The NFL is adding a 17th game this year:
I've long been a proponent of a 14 or 16 game season for NCAAF. The moral purists like to argue that this is still amateur ball and these are young kids who can't be expected to compete in the rigors of a professional-level schedule. But then those same hacks turn around and argue for more TV money, a bigger playoff bracket, etc., etc.
With a 14 game schedule, schools in 14-team conferences could realistically play 3 non-conference games, 6 divisional games and 5 cross-divisional games each year. That means over a 5 year career (redshirt) a player would have the chance to play every cross-divisional opponent at least three times. Two crossover games get played four times and the final cross-divisional foe is played 5 out of 5 years (annually). This allows for a permanent protected rival game (Purdue-Indiana).
With a 16 game schedule, schools could either pick up extra non-conference home games (boosts revenue), or allow for the expansion of conferences to 16 teams or beyond. One of the biggest hurdles to 14/16+ teams in a conference is that some teams rarely meet, which sort of betrays the purpose of sharing a conference. Expanding the schedule drastically reduces this problem.
NFL's 17-game schedule: Opponents for all 32 teams
The NFL officially announced it will change the number of games for the first time since 1978. Who is playing who in 2021?
www.espn.com
I've long been a proponent of a 14 or 16 game season for NCAAF. The moral purists like to argue that this is still amateur ball and these are young kids who can't be expected to compete in the rigors of a professional-level schedule. But then those same hacks turn around and argue for more TV money, a bigger playoff bracket, etc., etc.
With a 14 game schedule, schools in 14-team conferences could realistically play 3 non-conference games, 6 divisional games and 5 cross-divisional games each year. That means over a 5 year career (redshirt) a player would have the chance to play every cross-divisional opponent at least three times. Two crossover games get played four times and the final cross-divisional foe is played 5 out of 5 years (annually). This allows for a permanent protected rival game (Purdue-Indiana).
With a 16 game schedule, schools could either pick up extra non-conference home games (boosts revenue), or allow for the expansion of conferences to 16 teams or beyond. One of the biggest hurdles to 14/16+ teams in a conference is that some teams rarely meet, which sort of betrays the purpose of sharing a conference. Expanding the schedule drastically reduces this problem.
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