Add Nick Saban to the chorus of college football analysts and observers who think the Group of 5 should have a separate playoff.
G5 entries Tulane and James Madison both earned spots in this year’s CFP, but are double-digit underdogs in their first-round games at Ole Miss and at Oregon, respectively. During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN Thursday, Saban used a baseball analogy to argue that the G5 leagues — such as the American, Sun Belt and Conference USA — shouldn’t be considered the equivalent of the power leagues — the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12.
“I mean, look, would we allow the winner of the Triple-A Baseball League, the International League, whatever they call it, would you let them in the World Series playoffs?” Saban said. “But I’m saying, that’s the equivalent of what we do when JMU gets into the College Football Playoff and Notre Dame doesn’t.”
Notre Dame, of course, was the “last team out” from the College Football Playoff field, despite being ranked No. 11 nationally. American Conference champion Tulane, on the other hand, was ranked No. 20, while Sun Belt winner JMU checked in at No. 24.
Saban argued that if the argument is about money, then a separate G5 playoff could be made lucrative for the participating teams. Guaranteeing playoff spots for lower-ranked conference champions is an injustice, he said.
“if you’re not in the Top 15, I don’t care what league you play in, you shouldn’t be in the playoffs,” Saban said. “JMU, whoever it is, … it doesn’t matter, because you’re taking somebody out of the playoffs that deserve to be in the playoffs. So you can think about one way where we’re letting somebody from the Group of 5 in, but you’re also taking somebody that should be in out. And that’s not fair.
“… These guys ought to have their own playoff. Just give them the money. It’s $4 million for playing in the first round, is that right? (Give them) $4 million and put Notre Dame in. We want to see Notre Dame and Oregon play.”
The College Football Playoff tweaked its system this year to get rid of first-round byes for conference champions, so it’s entirely possible another modification to limit Group of 5 participation will be made prior to next year. There have also been discussions about expanding the playoff to 16 teams, which would perhaps allow more power-conference teams to be included.
