Quality sides penalised by new format

Used to be that US collegiate football conferences contained 8 to 10 teams.

- Dave Wiggins

This meant all the teams in a given league played each other during the regular season.

The titlists from each conference were easy to figure out. The club with the best win-loss record was the champ.

No confusion or controversy. It was clear cut.

But with the recent advent of 18 team mega-conferences, determining a true champ is much more difficult — not to mention unfair.

And since the conference winners from the four biggest leagues (the SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and ACC) usually get an automatic berth in the 12-team Collegiate Football Playoff (CFP) field, the inequity often flows over into the postseason.