SEC enjoys title spotlight
ATLANTA — SEC commissioner watched two teams from his conference battle it out for the national championship Monday night. It’s not the first time it’s happened, but it’s a first under the College Football Playoff format.
“People shouldn’t assume that it will happen again,” Sankey said. “You need to enjoy the moment and we’re trying to do that but also continue to look forward.”
Sankey has heard the comments from detractors who suggest having two teams from the same conference will have a negative impact on the sport and he’s not buying.
“No one commented on the impact on the sport nationally when we had LSU and Florida playing in the College World Series. No one commented on the impact on the sport when we had South Carolina and Mississippi State playing in the Women’s Final Four,” Sankey said. “In fact, I think there were remarks about the special nature of the context. I think the same is really true here.”
Sankey said SEC teams worked hard to adjust their nonconference football schedules to meet the criteria for earning semifinal bids, pointing to Georgia’s matchup with Notre Dame and Georgia Tech and Alabama’s opener against Florida State.
“It’s a great tribute to the SEC,” said College Football Playoff executive director
When asked if he’s concerned about the negative perception of two teams from a conference like the SEC in the title game, Hancock responded, “The CFP isn’t about conferences, it’s about the teams.” Ohio State in the semifinals drew criticism, as did the group’s decision to rank undefeated UCF outside of the top 10 in its final rankings.
But despite the public reproach, Hancock said he doesn’t foresee the playoff expanding past its current four-team model.
“I don’t feel it, not from our leadership,” Hancock said. “People around the country are so happy with this playoff. … I don’t feel any pressure to expand.
“When you have a tournament with a selection process, there’s always going to be teams that are disappointed. That just goes with the territory and it won’t change.”
The contract with the current playoff model runs through 2024-25 and while changes may not be in the foreseeable future, that’s not to say things could not change after that.
“At some point in the future, it will be time to decide what to do at the end of the 12-year contract and that’s when we’ll think about it,” Hancock said.
The short window of time between the semifinals and the national championship game was something and
were concerned about as they prepared their respective teams for Monday’s title game.
“I think it was a challenge. I think everybody forgets last year there was nine days between these games, and I certainly think it’s a fast turnaround,” Smart said after the Bulldogs played in the Rose Bowl on the West Coast. “Our travel was different, but they played a much later game. So they had to play much later at night and get finished much later at night, so it’s tough in both parts.
“In a perfect world, I’d like to have a little more time between the championship games, but that’s the way it fell this year and that’s the way it is.”
This year, the semifinals took place on New Year’s Day, with the title game seven days later.
Saban said he was concerned about the impact on the players.
“Basically as coaches, we had probably about a normal amount of time that we would have for a normal game during the season,” Saban said. “But it was a little tougher turnaround for the players. I don’t know if it’s physically, emotionally, psychologically, however you want to put it, early in the week, to refocus on another big game. But I think as the game, as the week went on, you saw them recover, and I think they’re all excited about playing in the game.”