Big Ten coaches preparing for potential 17-game season with expanded CFP

INDIANAPOLIS – A season ago, Michigan and Washington played more games than anyone in college football.

The two programs – now conference rivals in the Big Ten – played in the College Football Playoff national championship in January. The Wolverines came out on top for their first title since 1997, capping a 15-0 season.

That game marked the end of an era in a few ways. Perhaps most notably, after 10 years with four teams, CFP will now expand to 12 this season. The five highest-ranked conference champions make the field and the next seven highest-ranked teams round it out. The four highest-ranked conference champions will receive byes.

At minimum, teams will add three games to their seasons – the second round, the semifinal and the title game. But for teams that lose their conference championships and make the CFP, it’d be four additional games and 17 in total. No college football team has ever played that many games in a year.

It leads to questions about keeping teams fresh late in the year. As far as answers go, it depends on the coach.

“We never even had to think that way, right?” USC’s Lincoln Riley said at Big Ten Media Days. “Now, it’s gonna be interesting.”

‘You’re gonna be put in some interesting positions’

With the potential for more games in a season, comparisons are starting about what a “load management” style would look like at the college football level. It’s become a talking point in the pros, particularly in the NBA and NFL .

Riley was open about that idea, saying “it’s possible” for players to get extra rest down the road. But he also pointed out the importance of winning a conference championship game in the current model. In his mind, the question is about the big games late in the schedule and what those will happen to those in the future.

“You’re gonna get put in some interesting positions,” Riley said. “Like, take us our first year at SC, we beat UCLA , we’re in the championship game. We play Notre Dame before the championship game. What do you do now? Obviously, you go. But you’re gonna be thinking that way some, especially like you said, considering that you may have however many games left. And you’re gonna have to place value on those. We see it in the NFL now, we see it in other sports.

“We’re gonna be in those positions. We’re gonna have to make those decisions. Hopefully, we put ourselves in that position pretty quick. It’ll all be part of the strategy now.”

There are plenty of unknowns about what late regular-season games will look like as the College Football Playoff format continues to evolve. While Ohio State coach Ryan Day said “we’re all trying to figure that out” when asked about what those adjustments will be, he wondered how game management would change.

More specifically, he sees a world where teams call more plays during games because they huddle more. In turn, depth at key positions will be essential.

“I do think with the player and coach communication, you’re gonna see probably more huddling,” Day said. “You might see more plays, possibly. I don’t have any scientific numbers to back that up. I just see that happening more and more this season. Because I feel like huddling is kind of a lost art, I think people are gonna just find themselves getting back to that and not showing their formation. But we’ll see. So that’ll be part of it.

“But also, playing depth is going to be important. Keeping guys fresh. We’re gonna have to figure out how that all looks. But we know where we need to be. We need to be playing our best football at the end of the season and we need to finish strong.”

Big Ten wants to compete ‘late in the season’ for CFP

As he kicked things off from Lucas Oil Stadium Tuesday morning, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti received a question about the expanding College Football Playoff.

With 12 teams making the field, Petitti was asked what would constitute a “successful season” for his conference. It’s a high bar considering last year’s national champion also won the Big Ten, but he pointed out the impact the new-look CFP can have.

The margin of error is changing. Under the four-team model, an early-season loss could keep a team out of the Playoff hunt. Now, there’s more wiggle room – and as a result, games late in the season could get that much more important.

“We want as many teams competing as late in the season to earn a spot in the playoff, and I think that’s the goal,” Petitti said. “I think if you think about the way postseasons work, they work in tandem with regular seasons.

“What I’m excited about is that the fact that we’ve expanded the playoff gives more teams in the Big Ten the opportunity to compete later in the season. That’s better on-site, on-campus, in terms of the excitement. It brings more programs into the hunt, and that’s what fans want. Fans want their teams to be alive as late as possible. That’s all you can hope for. I think this format will allow us to do it.”

To worry about a potential 12-game season, of course, teams have to win. That’s the approach Sherrone Moore is taking as Michigan looks to return to the CFP after last season’s national title.

“I mean, the No. 1 thing is you’ve got to win,” Moore said. “You can’t focus on trying to keep people fresh – if you don’t win, you’re not playing. So for us, we’re gonna do everything we can to win.

“The preparation, however we’ve got to do it, we’re gonna do it. We made great adjustments last year and we’ll continue to do that as we go through.”

Dan Lanning: ‘We’ll adapt as we get to that point’

Dan Lanning knows what it’s like to play the most games in a season. He did so at Georgia , helping the Bulldogs to a national championship before taking over at Oregon , and also at Sam Houston State at the FCS level.

With the postseason schedule changing so much, Lanning noted the importance of such conversations about late adjustments. But he argued that’s where coaching comes into play. Practices might have to change and there might not be as much contact.

That’s where Lanning said communication is critical, whether it’s between the coaches and players or the weight staff with the training staff.

“Your team has to be prepared,” Lanning said. “You have to have great depth to be able to do that. But at the same note, you’re gonna have to make some small adjustments when it comes to your practice schedule. What’s important, where’s that contact need to happen or not happen towards the end of the year? But we’ll adapt as we get to that point. You have to have a really good feel for your team.

“We’re really fortunate at Oregon to have a great sports performance department that really monitors our team’s levels throughout the season, so we’re able to kind of be ahead of injuries before they happen. As long as we continue to have great communication between them and our weight room staff, I think we’ll be able to be healthy at the end of the year.”

This year’s College Football Playoff will officially get underway Dec. 20, giving teams almost two weeks to prepare instead of a full month. Then, the national championship will take place Jan. 20, 2025 in Atlanta.

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