A college football “Super League”? It may not be as far-fetched – or far-fetched – as we once thought. But what would it look like if it materialized?
Using the broad strokes discussed by the 20-member group touting a plan to one day revamp the highest level of college football, we decided to see how such a setup would have worked if it had already been implemented, using the 2023 season as a test case.
We organized the former Power 5 schools, along with independent Notre Dame and soon-to-be ACC member SMU, into seven 10-team divisions for the 70 permanent teams envisioned in the College Sports Tomorrow plan. For the 10-team eighth division that would be subject to promotion and relegation, we took the 2022 conference championship match participants from the Group of 5 Leagues and “promoted” them for 2023.
The size constraint of the 10-team divisions has forced us to take some liberties, so be prepared for some unique and perhaps awkward adjustments. But it also allowed us to revive some old rivalries. (Welcome, Southwest Conference and Big East!)
We used teams’ records in the 2023 regular season, before conference championship games were played, to rank them for the proposed 16-team playoffs. The eight division winners took the top eight seeds, and the eight wild cards took the remaining seeds. In case of ambiguity, we defaulted to the second-to-last 2023 College Football Playoff seeding (which is why Georgia is the No. 1 seed and Michigan is No. 2).
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Below is the outcome of our hypothetical 2023 college football super league.
ACC
Team | Generally | Conference 2023 |
---|---|---|
12-0 |
8-0 (ACC) |
|
9-3 |
6-2 (ACC) |
|
8-4 |
4-4 (ACC) |
|
8-4 |
4-4 (ACC) |
|
7-5 |
4-4 (ACC) |
|
7-5 |
4-5 (Big Ten) |
|
6-6 |
5-3 (ACC) |
|
5-7 |
3-5 (SEC) |
|
3-9 |
2-6 (ACC) |
|
4-8 |
1-7 (ACC) |
We kept eight current ACC teams in this division, brought back former member Maryland, and added South Carolina, which was a founding member of the ACC until leaving in 1971 to become independent. Florida State gets the rightful playoff spot it was denied by the College Football Playoff selection committee, but no wild card emerges from this group.
Great East
Team | Generally | Conference 2023 |
---|---|---|
10-2 |
7-1 (ACC) |
|
9-3 |
— |
|
8-4 |
6-3 (Big 12) |
|
7-5 |
3-5 (ACC) |
|
6-6 |
5-3 (ACC) |
|
6-6 |
3-5 (ACC) |
|
6-6 |
3-6 (Big Ten) |
|
6-6 |
2-6 (ACC) |
|
3-9 |
2-6 (ACC) |
|
3-9 |
1-8 (Large 12) |
Notre Dame has fiercely maintained its independent status amid the current wave of realignment changes, but to be part of this Super League vision, the Fighting Irish would have to play within a division. We place them in the revived Big East, where they were basketball members from 1995 to 2013. They join a host of returning former Big East members, and Louisville, the ’23 ACC runner-up, automatically takes the place for the playoffs.
Big Ten
Team | Generally | Conference 2023 |
---|---|---|
12-0 |
9-0 (Big Ten) |
|
11-1 |
8-1 (Big Ten) |
|
10-2 |
7-2 (Big Ten) |
|
10-2 |
7-2 (Big Ten) |
|
7-5 |
5-4 (Big Ten) |
|
5-7 |
3-6 (Big Ten) |
|
5-7 |
3-6 (Big Ten) |
|
4-8 |
3-6 (Big Ten) |
|
4-8 |
2-7 (Big Ten) |
|
3-9 |
1-8 (Big Ten) |
The reconstitution of the Big Ten posed a dilemma: return to the 10 original members (without Penn State) or dismiss one of them in favor of the Nittany Lions? Knowing that college football decision-makers generally side with money throughout history, Penn State remains while Northwestern, unfortunately, is an odd team. The conference is loaded, with four teams making up the 2023 field.
Frequent Traveler Division
Team | Generally | Conference 2023 |
---|---|---|
10-2 |
6-2 (SEC) |
|
8-4 |
6-3 (Big 12) |
|
8-4 |
5-4 (Big 12) |
|
8-4 |
5-4 (Pac-12) |
|
7-5 |
6-3 (Big 12) |
|
7-5 |
5-4 (Big Ten) |
|
6-6 |
3-6 (Large 12) |
|
5-7 |
3-6 (Big Ten) |
|
5-7 |
2-7 (Big 12) |
|
4-8 |
1-8 (Pac-12) |
It wouldn’t be college football without a division with tricky geography. This is the FFD – I couldn’t think of a better name – which has six former members of the Big 8 but includes schools that have been excluded from other geographically appropriate divisions: BYU, Utah and UCF. Missouri wins the league while racking up a lot of mileage.
Pac-10
Team | Generally | Conference 2023 |
---|---|---|
12-0 |
9-0 (Pac-12) |
|
11-1 |
8-1 (Pac-12) |
|
9-3 |
7-2 (Pac-12) |
|
8-4 |
5-4 (Pac-12) |
|
7-5 |
5-4 (Pac-12) |
|
7-5 |
4-5 (Pac-12) |
|
6-6 |
4-5 (Pac-12) |
|
5-7 |
2-7 (Pac-12) |
|
3-9 |
2-7 (Pac-12) |
|
3-9 |
2-7 (Pac-12) |
Remember that famous Western College Football Conference that was a lot of fun and produced one of two teams to play for the national championship last year? We put it back together, albeit in a smaller version, the old Pac-10. Washington takes the automatic spot and the No. 3 seed, while Oregon moves up a spot as the top-seeded wild card team.
