The G6 Playoff Path Is A Scheduling Quirk, Not A Meritocracy
Bill Connelly
"My rule for the G6 is, do you, did you happen to schedule two power conference teams a decade ago? Because only you're eligible for a playoff bid, with the way the committee works. So UTSA is not eligible. Hawaii is eligible."
Context
Bill's structural read on the 12-team playoff's effective rule for G6 programs: the committee's behavior means a G6 team must have scheduled two power-conference opponents a decade ago to be effectively eligible for an at-large or auto-bid path now. Schedule decisions made years before the playoff format existed have become the constraint that determines current eligibility.
The take exposes a real arbitrage in the playoff structure — UTSA can win the conference and still be effectively excluded; Hawaii can lose the conference and still be effectively eligible — solely because of a scheduling decision made in a different era.
Subject(s)
- 12-team playoff structure
- G6 / G5 conference programs
- UTSA (canonical exclusion case)
- Hawaii (canonical inclusion case)