• Home
  • About PubClub.com Nightlife Pubs And Clubs Website
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

PubClub

Where The World Goes To Party!

How A Non-Power 5 School Can Make The College Football Playoffs

January 4, 2021 by kevinwilkerson Leave a Comment

Cincinnati, Boise State, Liberty And Other Small Conference Teams Need To Follow This Formula 

Cincinnati Bearcats cheerleaders
The Cincinnati Bearcats cheerleaders had plenty to cheer about this past season. Photo: gobearcats.com




By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com College Football Editor

If you listen to some in the media, it is impossible for a team from a non-power conference to make the College Football Playoffs.

That is simply not true and here’s why that is the case.

The College Football Media Bias – ‘Football Powerhouse Envy’

First of all, many of those in the media just need something to gripe about and this one is easy pickings. Secondly, they are most likely went to a non-football power (such as Northwestern) whose school has been and never will be good enough to play for a National Championship.

They have “football powerhouse envy” because their alma mater always gets hammered by the big boys and they can’t stand it.

So whenever they see a Cincinnati, a Boise State, Central Florida or even teams they never previously heard of like Liberty and Coastal Carolina, they jump on those teams’ bandwagons and onto their keyboards.

Non-Power 5 Schools Conferences

The above was really just an explanation why this is even a topic worth covering. The real reason non-Power 5 schools don’t get into the College Football Playoffs is simple: scheduling.

No person with a reasonable football mind – and one would hope that includes people on the playoff committee – would put in a school that plays a second-tier schedule. That’s not the teams’ fault, it’s just that by playing in a league that has the likes of Houston and East Carolina (Cincinnati and Central Florida), Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State (Coastal Carolina) doesn’t earn it respect, even if it goes undefeated.

Non-Power 5 Schools Conferences Scheduling

If those teams are serious about challenging for a playoff spot, here’s what they need to do: upgrade their schedules. They need to play Power 5 schools. Good ones. And more than one a season.

In fact, they need to have at least three on their schedule. Win those, and they earn a hard look from the committee.

Cincinnati, for instance, should play Ohio State and Notre Dame every year and mix in a Michigan or Wisconsin.

Boise State needs to play Oklahoma, Nebraska (hey that’s a game it could win) and mix in, say, Texas A&M, USC or Oregon (granted, the Broncos in the past have beaten both OUs, Oklahoma and Oregon).

Liberty, as an independent, made a good attempt this year by scheduling Syracuse and Virginia Tech from the ACC. And won both games. But it needed to play Clemson. Syracuse and Va Tech were a combined 6-16. That won’t win over many voters.

Central Florida, which went undefeated in Scott Frost’s final year, played a schedule that included Florida International, Navy, Austin Peay and Temple. Alabama, the true National Champion, opened with Florida State (which was ranked #3 to open the year and then collapsed after Jameis Winston got injured), LSU, Mississippi State (which finished the season ranked 16th) and Texas A&M.

Bowl Game Wins Don’t Mean Anything

Whenever a second-tier conference team beats a team from the “big boys” league, the pundits go crazy. “See, they belong!,” the proclaim.

Not true. Winning one game when the smaller conference team has the “we have nothing to lose and everything to prove mentally” and the other has the “we’ve got to play Cincinnati!?” mentality, that’s not an even emotional matchup.

That’s why it’s common to see Boise State upsetting Oklahoma, Utah taking down Alabama and Georgia pretty much playing dead against West Virginia, Boise and this year against the Bearcats (although the Bulldogs were awake enough to pull out a narrow win).

Central Florida over Auburn in 2017 is often cited as an example since the Auburn beat both National Championship finalists Alabama and Georgia that year. But there’s a huge difference in facing the Tigers in Jordan-Hare Stadium as a bitter conference rival than playing them in the meaningless Peach Bowl.

Conclusion

So yes, a non-Power 5 team can earn a spot in the College Football Playoffs. It just needs a more impressive resume than beating the likes of SMU and Memphis.



