As the BIG Turns
...The National Championship
Happy New Year BIG Readers!
Yes, January 1st has long past, but I want to make sure everyone is welcomed to the party. The party you ask? Well, the celebration another glorious football season of course. It is time to turn our attention towards the next coronation and crown a new “Champion of College Football.”
However, before we bring our total attention to the game, I would like to share some thoughts on my suggested “tweaks” to our current format and how to make this A++ awesome. Without further ado, here are my proposed changes to make CFB and the CFB playoffs even better:
Start the season a week earlier-National Championship Game Saturday 8 PM-Wildcard weekend. Or a better date, before the transfer portal opens, January 1st has a nice ring to it!
Conference organization. Mandate not only all Super Conferences (P4) to play 9 conference games but NO FCS squads.
Conference organization Part II. Mandate all Super Conferences to have an organized format. 10 conference schools-you play everyone-we are good! 12-14 conference schools-2 divisions. 16+ PODS. People like order and for things to make sense. With our current “OPEN” format there is no order.
Organization Example. For the BIG, I would do the following: POD 1 (USC-UCLA-UW-OU) POD 2 (Neb, Whisky, Iowa, Minny, Ill) POD 3 (NW, MI, OSU, Indiana-PU) POD 4 (PSU-Maryland-Rutgers-MSU)-Cross-over POD 1 with POD 2 and POD 3 with POD 4 in odd years and POD 1 and POD 3 and POD 2 and POD 4 in even years. The BIG can make match-ups with their last conference game as they see fit.
POD Crossover Champions play in the Rose Bowl for the Conference Title. I doubt this happens and TV Execs like the OPEN scheduling match-up ideas.
The 12 Team format remains with some small changes. First 2 rounds are on campus. Seeding is the best 12 teams regardless of conference champions. SOS will favor playing MORE P4 teams and will punish teams for scheduling G5 and FCS teams. I am a realist however, and see 16+ in our future.
#1 seed plays the lowest seed. Reseeding like the NFL each round.
Big Outlets Only for Playoff Games. Playoff games will be played on FOX-CBS-NBC-ABC.
The Semi-final games are played at the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl.
The National Championship Game will always be played at the Rose Bowl.
Caveat—IF we want to do AUTO BIDS (I am a BIG fan) Then we go with the play-in opportunities. See my plan below:
How It Works: 4+ AQ Breakdown
Championship Saturday = Pre-Playoff Round
Auto Bids-16 Team field
4+4+2.5+2.5+1+2 Format (Structured AQ model)
4 AQs: SEC & Big Ten: multiple qualifiers based on regular-season standings (e.g. 1–4)
2.5 AQs each: ACC & Big 12
1 AQ: Top-ranked G5 champion
2 At-Large: Based on performance (e.g. ND or a deserving runner-up)
I am willing to modified these numbers based off of a 4-year playoff performance chart—relegation will be a thing kids.
The Plan
SEC & Big Ten:
1v2 = Title game + potential bye—Both teams get the bid
3v6 and 4v5 = On-campus “play-in” battles
Big 12 & ACC: 1v2 title games with playoff seeding implications
G5: Top-ranked champ earns spot
Notre Dame and/or other At-Large Teams: All playoff teams must play a 13th game to qualify (e.g. vs top-ranked team outside the field). Play in Saturday will have HIGH stakes games EVERYWHERE!
Playoff Seeding & Format
16-team field
13 vs 16, 14 vs 15 = Round 1 play-ins
Round 2 & 3 = On-campus games, higher seeds host
Semis = Neutral sites
Final = Rose Bowl, 5:00 PM ET kickoff
That was fun—NOW BACK TO THE TASK AT HAND!
Now for the BIG 5
The Good: The Ole Miss vs Miami game was just a fantastic contest. Back and forth, drama and a last second heave to the endzone, wow! It was an awesome game and something the sport should be celebrating.
The Bad: Well, the SEC is really crying in their beer right now. For the 3rd straight year the league will go without playing for a Natty. Pick your reason for the shift, but the center of the CFB universe is no longer located in Dixieland.
What did we learn: Indiana is really, Really, REALLY GOOD. The games are a display of dominance rather than on contest.
Best Matchup for the week: The National Championship Game
BIG Thoughts: Indiana is a game away from football immortality. As a child of the 80s and 90s I would have NEVER guessed that Indiana would win a football National Championship before the basketball squad grabbed another over a nearly 40 year stretch (Indiana last won in March 1987), but here we are.
#10 Miami Hurricanes (13–2) vs #1 Indiana Hoosiers (15–0)
Line / O-U: Indiana −7.5 / 45.5
Time / Network: Mon, Jan 19 — 7:30 PM ET / ESPN
Location: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL)
Key Notes & Stuff
• Indiana remains the standard-bearer. Undefeated through 15 games, the top seed in the expanded 12-team playoff, and now a heavy favorite in the national title game. This isn’t about proving doubters wrong anymore it’s about etching their names in history as the first undefeated champion of the new era. Cignetti’s squad has been methodical, physical, and relentless, turning every game into a statement.
• Miami has arrived as the ultimate underdog story. The No. 10 seed Hurricanes clawed their way through the bracket as the last at-large team in, silencing critics with gritty wins. Playing on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium turns this into a “full circle” moment for Miami natives on the roster and a massive home-field advantage in a neutral-site final. Will we see the Canes and new mascot Michael Irvin go BTA on Indiana?
• The hometown factor looms large. Indiana’s Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza hail from the Miami area, making this a personal reckoning. Miami’s defense will need to contain Indiana’s high-octane offense. The real question remains, can the Canes get their playmakers loose against such a good defense that the Hoosiers have?
Storyline
Indiana was a nice story in 2024, but most believed they were not a real contender. Yet here they are, Indiana is 15-0, dismantling foes, and one win from immortality. The Hoosiers don’t just win; they dominate with precision and poise, absorbing pressure and turning it into control. Ask Oregon, they got steamrolled 56-22 in the semis or Bama who was beaten in the Rose Bowl by 30. Now Cignetti’s crew faces a Miami team that’s riding momentum, playing in their own backyard. Anyone else picking up “Hollywood” story vibes?
This is the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. BIG Football (now Indiana) has become College Football’s new standard and built for moments like this. All season Indiana has won every game with the same formula: control the trenches, dictate tempo, and finish strong.
Miami, though? They’re dangerous when the lights are brightest. Mario Cristobal’s Hurricanes have turned doubt into fuel all season, and now they get the home crowd, familiar turf, and a chance to make history as the lowest seed to claim it all.
On January 19th, under the lights in Miami Gardens, the expanded playoff era gets its defining moment: Does familiarity (and home cooking) breed upset…or does Indiana simply create another masterpiece? Gimme the Hoosiers!
Indiana 31
Miami 24
THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS!!!
Thank you all for another great season—I really cannot express enough just how great all of your are for your messages and comments. Continue to send me your feedback and ideas. The 2026 season will be awesome and I am excited about some changes I have in store for the newsletter to make it tighter and better for your consumption.
Thank you for your support and please pass this along to someone that enjoys CFB content.
