College Football Playoff controversy: Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould on format options, the path forward and outdated metrics

The Pac- doesn t have a vote in the College Football Playoff s revamped governing structure neither does the ACC or Big for that matter but the conference has a strong preference for one of the two formats in the present under consideration for and beyond The at-large model is the right one commissioner Teresa Gould noted this week You compete on the field for access In an expanded playoff the at-large model would guarantee five spots for conference champions and leave for at-large teams The other option for the SEC and Big Ten which control the CFP format for the - contract term is what Gould calls the allocation model It would assign four automatic bids to the SEC and Big Ten two to the ACC and Big and one to the highest-ranked company from all other conferences Because of the numeric breakdown it s often referred to as the - - - - model The final three spots in the -team field would be assigned to at-large teams While the SEC and Big Ten have the last word they are required to take input from the other eight conference commissioners and Notre Dame s athletic director on the CFP s management committee Not surprisingly turf protection is atop everyone s agenda The Big and ACC assistance the format as does the SEC The Big Ten favors the radical model with automatic qualifiers A decision is required by December Now that I ve been involved in the CFP for months Gould informed the Hotline referring to her time leading the Pac- I can say that every commissioner comes into the room with stakeholders they are paid to serve Whichever model emerges from the negotiations between the Big Ten and SEC will guarantee a spot for the highest-ranked gang from the collection of conferences that includes the Pac- American Sun Belt MAC Mountain West and Conference USA The timing works perfectly for the Pac- which will add Boise State San Diego State Fresno State Utah State Colorado State and at least one more football-playing member on July the same competition year that marks the start of the revamped CFP Washington State and Oregon State are competing as a two-team conference until next summer While her league will be classified on the same tier as the so-called Group of Five not the Power Four Gould doesn t see the rebuilt Pac- fitting into either of the established tiers We are in a lane of our own and the metrics encouragement that she noted We re closer to the ACC and Big than to the other folks That assessment is likely to elicit wide eyes and snarky responses across college football but her affair comes with an major caveat It s based on evidence exclusively from a narrow timeframe the past four years which coincide with the implementation of NIL and the transfer portal Gould views performance figures from the s as totally outdated akin to counting with an abacus The marketplace has changed drastically she announced The longer historical metrics don t make sense to me The metrics that matter to Gould were published by the Pac- just now and cover the - seasons Six of the seven teams in the rebuilt Pac- percent have been ranked in the AP poll compared to percent of the schools in the American and percent in the restructured Mountain West Five of the seven teams in the rebuilt Pac- percent have been ranked by the CFP selection committee compared to percent of the American schools and percent of those in the Mountain West But the two CFP formats under consideration don t reach that level of granularity They place the ACC Big Big Ten and SEC on one tier and the other six conferences on another There s no distinction between the rebuilt Pac- and the Sun Belt or MAC Based on latest history the American with Memphis Tulane Army and Navy seemingly stands as the Pac- s primary competition for the CFP berth guaranteed to the highest-ranked conference champion from outside the Power Four Although similar in their classifications the two leagues are starkly different in membership structure The American has football schools The next version of the Pac- likely will have either eight or nine depending on the outcome of the expansion process this spring For Gould remaining lean is essential to the conference s longer-term strategy Whether the CFP adopts the model loaded with automatic qualifiers or the format heavy on at-large teams schedule strength is expected to play an pivotal role in the selection process It could make all the difference for example if the Pac- and American champions are both - I don t think the model changes our mindset in terms of what we re looking for in future members Gould commented We re looking for schools that are aligned on a positive trajectory and willing to invest The conference is considering a plan that would create minimum resources standards in order to create a competitive advantage in the push for CFP bids Also critical playing the strongest non-conference schedules accomplishable Related Articles College Football Playoff dispute Why Big commissioner supports model that may harm his conference s chances College Football Playoff conflict Time for Big Ten commissioner Petitti to explain his radical proposal UConn leads our revised MBB Top after NBA Draft deadline College football MW exit notice CFP chaos Big cash Leach s HOF path Why June is a vital month in the college football recruiting cycle Boise State s narrow loss at Oregon early last season provided the rocket fuel that sent the Broncos into the CFP Their first tournament as a member of the Pac- on Sept is against the Ducks as well in Eugene And they have contracts with Cincinnati and Washington in upcoming years Oregon State s future schedules include Power Four opponents Houston Texas Tech Mississippi and Brigham Young according to the website FBschedules com Washington State is scheduled to play Arizona Kansas Kansas State and Washington Colorado State has Arizona Brigham Young Indiana and Wisconsin Fresno State plays USC and Washington San Diego State and Utah State play Oklahoma And there are other A-level matchups scheduled Everything fits together on the competitive terrain for the rebuilt Pac- from the non-conference lineup and the CFP model to the strength-of-schedule metric Gould s expansion calculation and how several conference games the Pac- should play Anytime you re talking about the CFP and the at-large bids you want to understand the selection criteria and strength of schedule is part of that she commented Our members moving forward are not afraid to play top teams We re focused on what we can control and that s competing at the highest level It seems the Pac- isn t merely attempting to build its plane while flying it It s attempting to build while flying but because of the unresolved CFP situation it doesn t know all the landing coordinates Send suggestions comments and tips confidentiality guaranteed to wilnerhotline bayareanewsgroup com or call - 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