March Madness is upon us. With the 64-team college basketball field set on Selection Sunday, it should be a fun next few weeks in college hoops. That got me thinking, what would a 64-team college football bracket look like? It’s unlikely we will ever get a tournament that large in a sport like football (I would vote for an 8- or 16-team field), it’s fun to think about. 

Let’s take a crack at what a 64-team playoff would look like 

*NOTE* I am using RPI to base where I rank the at-large teams, besides the 10 conference winners. I AM ONLY USING FBS TEAMS.

AUTO BIDS: Alabama (SEC), Ohio State (Big Ten), Clemson (ACC), Oklahoma (Big 12), Oregon (Pac-12), Cincinnati (American), UAB (Conference USA), Ball State (MAC), San Jose State (Mountain West), Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt)*

**Conference championship game was canceled due to COVID-19. Giving CCU the benefit of the doubt.

SOUTH

1. ALABAMA Vs 16. MISSOURI

8. WASHINGTON Vs 9. WISCONSIN

5. SAN JOSE STATE Vs 12. GEORGIA STATE

4. IOWA Vs 13. UTSA

6. BUFFALO Vs 11. KENT STATE

3. LOUISIANA Vs 14. PITT

7. MEMPHIS Vs 10. BOISE STATE

2. GEORGIA Vs 15. TULANE

WEST

1. CLEMSON Vs 16. LOUISIANA TECH

8. TCU Vs 9. MARSHALL

5. OKLAHOMA STATE Vs 12. AUBURN

4. BALL STATE Vs 13. GEORGIA SOUTHERN

6. MIAMI(FL) Vs 11. STANFORD

3. NORTHWESTERN Vs 14. CENTRAL MICHIGAN

7. ARMY Vs 10. MIAMI (OH)

2. OKLAHOMA Vs 15. OLE MISS

EAST

1. OHIO STATE Vs 16. VIRGINIA 

8. OREGON Vs 9. NC STATE

5. TEXAS Vs 12. WESTERN MICHIGAN

4. FLORIDA Vs 13. UCF

6. USC Vs 11. UTAH

3. COASTAL CAROLINA Vs 14. SAN DIEGO STATE

7. TULSA Vs 10. IOWA STATE (The RPI says so)

2. CINCINNATI  Vs 15. VIRGINIA TECH

MIDWEST

1. NOTRE DAME Vs 16. BOSTON COLLEGE

8. UAB Vs 9. NEVADA

5. LIBERTY Vs 12. SMU

4. INDIANA Vs 13. TOLEDO

6. NORTH CAROLINA Vs 11. COLORADO

3. BYU Vs 14. HAWAII

7. APPALACHIAN STATE Vs 10. WEST VIRGINIA

2. TEXAS A&M Vs 15. LSU

Writer

-By: TJ Mathewson

Now that we have seven years’ worth of data on the College Football Playoff, I want to look at some numbers. What stands out? How does the playoff shift from year to year?

Let’s take a look:

-20/28-

Did you know that of the 28 spots for the CFP over the last seven years, 20 of those slots were occupied by either Clemson (six times), Alabama (six times), Ohio State (four times), and Oklahoma (four times)? Only one other program has appeared more than once (Notre Dame, twice).

-1-

Yes, that’s right, you probably didn’t know that only ONE football program based in the three major recruiting states (California, Texas, and Florida) has made the playoff in seven years (2014 Florida State). I’m looking at YOU USC, Texas, Miami, and Florida.

-3-

In most playoff formats, one would expect the games to be close and competitive. The CFP has been the opposite, seeing just three (!) one-score games in the semifinals over the course of seven years. That’s worse than one every-other-year. For comparison, the CFP Championship Game saw three one-score championship games in a row from 2016 to 2018.

-0-

While Oklahoma has made the playoff more often than every program not named Ohio State, Clemson, and Alabama, that doesn’t mean the Sooners’ time in the CFP has been memorable. In fact, Oklahoma and the entire Big 12 Conference has ZERO wins in the playoff. The Sooners have also been the only Big 12 program even close to making the field of four since Baylor and TCU were the first two teams out in 2014 (ranked No. 5 and No. 6 respectively).

-0-

The Group of Five always has always faced longer odds to make the CFP. While the format was implemented to give the “little guys” a better chance at a national title, ZERO G5 teams have made the CFP. To take it a step even further, there hasn’t even been a team that was seriously considered. Cincinnati in 2020 and UCF in 2018 were the two closest we have seen (both were ranked eighth in the final CFP rankings). Something is going to have to change in the evaluation process if the committee really wants to make it easier for the G5.

-14-

One last number to add to how lopsided the top of college football is. There have been 21 games won in the CFP field. Alabama and Clemson have 14 of those 21 wins, and five of those seven championships. Let’s get some parity!!!

Writer

-By: TJ Mathewson

As if they didn’t already have enough staff in place to get guys ready for the NFL, Alabama added a couple more notable names to their staff for the 2021 season.

Both Bill O’Brien (Offensive Coordinator) and Doug Marrone (Offensive Line) joined the Crimson Tide after being let go from the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars respectively, after former OC Steve Sarkisian (now the HC at Texas) took OL coach Kyle Flood to be his OC in Austin.

O’Brien flamed out in Houston after struggling to manage the roster as HC and GM and connecting with players, like star WR DeAndre Hopkins and LT Duane Brown. Marrone struggled to build off his successful first season in Jacksonville in 2017, struggling to keep the personalities of the team together and ultimately falling apart into the No. 1 pick this year. Two guys are looking for a coaching reboot.

This move mirrors a bunch of coaching moves that Saban has made in the past, being a sort-of coaching rehab center for coaches who need an image remake. Just look at Sark, who came to Alabama in 2016 as an analyst after off-the-field issues derailed his time at USC and Washington. He took over as OC for the 2017 National Championship Game, spent two successful years as the Atlanta Falcons OC, then returned to the Crimson Tide as their OC for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, two of the most offensively successful seasons in program history. Now he’s the HC at Texas, a top-five job in the whole sport.

How about Lane Kiffin? His story mirrors Sark in so many ways. They were both assistants at USC under Pete Carroll. Kiffin had stints with the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Volunteers, and finally the USC Trojans until he was famously fired on the LAX tarmac in 2013 (Sark took over for him in 2014). It only took a couple of months until Kiffin got the OC job at Alabama, where he revitalized his career under Saban and is now coaching at Ole Miss. That’s two guys in the last four years that revitalized their careers under Saban and turned it into prime HC jobs.

This kind of turnover isn’t unusual for Saban. His entire coaching staff from his 2017 National Championship team has turned over in the last four years (most notably OC Brian Daboll and DC Jeremy Pruitt). You would think that would be incredibly hard for the players, but they keep chugging along year after year. 

SI’s Andy Staples put together a great article detailing Saban’s coaching tree following the 2017 season (not including Sark). It’s so impressive to look at. It wouldn't surprise us if Marrone and O’Brien have an immense amount of success in Tuscaloosa and translate it back to the next level or in a head coaching role in the college ranks, and it would just add another branch to the coaching tree of Saban.

Writer

-By: TJ Mathewson