Ranking the college football conferences with the best chance at two playoff teams

The SEC wanted just one group to achieve the Faculty Soccer Playoff final 12 months to earn one other nationwide title, however there have been moments — the SEC might get THREE groups in!?! — when it seemed like they’d get extra.

This 12 months, Alabama, LSU and Tennessee will attempt to elbow out defending nationwide champion Georgia from the highest spot, so put together for conversations about a number of SEC groups ending within the prime 4. They will not be the one convention with multiteam speak, although. The Huge Ten produced two semifinalists final 12 months in Ohio State and Michigan — and people faculties might do it once more. (Except Penn State has one thing to say about it … wait, might the Huge Ten get THREE groups in?!?)

Whereas it is definitely attainable for a convention to have a number of groups end within the choice committee’s prime 4, it isn’t regular. It has occurred solely 3 times within the playoffs’ nine-year historical past (excluding the 2020 season, when Our Lady briefly joined the ACC due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Alabama and Georgia each completed within the prime 4 in 2017 and 2021, and Ohio State and Michigan represented the Huge Ten within the CFP final season.

When the CFP expands to 12 groups in 2024, this would possibly not be considered as such a Herculean achievement — conferences shall be anticipated to have a minimum of two or three groups within the discipline. For one ultimate season, although, the burden of proof stays increased for any group that does not win its convention.

The choice committee should “unequivocally” agree a group that is not a convention champion is among the 4 finest groups within the nation. Usually, that has been confirmed by on-field dominance (the attention check and statistics like scoring margin and a top-15 offense and protection), and energy of schedule, which locations a heavy weight on nonconference opponents and wins towards CFP prime 25 groups.

Making an allowance for how the committee thinks along with ESPN’s Football Power Index and different elements, this is an early prediction on which Energy 5 conferences have one of the best probability to place a number of groups within the playoff.