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CFP’s Bill Hancock talks about chances two teams from same conference earn Playoff bid
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For the fourth-straight season, we’re having the conversation about two teams from one conference earning bids to the College Football Playoff. As long as the bracket includes just four teams, don’t expect that discussion to go away.
It’s a dilemma the committee has faced, and will continue to see, each and every year. With the first rankings coming out on Tuesday and the B1G and SEC each having multiple candidates to fill those spots, it’ll definitely be interesting to see how things are projected on Halloween night.
But before we see the first rankings, College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock talked about the possibility of two teams from the same conference earning bids.
“Nothing precludes it,” Hancock said, according to a report from the Athens Banner-Herald. “Our charge is to pick the best four teams, period. There are no restrictions on that. I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually we will have two teams from the same conference. When that might happen, nobody knows. It’s certainly way too early to speculate this year because there’s so much football to be played.”
Right now, both the B1G and the SEC have solid arguments to have two teams in the top four.
Ohio State is coming off a thrilling 39-38 win over No. 2 Penn State while Wisconsin sits undefeated in the conference. And the Nittany Lions aren’t completely out of the picture, especially if they win out.
In the SEC, Alabama and Georgia are both unbeaten and have walloped nearly everyone on their respective schedules. What happens if the two teams are a perfect 12-0 and clash in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.
There’s still a long way to go this season, but it sounds like the College Football Playoff committee doesn’t care about conferences right now. It’s all about getting those best four teams into the playoff.
We’ll see the committee’s first impressions of the college football season on Tuesday evening.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB