As if its fundamental flaw weren’t bad enough, based on the buzz from the beach, that model almost certainly will lead to play-in games before the playoff games.
That terrible, horrible, no-good idea would kill the Iron Bowl as we know it.
You think DeBoer might not be faced with those kinds of decisions and almost forced to de-emphasize the Iron Bowl?
His 2017 Alabama team proved the point when it lost the Iron Bowl in Auburn and still made the four-team playoff.
If the four-team playoff cost the Iron Bowl some of its luster, a 16-team postseason will tarnish it even more, especially if the SEC establishes play-in games before the playoff games.
I’m hoping John Cohen spoke up and Greg Byrne stood up. I hope Hugh Freeze beat a table and Kalen DeBoer shook a fist. I’m hoping that everyone from Auburn and Alabama who went to the SEC spring meetings made enough noise to make Greg Sankey’s ears perk up.
Out of all the college football playoff formats being discussed at the Sandestin Beach Hilton, one should have brought the Tiger and Tide contingents together to discuss, shoot, and burn it to the ground.
With two spots each set aside for the ACC and Big 12, one for the top-ranked Group of Five/Six champion, and the remaining three being at-large selections, the infamous 4-4-2-2-1-3 model would ensure the SEC and the Big Ten four spots each.
The format’s anti-competitive nature ought to have caused the trial balloon to burst before it took off. If its basic flaw wasn’t bad enough, that model will most likely result in play-in games prior to the playoffs based on the buzz from the beach.
The Iron Bowl as we know it would end because of that awful, awful, bad idea.
Think about it. The inclusion of more play-in and playoff teams dilutes the regular season. You run a greater risk of losing the games that made SEC football so great if you cut down on the regular season.
Examples: Alabama vs. Auburn.
Imagine this situation. The 16-team playoff is used, and its format is 4-4-2-2-1-3. Conference championship weekend is turned into a tripleheader by the SEC in a desperate attempt to increase revenue streams linked to TV-friendly content. To determine a conference champion and a better postseason spot, the top two regular season teams square off in Atlanta. The playoffs are assured for both teams.
Wait, though. There is more. The team in sixth place goes to the team in third place, and the team in fifth place goes to the team in fourth place. The winners receive the third and fourth automatic bids to the playoffs in the league.
The Iron Bowl: What Happens the Week Before Championship Weekend? Nothing compares to it anywhere, particularly when Auburn Jesus drives and they meet at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Alabama has won the series five times in a row, but two of those five games were spectacular. Alabama prevailed in four extra periods after Bryce Young led a full-field, last-minute touchdown drive to force overtime, solidifying his 2021 Heisman. Jalen Milroe’s game-winning touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond in the final seconds of the 2023 encounter, Gravedigger, is the most recent play in the rivalry that deserves to be painted.
Despite several unsuccessful regular seasons under Bryan Harsin, Auburn has managed to push Alabama to the limit and leave both teams with a memorable experience, despite the losing team’s desire to forget the agonizing memories.
It is not at all implausible to imagine this set of circumstances.
It is late November 2027. Alabama has just one week left to secure the SEC’s top spot. There are still a lot of teams vying for a play-in spot, including Auburn. To put it another way, the Tide comes to the Plains with pride as their only goal. The Tigers are risking everything.
The running back with a tight hamstring or the edge with a high-ankle sprain—would Alabama rest its starting quarterback, especially if he’s a little injured, or risk his health before the postseason?
It happens frequently in the NFL, so you don’t think that can’t happen? You think DeBoer won’t have to make decisions like that and be nearly compelled to downplay the importance of the Iron Bowl? At the conclusion of the previous NFL regular season, Kansas City was forced to consider the future beyond their final game against Denver.
Some of the Chiefs’ best players, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, were benched because they already had the top AFC playoff seed. To secure a postseason berth, Bo Nix and the Broncos needed to win, and they easily defeated Kansas City’s junior varsity team. Denver won 38, Kansas City won 0.
It’s difficult to blame the Chiefs for not fielding their best team that day, and the choice proved to be successful. They proceeded to return to the Super Bowl after winning the AFC Championship Game.
For years, Nick Saban has emphasized that a college football playoff would eclipse the regular season, much like the NFL postseason does. The point was demonstrated by his Alabama team in 2017, which advanced to the four-team playoffs despite losing the Iron Bowl in Auburn. The Tigers defeated Georgia that year as well, but they lost a rematch to rival Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game without a healthy Kerryon Johnson, who was injured while pushing himself too hard in the Iron Bowl.
Auburn missed the playoffs despite sweeping its most formidable opponents during the regular season. Georgia and Alabama played for the national championship, which the Tide won on second and 26.
If the four-team playoff took away some of the Iron Bowl’s appeal, a 16-team postseason will make it even less appealing, particularly if the SEC adds play-in games prior to the playoffs.
Alabama against… A national championship will be a long way off, and Auburn will just end up being another weigh station. The Iron Bowl might lose even more of its impact compared to Alabama vs. Vanderbilt or Alabama vs. Oklahoma.
Do we want collegiate football to be like that?
