2024’s widened playoff bracket saw a mixed bag of reactions. Teams with good finishes and numbers still missed out on a spot. The bracket itself saw more criticism because of its seeding method. Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss was one of these programs that couldn’t make it to the playoffs, despite posting a 10-3 record. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is now coming to the HC’s support.
Some critics of the playoff bracket argued that the difference in schedule for programs was not taken into consideration. “It’s clear that not losing becomes in many ways more important than beating the University of Georgia, which two of our teams that were left out did,” Sankey said. This notion resulted in Alabama and South Carolina also missing out on a playoff spot. However, programs with far simpler schedules, like Indiana and SMU, won a chance in the playoffs. Both published 11 wins, but had very few CFB big-name programs to face off against. They also lost in most of them.
To level the playing field, many coaches are calling for balance in the number of games in the schedule. The SEC, unlike the Big 10, has just 8 conference games, putting them at an unfair advantage. South Carolina’s Shane Beamer told CBS Sports, “Certainly I’m for it.” “But before we say we’re all in on nine, I think I speak for every coach in the league when we just say what exactly are the playoffs going to look like in future years,” he added.
NCAA, College League, USA Womens Basketball: SEC Media Day Oct 18, 2022 Birmingham, Alabama, US SEC conference commissioner Greg Sankey speaks to the media prior to the tip off of the Womens SEC Media Days in Mountain Brook, AL Birmingham Alabama US, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMarvinxGentryx 20221018_jla_sg8_019
Calls for a revision of the playoff have always been in the background. From expanding the brackets to allowing a new seeding method — more such suggestions are gaining support. Is the NCAA eager to take up more of these suggestions that allow for more fairness in the sport?
The post SEC Commisioner Sympathizes With Lane Kiffin’s Playoff Agony as Shane Beamer Clears Stance on Conference’s Future appeared first on EssentiallySports.