SECOND
Team | Generally | Conference 2023 |
---|---|---|
12-0 |
8-0 (SEC) |
|
11-1 |
8-0 (SEC) |
|
10-2 |
6-2 (SEC) |
|
9-3 |
6-2 (SEC) |
|
8-4 |
4-4 (SEC) |
|
7-5 |
3-5 (SEC) |
|
6-6 |
3-5 (SEC) |
|
5-7 |
3-5 (SEC) |
|
5-7 |
1-7 (SEC) |
|
2-10 |
0-8 (SEC) |
Although many want to be part of the SEC, to frame this exercise, we looked back at the 10 founding members who still remain in the league. Unsurprisingly, he sent several teams to the playoffs: Georgia, Alabama and Ole Miss.
South West
Team | Generally | Conference 2023 |
---|---|---|
11-1 |
8-1 (Big 12) |
|
10-2 |
8-0 (CAA) |
|
10-2 |
7-2 (Big 12) |
|
9-3 |
7-2 (Big 12) |
|
7-5 |
4-4 (SEC) |
|
6-6 |
5-4 (Big 12) |
|
5-7 |
3-6 (Large 12) |
|
4-8 |
2-7 (Big 12) |
|
4-8 |
1-7 (SEC) |
|
3-9 |
2-7 (Big 12) |
Long live the defunct South West Conference. Eight of the SWC’s nine teams return, missing only Rice, which would compete in the 50-team second division. To fill the other two spots, we stole from the old Big 8 by taking Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
This division posed two problems. By moving SMU here – the AAC champion that will join the ACC in 2024 – we have two 2023 conference champions in the league. We gave Texas the nod given the team’s overall talent advantage.
Additionally, Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma head to head, but the teams had identical conference records and Oklahoma had the better overall record and higher CFP ranking. How would the Super League approach tiebreakers in this scenario? In the NFL — which appears to be the model this plan follows most closely — overall record rules, so for this exercise the Sooners get the nod.
Promotion/Relegation
Team | Generally | Conference 2023 |
---|---|---|
11-1 |
8-0 (CAA) |
|
11-1 |
8-0 (MAC) |
|
10-2 |
7-1 (sun belt) |
|
9-3 |
6-2 (MAC) |
|
8-4 |
7-1 (sun belt) |
|
8-4 |
4-4 (Mountain West) |
|
7-5 |
6-2 (Mountain West) |
|
7-5 |
5-3 (sun belt) |
|
5-7 |
4-4 (CAA) |
|
5-7 |
3-5 (CUSA) |
For those of us who enjoy Group 5 ball, this is an entertaining and competitive division with high stakes. Tulane wins the division and earns playoff berth. A key question: Would stakeholders allow wild cards from this division, or would those eight playoff spots come only from the permanent 70? She’s an unknown. Let’s again follow the typical behavior of college sports power brokers and assume that only the division winner gets a nod here – an unfortunate break for Toledo. Here’s hoping we’re wrong and that the wild cards in this division are also considered.
Details on how many teams would be subject to relegation are scarce, so let’s assume the teams with losing records get the kickoff. This means the Navy and North Texas would be sent. Which two teams are promoted in their place? The teams with the best 2023 regular season records that are not in this group are Liberty (12-0), James Madison (11-1), Miami-Ohio (10-2), New Mexico State (10-3 ) and Memphis (9-3). Liberty and JMU get the call for the big show.
GO FURTHER
On the CFB “Super League” field, some leaders see it as a way to save sport
The new playoffs
Here’s how the seeding would have played out with the above setup, with the eight division winners getting the top eight seeds and the wild cards filling out the field. In the absence of a comprehensive tiebreaker structure, we were seeded based on the penultimate CFP ranking (before conference championship weekend). Although SMU beat Tulane in the AAC title game, they do not place in the top eight because they are no longer in the same division as the Green Wave.
First round
(1) Georgia more than (16) EMS
(9) Oregon more than (8) Tulane
(5) Texas over (12) Penn State
(13) Be Miss over (4) State of Florida
(11) Alabama over (6) Missouri
(3) Washington over (14) Oklahoma
(10) Ohio State over (7) Louisville
(2) Michigan over (15) Iowa
Quarter-finals
We get some major games here, including a Michigan-Ohio State rematch.
(1) Georgia over (9) Oregon
(5) Texas over (13) Ole Miss
(3) Washington over (11) Alabama
(2) Michigan over (10) Ohio State
Semi-finals
We get the real 2023 national title game in one semifinal…and we call it an upset in the other.
(5) Texas of (1) Georgia
(2) Michigan more than (3) Washington
national championship
(2) Michigan more than (5) Texas
We’re still left with the Wolverines hoisting the trophy, with a longer but not completely unknown playoff path to get there, facing three teams they toppled en route to the 2023 title.
(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)