One simple reform would dramatically improve college football in the future

We cover USC, also the Big Ten (and have covered the Pac-12 up to its death), here at Trojans Wire. From time to time, however, we also look at national topics of interest in the college football world. USC is a part of that world, after all, and fans should have a sense of how the sport operates on a national level, not just at USC.

We have one simple reform for college football in the era of the 12-team playoff. It comes from a recognition that certain aspects of the sport won’t be the same — and won’t mean what they used to mean — in a 12-team playoff setup:

We wrote this earlier in 2024:

Alabama versus Georgia would not decide who gets in and who stays home. It would only determine seeding. Instead of having the usual SEC Championship Game format, the SEC could use the SEC title game television property as an occasion in which to put its No. 3 and No. 4 teams on the field. Imagine LSU playing Ole Miss this past season. The winner of that game might have had a chance to make a 12-team playoff. Bama and Georgia are split SEC champions, but the SEC title game television property would help a third SEC team play its way into the playoff. All the conferences should do this.

Conference championship games will not usually determine who makes or misses the playoff. Maybe once in a while they will, but not in most years. Conference title games might have relevance only for seeding and bracketing purposes, but not selection versus exclusion. Reforming conference championship games is an obvious change college football can make in the 12-team playoff era.

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