I haven’t read all of the comments/links, but what I’m struck by is the assumption that the SEC is done. What if the SEC were to offer ND, and Clemson spots in the conference? What about adding USC and UCLA to make 20?
Why would a conference so focused on money allow everyone else to make moves without considering their own options? I don’t think they would.
Is there an assumption that the SEC is done expanding ?
Such an assumption is reasonable since the other Power 5 conferences have caught on to what the SEC was doing by expanding playoff spots to 12 without any limit per conference. The Notre Dame AD who chaired the expansion committee was obviously asleep at the wheel while getting manhandled by the SEC commissioner.
If playoff spots are limited to 2 or 3 per conference in an expanded playoff system then it would be wise for the best football teams to avoid joining the talent rich SEC. Playoff berths are worth a lot of money & help with recruiting.
Clemson & FSU were the most likely targets. Clemson does not earn as much as most would suspect. However, if the ACC joins with the Big Ten & with the Pac 12, it is almost certain that ACC annual payout to teams would rise dramatically.
Regardless, Notre Dame would be unlikely to join the SEC based on ND’s history of prima donna status & of independence. Many expect Texas to get thrashed & swallowed up by other SEC teams. Texas could not even win the much weaker Big 12. An SEC schedule might be too much for Notre Dame to handle based on its level of competition in the ACC and against Navy, etc.
The competition & the travel burden would be too much for USC & UCLA in the SEC. Much better to be part of an alliance which retains a Pac 12 heavy schedule.
Additionally, the Big 12 would love for the SEC to mess with the ACC or the Pac 12 as the Big 12 commissioner’s cease & desist letter is designed as a threat of litigation and of a request to the US Dept. of Justice Antitrust Division to open an investigation.
Once the “no conference limit” on playoff spots is eliminated & restricted to 2 or 3, Texas & Oklahoma may wish that they had stayed in the Big 12.
Additionally, any future moves by the SEC would probably require the approval of Disney’s ESPN network.
In short, the SEC & Disney ESPN got caught. No longer will those entities be dealing with an overwhelmed, out foxed Notre Dame athletic director, they are going to face Jim Delaney, Jim Phillips, the Big Ten, the ACC, the Pac 12, and the Big 12’s Bowlsby (who now understands). Bowlsby claims that he was in the men’s room when the committee assignments were handed out. Notre Dame’s AD has not offered an excuse for his negligence. Obviously, the Notre Dame AD drank the kool-aid and believed that an expanded 12 team playoff would benefit Notre Dame.
Additionally, the SEC & ESPN have “messed with Texas” and with Oklahoma.
At this stage, the safest bet is on Jim Delaney to make things right.
P.S. If Jim Delaney wants to benefit his clients–and he certainly does & will–and to punish the SEC & Disney ESPN, he will just get his clients to amend the proposed college football playoff expansion to place a limit of two (2) teams per conference.
Discussion about college football realignment would have been much more exciting if Oklahoma had moved to the SEC and Texas had gone to the Big Ten. Then each conference would have been looking for a companion school to add in order to keep an even number of teams.
This scenario would have pleased Texas A&M a team which has openly & repeatedly stated that it wanted to be the only Texas team in the SEC.
If an expanded playoff system limits each conference to two teams, then Texas A&M might think about moving to the Big Ten where it would be the only Texas team in the Big Ten.
From 3 weeks ago:
The SEC has had two out of four teams in the Playoff. They shouldn’t be limited to less than four in a 12 team Playoff. Base it on rankings with each conference winner getting in plus a Non-Power 4 team.
You say 4, I say 2.
Any room for a compromise ?
If so, I have a number in mind.
Restricting college football conferences to 2 teams in the playoffs is more about preserving at least a semblance of parity and opportunity for all conferences nationwide.
Seems as though the SEC wants to professionalize college football.
Take the SECs average teams over the 4 team Playoff years and multiply by three. 
The beauty of the Big Dance are the unheralded teams who go the the sweet 16 and beyond. ACU beating Texas! With only 12 teams it’s tough to have more than two that aren’t Power 4 (+ ND).
Sorry, but you lost me as your second paragraph seems to contradict your first paragraph.
Limiting conferences to 2 teams in a 12 team playoff scheme means that potentially each Power 5 conference could send 2 teams to the playoffs.
Do west coast or mid-west or northeast viewers really want to see college football playoffs dominated by SEC teams ?
I don’t want every conference to have two teams. There are times when the SEC may deserve four teams. With OU, they would have averaged at least two out of four teams with a four team Playoff. Maybe top 8 regardless of conference, any other Power 4 conference winners as long as they’re top 12 and then the remainder are at large with at least one G6. If the SEC has six teams in the top 12, I wouldn’t want to limit the conference to only three.
Your thoughts, I suspect, are shared by many.
