SMU over Alabama will lead to major ramifications in college football

The momentary joy being experienced by most of the college football world (media and fans) over Alabama being left out of the College Football Playoff field in favor of SMU will soon be replaced by the horror of what doing so has brought about.

I think most fans would agree that the changes made in college football over the last five years have been to the detriment of this once beautiful sport. The Wild West, non-salary capped recruiting, and free Transfer Portal has ended any kind of commitment to the program players are playing for, which was a huge draw for the sport for its entire history.

The expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams has not had the effect that was hoped for. We'll see what TV ratings show for the opening round, but conference championship games yesterday didn't have the same feeling they did in the past. Especially when you can lose that game and still get into the playoff field. For Texas and Penn State, you still get a home game and arguably a more favorable draw to the semifinals than teams with bye weeks.

This will come off as sour grapes to those who read it without crimson-colored glasses. So be it. My thoughts on Alabama missing the playoff are well documented.

But what I can tell you for absolute certainty is there will be widespread ramifications to Alabama being left out. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey will take drastic measures following only three SEC teams getting into the playoff. Especially with the Big Ten getting four teams and a glorified Group-of-Five league like the ACC getting two teams in.

College Football will be unrecognizable by 2026

The College Football Playoff committee told the SEC, and the rest of the country, that strength of schedule doesn't matter.

Any hope that the SEC would ever go to a nine-game league schedule is now over. Why would any SEC program want to add an extra losable game when they can continue scheduling East Central Montana Tech instead? There's no discernible difference to the playoff committee, after all.

So if you're Greg Byrne, you're also at least considering canceling some of these home-and-home games Alabama has scheduled over the next decade. Games against the likes of Ohio State and Notre Dame, games that fans are undoubtedly excited about seeing in the regular season, are probably in jeopardy.

Why take the risk of losing another game when you already play in the best conference in the sport and win/loss record is the only thing that matters, according to the committee? Play your eight SEC games, and then schedule four buy-games in the non-conference. There's a bigger risk in playing tough out-of-conference opponents than the reward for beating them.

Those big non-conference games are great for fans. But college football is no longer about the fan experience. It's all about the money.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg for what could be coming. The SEC and Big Ten have already had joint meetings and have demanded four automatic bids for each conference going forward. The playoff was always going to expand again to 14 or 16 teams in 2026, but now don't be surprised if the SEC takes its ball and goes home.

The SEC has a monster TV contract with ESPN and could choose to break away and create its own superleague away from the NCAA umbrella. The Big Ten could choose to join because those are the only two conferences that matter anymore. Maybe those teams only play league games and then send their league champions to play one another for whatever championship you want to call it.

Sankey is now on the clock, too. The SEC only getting three teams into the playoff field is a disaster for him. Three teams that had arguments all getting left out so the ACC could get two teams in cannot happen. Three programs - Alabama, South Carolina, and Ole Miss - will be looking to Sankey and demanding answers.

What happens next will likely decide whether Sankey continues as the leage commissioner of if new blood is brought in.

The haves will always run the show. The short term celebrations for everyone's favorite team to hate missing the playoff will be temporary. Because change is coming.

And that change will not be good for college football or its fans.