SEC Opposes Conference Champion Only Playoff
DESTIN (CBSMiami) – The Southeastern Conference is undoubtedly the toughest and most well-respected conference in college football. The SEC first proposed the playoff format about to be adopted, if the SEC will agree.
At issue is how to select the teams that will play for the National Championship. Other conferences, including the ACC and Big East haven't had teams selected to play for the title in years and want their conference champions to get preference when selecting the final four.
The SEC has dominated college football since the inception of the Bowl Championship Series and has accounted for the last six national champions. Criticism grew of allowing voters to decide last year when a team that didn't win its conference championship, Alabama, won the national championship.
SEC coaches and administrators want the selection process to simply be the four best teams in the country with no preference given to conference champions. All of the other conferences oppose this and want conference champions to be at the front of the pack.
"I think it needs to be the four best teams in the country," Florida coach Will Muschamp said. "I don't think it needs to be the conference champions because in our league, we might have four of the best teams in the country.
Last year, the SEC would have had two teams in the championship with the Arkansas Razorbacks just missing out if the top four teams were the final four in a new playoff format.
The compromise could come in the form of a new model that was introduced called the "three-and-one" proposal, according to CBSSports.com. The top three spots would be reserved for a conference champion and the fourth spot could be a "wild card."
Assuming that proposal had been in place last year, the semifinals would have matched up LSU vs. Oregon and Alabama vs. Oklahoma State.
Still, no one knows exactly what model will be accepted and when it will be announced, though many have said it will come after the BCS meetings around June 20.
Until then, college football fans aching for the details of the long-awaited playoff will simply have to hurry up and wait.
(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
