It just hit me that with this format, being the top ranked non-champion might be the most advantageous spot.
The reason I say that is that your path would be a home game against the likely G5 champion, someone like Tulane or South Florida. Then your quarterfinal would be against the lowest ranked P4 champion.
If you applied last year to this year’s format and assumed the realignment had already happened, this is what you would’ve had.
1 Michigan (Big 10)
Bye
8 Ohio State
9 Oregon
4 Arizona (Big 12)
Bye
5 Washington
12 Liberty
2 Texas (SEC)
Bye
7 Georgia
10 Missouri
3 Florida State (ACC)
Bye
6 Alabama
11 Penn State
And yes, we would’ve missed if you assumed a Big 12 champion and G5 champion would’ve had to supplant us.
The point though is that Washington getting Liberty at home and then a 14th ranked Arizona on a neutral site is likely the easiest path to a semifinal of anyone in the field.
All of the Top 4, even with a bye, would likely have a tougher one game path than Washington’s 2 game path.
That’s part of the reason this format won’t last, but it’s a unique feature/bug of this current system.
The reason I say that is that your path would be a home game against the likely G5 champion, someone like Tulane or South Florida. Then your quarterfinal would be against the lowest ranked P4 champion.
If you applied last year to this year’s format and assumed the realignment had already happened, this is what you would’ve had.
1 Michigan (Big 10)
Bye
8 Ohio State
9 Oregon
4 Arizona (Big 12)
Bye
5 Washington
12 Liberty
2 Texas (SEC)
Bye
7 Georgia
10 Missouri
3 Florida State (ACC)
Bye
6 Alabama
11 Penn State
And yes, we would’ve missed if you assumed a Big 12 champion and G5 champion would’ve had to supplant us.
The point though is that Washington getting Liberty at home and then a 14th ranked Arizona on a neutral site is likely the easiest path to a semifinal of anyone in the field.
All of the Top 4, even with a bye, would likely have a tougher one game path than Washington’s 2 game path.
That’s part of the reason this format won’t last, but it’s a unique feature/bug of this current system.
