The Reason For 2 Bye Weeks In 2019

Brief history lesson for those questioning why there are 2 bye weeks on next years schedule. Prior to 2006, there were 2 bye weeks every year, and most years teams played 11 games. Teams were allowed to play a 12th game in years where there were 14 Saturdays from the first permissible playing date through the last playing date in November. This happened in 2002 and 2003.

In April, 2005, the NCAA passed the 12 game regular season, eliminating one of the bye weeks. Now, in years with 14 Saturdays, instead of playing an extra game, there is an extra bye week.

What I don't know is when the NCAA extended the "last playing date in Novemeber" into December. It used to be that only conference championship games could be played that weekend. Then the TV networks (ESPN) worked their magic to allow conferences that didn't play a championship game to play regular season games that week, giving those conferences an extra bye week.

Also, I think there's some weird wording that says that games played at Hawaii don't count against the 12 game limit. So if LSU wanted, instead of having 2 bye weeks next year, they could make a trip to Hawaii. Not sure if that counts for neutral site games, or only U of H.