There's been a lot of (deserved) talk about out of conference scheduling. But if Alabama doesn't make the playoff tomorrow, it raises a very bizarre question regarding conference championship games going forward. Specifically, if you're ranked on the fringe of the Top 10, but safely in the CFP field going INTO conference championship weekend, would it be more beneficial to simply decline the invitation to go play your championship game?
BYU needed the Big 12 title to solidify their spot. There are no other quality Big 12 teams. They have no resume builders aside from a lone win against Utah. Plus they were ranked 11 and were going to be shoved out by other conference champions if they didn't win.
But Alabama really did NOT need that game today.
Alabama finished ahead of Ole Miss, A&M, and OU in SEC standings. If we had lost to A&M last week, Alabama would have sat home this week and would have been a 100% lock for the playoff. Yet they're potentially going to miss the field simply because they HAD to play one extra game than the rest of them.
I get it, it's Alabama. They've been given the benefit of the doubt A LOT. They've been given free passes A LOT. I know. I would much rather we get in over them.
But I truly think that the business decision for the committee has to be to still let Alabama into the playoff. Because if they don't make it, teams might as well just say "No thanks. We're good. We like where we're seeded. We don't need game" and just refuse to play a 13th game before the post season. And let's not forget, last year Georgia largely got knocked out of the playoff because they were playing with an inexperienced Gunnar Stockton because Beck got knocked out in the SECCG. Higher seeded teams with literally nothing to gain have a real argument that the conference title game as a nuisance and an unnecessary risk.
Conference title games are nice revenue generators for the conferences, but if they're literally going to cost conferences representation in the CFP then I wonder if teams and also conferences as a whole start to wonder what benefit they really add. I really think Conference Championship games could be on the way out depending on how tomorrow morning shakes out. Maybe not imminently, but it definitely could be on the horizon.
And I hate pushing a Bama talking point. They've reaped plenty of rewards over the last decade.