I prefer that the SEC do its own thing with respect to college football and let the other major conferences affiliate and have their own bowl games–whether or not in a playoff style.
I find the playoffs boring as just a handful of teams have dominated the current system. Reportedly, many agree with me and find the dominance of college football by a handful of teams boring. This is why the conferences are planning to expand the playoffs to 12 teams. I would prefer reverting back to the old bowl system.
Unfortunately, there is no parity in college football. The 5 star recruits typically end up at one of the same few teams year after year in a manner that is the opposite of the NFL draft system which gives the worst team the best picks in each round of the draft.
If Alabama plays Clemson for the college football championship, I may or may not watch and I do not care which team wins. To be honest, I do not care if the game is even played. Just flip a coin & declare the winner of the coin toss as the national champion.
I was excited about Coastal Carolina last season and other no name teams. Even the other SEC teams are tired of Alabama’s dominance in the sport. But the money is too good to ignore. There have been several articles over the past few years which ask if Alabama’s dominance is ruining college football.
If a 12 team playoff is implemented, I would like to see 2 spots reserved for each Power 5 conference with two open spots which could be assigned /awarded to any independent school or any school which is not a member of a Power 5 conference. Such a system would likely lead to parity as teams would shift to conferences where they have a reasonable chance to make the playoffs. In the current situation, this would prompt Texas & Oklahoma to move back to the Big 12 conference.
P.S. A quick google search revealed these articles written over the past 3 years on page one of the search results:
Alabama is a college football monopoly. Is it time to break it up ?
Are Clemson and Alabama ruining college football ?
Is the Alabama Crimson Tide dynasty ruining college football ?
Tired and bored of the Alabama dynasty ?
Is seemingly unbeatable Alabama ruining college football ?
Rapid Reaction: Alabama makes college football boring.
Alabama has ruined college football.
Although I am interested in seeing Alabama completely destroy Texas in the SEC. In fact, I look forward to Texas A&M, LSU, Georgia, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, etc. destroying Texas in the SEC.
I also look forward to Vanderbilt having a peer football program such as Texas in the SEC.
And I like Texas. I just do not like what Texas & Oklahoma are doing to college football.
Prediction: Vanderbilt 24 Texas 17–final score.
Prediction: Alabama 72 Texas 10—at halftime.
The NCAA is likely to give automatic bids to the conference winners only. What’s the point of having a conference championship game of both teams are already in? I would guess they will use the BCS system (or some version of it) to allow for the “other” teams to get in.
With 12…you give the four highest seeds a bye, and the other 8 play the first round.
The BCS type system would allow for the SEC or Big 10 to have 3 or maybe even 4 teams, but it would all be b ased on rankings.
The NCAA will do whatever the Power 5 conferences tell it to do.
The US Supreme Court neutered the NCAA; the SEC & Disney’s ESPN will make sure that the task was done right.
From the following article:
Disney’s ESPN owns the SEC network.
“The answer to all your questions is money.”
Alabama has absolutely ruined college football, with Alabama/Clemson have ruined college football as a close second.
I like Alabama vs Clemson because I like rooting against Bama. They’ll take a dive when Saban retires unless Dabo takes over. May resurge again like ND has.
So many top QBs, RBs, dominant defensive players that are fun to watch. Like Rattler for OU. Wow. Iowa State’s QB. Next man up at Georgia and Bama. Will the HS guy, Ewers, get the starting job at tOSU? Will USC ever be really good again?
College football isn’t controlled by the NCAA. The NCAA does not control the major college football conferences. It has no financial stake in college football’s postseason. It has no control over television deals. The Power 5 uses the NCAA to enforce rules and compliance involving off-the-field activities, which is pretty much no more anyway.
College football is mostly controlled by the Power 5 conferences and the CFP committee.
@tristatecoog: Here is an article which addresses your question about which AAC (American Athletic Conference) are likely to attract an invitation from the Big 12:
si.com/college/ucf/university-of-central-florida-football/ranking-the-aac-teams-for-the-b12
Same as my list of four, but the article adds a fifth team = Memphis
Four of the top six in the AP poll are current/future SEC teams.
7 of the top 21 are current or future SEC teams.
The new head coach at Texas was the offensive coordinator at Alabama. Maybe he can add some magic to Texas, but Nick Saban is a genius and should have added insight when competing against one of his own coaches.
Rankings, schmankings. It’s about the eyeballs.
"Once again, I ranked every Power 5 team, plus Notre Dame and the eight schools most popularly mentioned as Big 12 expansion candidates: Boise State, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, SMU, UCF and USF.
The numbers next to each school indicate the average number of viewers per week from 2015–19. Streaming numbers are included when available.
Conference championship games and bowl games are not included in these numbers. Games that were not nationally televised count as a zero, unless streaming data was available."
A few surprises to me, quickly perusing the list.