Filed Under: College Football Tagged With: College Football Playoffs, non-Power 5 schools

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Unfinished Man

Search

Today On PubClub.com

EVENTS CALENDAR:
• Feb. 12 – Super Bowl LVII, Glendale, AZ

LET’S BE SOCIAL!
 
PubClub.com is a member of the Travel & Tourism Marketing Association, Inc.​, and the Travel Massive chapters in Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County (CA).

Instagram

Follow on Instagram

Destinations

  • 72 Hours (3)
  • Destinations (2,112)
    • Asia (17)
      • Japan (5)
        • Tokyo (3)
      • Taiwan (1)
      • Thailand (7)
    • Australia (19)
      • Surfer's Paradise (3)
      • Sydney (5)
    • Brazil (7)
      • Rio (2)
    • Camping (1)
    • Canada (21)
      • Montreal (2)
      • Niagara Falls (5)
      • Toronto (2)
    • Caribbean (56)
      • Cuba (1)
      • San Juan (5)
      • Virgin Islands (20)
    • Central America (1)
      • Costa Rica (1)
    • Europe (102)
      • Amsterdam (15)
      • France (3)
      • Germany (5)
      • Ibiza (2)
      • Kiev (1)
      • London (6)
      • Malta (1)
      • Moscow (1)
      • Munich (5)
      • Paris (5)
      • Poland (3)
        • Krakow (2)
      • Prague (6)
      • Switzerland (35)
        • Basel (5)
        • Bern (3)
        • Swiss Alps (1)
        • Zermatt (3)
        • Zurich (4)
    • Greek Islands (25)
      • Corfu (3)
      • Ios (2)
      • Mykonos (5)
      • Santorini (5)
    • Mexico (10)
      • Cabo San Lucas (1)
      • Puerto Vallarta (1)
      • Tijuana (1)
    • Michigan (1)
      • Traverse City (1)
    • Ski Resorts (70)
      • Aspen (1)
      • Austria (5)
      • Big Bear (13)
      • Big Sky (6)
      • Mammoth (17)
      • Squaw Valley (4)
      • Whistler (3)
    • Tokyo (1)
    • USA (1,772)
      • Alabama (3)
      • Alaska (1)
      • Arizona (7)
        • Lake Havasu (1)
        • Scottsdale (3)
        • Sedona (1)
      • Boston (5)
      • California (1,324)
        • Carmel (24)
        • Central Coast (9)
        • Lancaster (16)
        • Los Angeles (809)
          • Catalina Island (12)
          • Culver City (1)
          • El Segundo (4)
          • Hermosa Beach (174)
            • Fourth Of July (12)
            • Smackfest Events (22)
          • Hollywood (16)
          • Huntington Beach (1)
          • Lake Arrowhead (2)
          • Long Beach (41)
            • Grand Prix (11)
          • Manhattan Beach (77)
          • Marina del Rey (6)
          • Newport Beach (44)
          • Orange County (27)
          • Party Report (15)
          • Redondo Beach (83)
          • Santa Monica (4)
          • South Bay (93)
          • Sunset Strip (4)
          • Temecula (12)
          • Venice Beach (5)
        • Mendocino (12)
        • Monterey (30)
          • Restaurant Reviews (10)
        • Napa (5)
        • Oakland (7)
        • Palm Springs (8)
        • Paso Robles (7)
        • San Clemente (1)
        • San Diego (281)
          • Balboa Park (1)
          • Del Mar (11)
          • Events (72)
          • Gaslamp (46)
          • Imperial Beach (5)
          • Lifestyle (4)
          • Music (1)
          • Ocean Beach (5)
          • Oceanside (1)
          • Pacific Beach (4)
        • San Francisco (70)
          • Events (12)
        • Santa Barbara (1)
      • Chicago (10)
      • College Towns (1)
      • Colorado (4)
        • Denver (4)
      • Florida (84)
        • Daytona Beach (1)
        • Ft. Lauderdale (3)
        • Jacksonville (1)
        • Key West (25)
        • Keys (8)
        • Miami (10)
        • Panama City Beach (3)
      • Hawaii (25)
        • Waikiki Beach (15)
      • Indianapolis (3)
      • Las Vegas (165)
      • New Jersey (1)
      • New Orleans (41)
      • New York City (14)
      • Newport, R.I. (1)
      • North Carolina (1)
      • Oregon (9)
        • Portland (8)
      • Seattle (2)
      • South Carolina (3)
        • Charleston (3)
      • St. Louis (1)
      • Tennessee (46)
        • Franklin (4)
        • Gatlinburg (5)
        • Knoxville (10)
        • Nashville (5)
        • Smoky Mountains (3)
      • Texas (6)
        • Austin (6)
      • Utah (2)
      • Virginia (1)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (6)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (3)
  • Hong Kong (1)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Events

