2017 NCAA Football Preview
College Football is fully entrenched in a new era that is highlighted by the College Football Playoff.
The establishment of that new road to a championship brought an end to the BCS era where computer rankings determined championship contenders.
This new era gives more teams a chance at getting to that title and so far things have worked out pretty well.
So far there have been three different champions in each year of the CFP system which has been a massive difference from the BCS where Alabama dominated for years.
The new playoff system is making things a lot more interesting as there are more chances for more teams to make a real impact on the league.
It truly has made the NCAA a better league with a playoff system that appeases a lot more people than the BCS ever did.
This new era is about more than just the playoff system though as the NCAA is also beginning to enjoy a lot more balance everywhere.
The title list over the last three years is the perfect expression of exactly how much balance is in the league right now.
Three different champions in three years and all three are not only different teams but they all come from three different conferences.
Conferences have always been a big part of the NCAA, despite the fact that the league is not a traditional league where divisions eventually come together to determine championships.
They are competitions for title themselves only to give way to a bigger title as long as the teams have impressed on the national stage.
That can give them some kind of power as only teams in big conferences with big schools get the attention they need to make a big impact.
The Power Five conferences have controlled the league for a long time and are home to the biggest schools in the country.
They are the conferences that have taken home the most national titles and are some of the most widely recognized teams in the country.
These conferences have often had the biggest impact on the league itself controlling how the NCAA does business.
If any other small conference complains about competitiveness nothing changes until a bigger conference makes the same argument.
That can be trouble when one conference begins to take over from the rest of them and starts to dominate.
That is exactly what was happening in the BCS era as the Southeastern Conference was utterly unstoppable.
In 16 years of the BCS National Championship, the SEC had a 9-2 record including one championship game where both teams were SEC teams.
It was a time when one conference was winning everything and leaving no room for the others.
That meant that the same control the Power Five always had was shifted more to the SEC because they were the conference to watch.
Things shifted when the playoff structure changed though as the SEC was no longer the only team with a shot at national titles.
That wasn’t entirely due to the playoff structure because at the same time of the switch teams around the country were already beginning to rise up.
The rise coincided with the new format as the Ohio State Buckeyes who had just recently hired Urban Meyer who led them to a national title.
Then came the strong Clemson Tigers who were over their yips, Clemsoning became a term associated with their ability to lose games they should never have lost just as they were climbing the rankings.
They took home the second title of the playoff while the Crimson Tide brought back the SEC last year when they took home their latest title.
The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten are no longer just second to the SEC though as both are only getting better.
The Big Ten has some big coaches like Meyer, James Franklin and Jim Harbaugh and all three have recruited teams that are legitimate contenders.
In the ACC the Tigers are still a strong team but have lost a number of big players while Florida State, Louisville, Virginia Tech and a resurgent Miami team are going to make things interesting.
The SEC is just as good as usual with Alabama leading the way as usual but teams like LSU, Florida, Auburn and Georgia still ready to put in some great games.
These three conferences are all strong and could continue their rule at the top of the division but they aren’t the only interesting conferences.
The Pac 12 still has a lot of talent with a USC Trojans team that is getting better and potentially back to being one of the top teams in the country alongside Washington and a UCLA team led by a potential top pick Josh Rosen.
The Big 12 might also throw in a few teams as Oklahoma is back with Baker Mayfield who would love to finish his college career with a National title.
The NCAA is no longer a league dominated by the SEC as there are more conferences coming to make an impact and get that National title.
With three different champions in three years the Pac 12 and Big 12 will look to keep things going while the other conferences try to take their second in this new era of college football.
The Sport Addiction 