Playoff vs. BCS: Games That Would Matter on Thanksgiving Weekend

For shits and giggles, we wanted to compare this to how many games this weekend would matter if a playoff existed. For format, we’re using a 16-team playoff. Each conference receives an automatic bid. There are five at-large bids. Teams are selected and ranked, based on a formula. For this hypothetical, we’ll use the Simple Rating System as the formula. It’s objective. It’s simple, transparent, accounts for both strength of schedule and margin of victory.

Here’s what a possible playoff would look like.

LSU – SEC (1) vs. Arkansas State – Sun (16)

Alabama – AL (2) vs. Louisiana Tech – WAC (15)

Oklahoma State – B12 (3) vs. West Virginia – BE (14)

Oregon – P12 (4) vs. Northern Illinois – MAC (13)

Stanford – AL (5) vs. Virginia Tech – ACC (12)

Wisconsin –B1G (6) vs. TCU – MWC (11)

Boise State – AL (7) vs. Houston – CUSA (10)

Oklahoma – AL (8) vs. Michigan – AL (9)

Here are all the games, from this weekend alone, that would be significant under a 16-team playoff.

LSU vs. Arkansas – BCS Title, SEC Title
Alabama vs. Auburn – SEC Title, At Large Place
Virginia vs. Virginia Tech – ACC Title
Penn State vs. Wisconsin – B1G Title
Louisville vs. South Florida – Big East Title
Rutgers vs. Connecticut – Big East Title
Cincinnati vs. Syracuse – Big East Title
West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh – Big East Title
Houston vs. Tulsa – C-USA Title
Northern Illinois vs. Eastern Michigan – MAC Title
Toledo vs. Ball State – MAC Title
Boise State vs. Wyoming – At Large Place
Oregon vs. Oregon State – Pac 12 Title
USC vs. UCLA – Pac 12 Title
Arizona State vs. Cal – Pac 12 Title
Utah vs. Colorado – Pac 12 Title
Stanford vs. Notre Dame – At Large Place
Louisiana Tech vs. New Mexico State – WAC Title
Nevada vs. Utah State – WAC Title
Michigan vs. Ohio State – At Large Place
Texas vs. Texas A&M – At Large Place
Michigan State vs. Northwestern – At Large Place
Kansas State vs. Iowa State – At Large Place
Texas Tech vs. Baylor – At Large Place

For those keeping score, that’s two games that count (LSU – 12-point favorite, Alabama – 21-point favorite) vs. 24 games that count. That’s not counting all the conference title games the following weekend. Every game doesn’t count under a playoff, but far more of them count than under the BCS.

[Photo via Getty]