plays everyone in their division (or conference) and two cross-over games. Texas and Oklahoma will play each year, but the other schools will have rotating cross-over games. The winner of each division will meet in a super conference championship game, boosting the odds of each conference obtaining a representative in the National Title game.
The idea of the league is an instant success, and the ACC and Big East form a similar alliance (In our fact pattern, Duke is kicked to the curb, as the ACC had 9 schools and I need two 8-team divisions). Again, Miami and Florida State would meet each year, but other cross-over games would rotate.
Rumblings started to emerge of a super conferences forming, and a college football playoff forming. Not wanting to be left out, the Pac-10 added Utah, and BYU as the Cougars parlayed their 1980s success into a power conference spot.
As the SEC had previously added Arkansas and a conference championship game, the Big Ten became the only leauge without a conference championship game. Both the league and Notre Dame seeing the writing on the wall as being in a conference with a championship game the easiest (if not the exclusive) way into the eminent college football playoff, the Irish and Big Ten finally agreed to join forces, and Notre Dame became the league's 12th school, leaving no major college football independents.
With all the power consolidated in five major conferences (SWC/Big 8, ACC/Big East, SEC, Pac-12 and Big Ten), the leagues formed a super-alliance and implemented a six-team college football playoff. Each major conference champion would be seeded 1-5 by a committee, with the 6th and final team being selected by the committee as a wild card. The 1st and 2nd seeded teams would receive byes, while teams 3-6 played in opening round playoff games. The playoff took on partnership with the five major bowl games: The Rose, Orange, Sugar, Cotton and Fiesta. The National Championship game would be put up for bid.
Traditional Bowl tie-ins remained, including one very special rule for the Rose Bowl (who would only come on board if tradition was maintained). If the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions were both in either the opening round or semi-finals of the playoff, the two would play in the Rose Bowl, regardless of seed. This meant that if the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions were seeded #1 and #2, the two would play a semi-final game in the Rose Bowl, with the two opening round winners meeting in the other semi-final.
Aside from the Rose Bowl, the four highest seeded conference champions would play in their "tie in" Bowl game, with the two lowest seeded teams being sent to whichever bowl game was appropriate for their seed. The Bowl that doesn't receive an opening round or semi-final game would be given the two best teams not qualifying for the playoff, and be deemed a "major" bowl game. The Bowl tie-ins are as follows:
Rose: Pac-12/Big Ten (as explained above)
Sugar: SEC
Orange: Big 8 (IF conference champion)
Cotton: SWC (IF conference champion)
Fiesta: ACC/Big East
For Example, let's suppose the final rankings are:
1. Ohio State (Big Ten)
2. Oklahoma (Big 8/SWC)
3. Florida State (ACC/Big East)
4. Alabama (SEC)
5. UCLA (Pac-12)
6. Miami (at-large)
7. Nebraska
8. Florida
The opening round matchups would be:
Sugar Bowl: 4. Alabama vs. 5. UCLA
Fiesta Bowl: 3. Florida State vs. 6. Miami
Cotton Bowl (non-playoff): Nebraska vs. Florida
Let's suppose UCLA and Miami win the opening round games.
Semi-final matchups would be:
Rose Bowl: 1. Ohio State vs. 5 UCLA
Orange Bowl: 2. Oklahoma vs. 6 Miami
Note that Ohio State plays UCLA in the Rose Bowl despite having the #1 seed, and the #6 seeded team being available. This is because of the "Rose Bowl Clause" Described above. Had Alabama beaten UCLA, Ohio State would have played the 6th seed, Miami, and Oklahoma would have gone up against 4th seeded Alabama.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's the jist of it, guys. I really like this set-up. It keeps the old school aspects of college football - traditional rivalries (Nebraska vs. Oklahoma ever year, along with the rest of the old Big 8 gang), bowl tie-ins and match ups, the importance of the regular season (#1 and #2 give byes), while also implementing a playoff, and expanded access to the National Championship, as new-age fans want (really, this is an 11 team playoff with the CCGs being an opening round).
I will be playing as Nebraska. However, to liven things up and keep me interest, I will also be playing a minimum of one additional game per week as other team(s). I will also probably play all conference championship games, and all playoff games. My Nebraska dynasties in the past have grown stale quickly, and I'm hoping that doing something like this will keep it from getting old too fast.
To summarize, here is the P5 set-up. I can post minor conferences if someone is interested.
SWC/Big 8:
Big 8:
Colorado
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
SWC:
Baylor
Houston
Rice
SMU
TCU
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
ACC/Big East:
ACC:
Florida State
Clemson
Maryland
NC State
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Virginia
Big East:
Boston College
Rutgers
Miami
Syracuse
Pitt
Temple
West Virginia
Virginia Tech
Big Ten:
East:
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
West:
Illinois
Iowa
Minnesota
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Wisconsin
Pac-12:
North:
Cal
Stanford
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
South:
Arizona
Arizona State
USC
UCLA
Utah
BYU
SEC:
East:
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
West:
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
LSU
Mississippi State
Ole Miss