quote:
For the people who say it diminishes the regular season, it actually does the opposite. So many more games late in the regular season will have meaning now.

Yeah, but let's go ahead and project how things will go for everyone.

Figure 10-2 is your ticket into the playoffs, if you are a major program.

LSU in 2024 plays USC and UCLA, plus conference games which now include Texas and/or Oklahoma in addition to the current conference teams (I forget which, not relevant, we get one).

Penn State plays creampuffs, then Big 10 games.

Penn State will get 10-2, will make the playoff. I would be willing to bet on that right now. Likely a road game, but they're in.

LSU might be in serious trouble by midseason, possibly desperation mode. Very likely will have 9-10 wins in the regular season.
9 is out, 10 is in.

In the future, LSU would be insane and idiots if they continue to schedule anyone with a pulse OOC. Take the Penn State path, you become an annual playoff participant. Which would mean 3-4 boring OOC home games... which would mean the season is diminished (for many).
Or take hard games, which would be exciting to look forward to, and great if we win,... but would take the air out of the sails if we lose. And keep in mind, not making the playoffs in the expanded format will mean a ton of opt outs, basically an Indy Bowl feel (there will be no more "major" or NY6 bowls. You're in, or you had a bad year. No in-between).
Nobody cares about a late run, there's not even a path via divisional winners to make ground up. It's the best record, that's it. You're competing against teams in the conference you haven't played, who had weaker OOC schedules.

Hell, there's still a chance you can go 10-2 (one OOC loss), make the conference championship over a couple other 10-2 teams you didn't play, LOSE, and you might be out. You'd be 10-3, someone like Texas might be 10-2. You made the conference championship with a 1 loss conference record, but after that loss you may slip behind them in the committee's eyes... because they pick (for example) UGA at 12-1 or 13-0, Alabama 10-2, Texas 10-2, Oklahoma 10-2, and they're not taking a 5th SEC team.