  • 72 Hours (3)
  • Events (516)
    • BVI Interline Regatta (5)
    • Carnival (5)
    • Cinco de Mayo (2)
    • Exercise and Socalize (2)
    • Fourth of July (8)
    • Halloween (9)
    • Holidays (19)
      • Thanksgiving (7)
    • Indy 500 (10)
    • Kentucky Derby (12)
    • Memorial Day Weekend (5)
    • New Year's Eve (43)
    • Oktoberfest (11)
    • Party Report (46)
    • Running Of The Bulls (5)
    • Spring Break (6)
    • St. Patricks Day (8)
    • Sundance Film Festival (8)
    • Super Bowl (16)
    • Valentine's Day (10)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (6)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (3)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Sports

  • 72 Hours (3)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (6)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (3)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Sports (504)
    • Baseball (8)
    • Beach Volleyball (3)
    • College Football (290)
    • Golf (11)
    • NFL (44)
    • Olympics (13)
    • Racing (25)
    • Soccer (8)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Lifestyle

  • 72 Hours (3)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (6)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (3)
  • Lifestyle (1,587)
    • Beach Reads (1)
    • Cannabis (4)
    • Celebrity Sightings (6)
    • Entertainment (22)
    • Mr. Sorehead (3)
    • Music (276)
      • Festivals (58)
      • Jimmy Buffett (38)
      • Trop Rock (13)
    • Party Stories (2)
    • People Profiles (10)
    • Singles Life (7)
      • Men Vs Women (2)
      • Relationships (2)
    • Social Media (2)
    • Spirits (26)
    • Travel (651)
      • Airlines (30)
      • Airports (1)
      • Blogger (366)
      • Cruise Ships (23)
      • Hotels (15)
      • Product Reviews (3)
      • Singles Travelers (1)
      • Solo Travel (2)
      • Touring Blog (12)
      • Weather (17)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

From the Bar Stool

  • 72 Hours (3)
  • From The Bar Stool (311)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (6)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (3)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Bars

  • 72 Hours (3)
  • Bars (260)
    • Bars & Food (24)
    • Bars & Nightlife (196)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (6)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (3)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

News

  • 72 Hours (3)
  • Business News (4,159)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (6)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (3)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • News (54)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Colleges

  • 72 Hours (3)
  • Colleges (29)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (6)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (3)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Food and Drinks

  • 72 Hours (3)
  • Food and Drinks (387)
    • Beer (98)
    • Cocktails (45)
    • Foddie Blog (27)
    • Rum (7)
    • Singles Cooking (1)
    • spirits (8)
    • Spirits & Beer Industry (79)
    • Tequila (16)
    • Vodka (1)
    • Wine (78)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (6)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (3)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Subscribe To The Party Report

About PubClub.com

PubClub.com is a content-oriented nightlife tourist guide dedicated to social-minded travelers with articles on worldwide destinations such as Amsterdam, the Greek Islands, Prague, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Canada, and more. Top keywords for search are pubclub, pub club, party pubs, club pub, travel pub, pub club night, pubs and clubs and the pub club.
Read More...
Our Terms | Privacy

Legal

Ads

Powered by imFORZA