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New York Times
a day ago
- Business
- New York Times
Why does the Big Ten want four automatic CFP bids? The league's case has a long history
Five months after winning its second consecutive College Football Playoff national championship, the Big Ten has emerged bruised and battered from the process of proposing automatic qualifiers for an expanded CFP beginning with the 2026 season. The Big Ten has for months recommended a CFP plan that would give four automatic bids to itself and the SEC, two each to the ACC and Big 12 and one for the top conference champion from the other six leagues (4+4+2+2+1). If the size of the postseason expands from 12 to 16, as almost all stakeholders expect, the format allows for three at-large selections to make the field. Advertisement Other conferences have come out against it, strongly so in some cases. The ACC and Big 12 are in lockstep with a '5+11' plan, which would give the five highest-ranked conference champions and 11 highest-ranked at-large teams entry into the Playoff. The SEC appears to be trending in that direction, too, after commissioner Greg Sankey supplied media with a multi-page breakdown of his league's strength-of-schedule prowess last week. No longer wounded by their 1-5 record against the Big Ten during the 2024-25 postseason, Sankey and SEC officials have successfully flipped the narrative. The Big Ten now looks like the arrogant bad actor hell-bent on enriching itself at the expense of its competition and the sport. Despite the Big Ten's prolonged silence on this topic and others, people in and around the league have expressed that's not the case. The Big Ten is willing to budge on guaranteed CFP qualifiers, but the uneven number of conference games among the power leagues gives the Big Ten pause on allowing a selection committee to wield the power of placing 11 at-large teams in the CFP field. The Big Ten and Big 12 play nine league games; the SEC and ACC play eight. Thirteen of the Big Ten's 18 teams compete against at least 10 power-conference opponents in 2025; 13 of the SEC's 16 teams face only nine power-conference teams. Unless the SEC moves to nine league games, don't expect the Big Ten to move on wanting guaranteed CFP slots. There's too much scheduling variance. The Big Ten has historical grounds to distrust a system that was supposed to reward strength of schedule and other concrete metrics and instead leaned into subjectivity to make prior selections. In July 2015, former Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany brought out slides and unveiled his '1910' scheduling plan, designed to make his conference champion competitive for the four-team CFP. The numbers represented one title game, nine league games, one intersectional power-conference opponent and no contests against Football Championship Subdivision competition. Delany believed his strategy would position the Big Ten well for its best team to earn a CFP spot and for non-champions to make New Year's Six bowl games. Advertisement 'I think that's responsive to what the College Football Playoff committee is looking for,' Delany said at the time. 'We think it's what our fans want. We think it's what our players want. And we think it's what the College Football Playoff committee wants.' Delany found out he was wrong, and he was furious. In 2017 and 2018, Big Ten champion Ohio State missed the CFP. It played nonconference games against Oklahoma in '17 and TCU in '18. The 2017 Buckeyes beat No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 9 Penn State and No. 16 Michigan State, but they finished fifth, behind Alabama, which beat only two teams that made the final rankings (No. 17 LSU, No. 23 Mississippi State) and didn't win its division. Considering Alabama won the national title that year, that was more of a disappointment than a snub to Delany. But in 2018, the committee disregarded the strategy with stakes one rung below the Playoff. In the final CFP rankings, Florida came in at No. 10 with LSU at No. 11 and Penn State at No. 12. All three teams were 9-3, but the SEC teams moved up to New Year's Six bowls. Again, the strength of schedule disparity chapped Delany most. Florida played four nonconference games: two FCS opponents, Colorado State (3-9) and Florida State (5-7). The Gators' three losses came by an average of 17 points. Penn State played three nonconference games, including one against ACC Coastal Division champion Pittsburgh and 11-2 Appalachian State. Penn State's losses came to 13-1 Ohio State, 10-3 Michigan and 7-6 Michigan State. Yet Delany felt the committee ignored nonconference scheduling when stacking those teams. 'The actual language in the founding document says, 'When comparing teams with similar records and similar resumes, should look at strength of schedule as well as winning conference championships,'' Delany said in 2019. 'I'm not sure that the strength of schedule or the conference championship has been adequately rewarded, in my personal view.' Advertisement The recent disagreements over selection criteria for the 12-team CFP date to what transpired in 2017 and 2018. Last year, Indiana finished 11-1 in the regular season, but a trio of 9-3 SEC teams barked about scheduling when the Hoosiers earned a CFP spot over them. Indiana's overall strength of schedule metrics were weak, but by the end of the postseason, it was the only team in the nation to play both the 2023 (Michigan, Washington) and 2024 CFP finalists (Ohio State, Notre Dame). The Hoosiers were one of just two Big Ten squads to face only nine power-conference opponents last year, but the trio of SEC teams had also played just nine power-conference teams. The nine-game schedule matters to the Big Ten because of the risks involved — it creates one extra loss for half the league compared to the SEC. Ohio State's lone conference losses in each of the 2017 and 2018 seasons came at West Division schools. Had the Big Ten played only eight league contests those years, Ohio State might not have traveled to those venues. Although the push for four guaranteed slots appears self-serving, out of the Power 4 leagues, only the Big Ten would have seen its number of CFP participants drop in the last four years with that plan compared to the 5+11 model, based on each power conference's current composition. With the 5+11 plan, the Big Ten would have qualified 20 teams, one more than the SEC (19), while the Big 12 and ACC would have 10 and nine, respectively. In a 4-4-2-2-1 model, the SEC and ACC numbers would stay the same, while the Big Ten's would drop by two and the Big 12's would rise by two. In a 5+11 plan, the SEC would have had three qualifiers in 2021 and '22 but seven in '23 and six in '24. Without uniform scheduling, Big Ten officials are concerned that an open 5+11 plan would cause more schools to ease up on their nonconference slates rather than play other power-conference schools; one recently called it a 'race to the bottom.' With guaranteed spots, nonconference games would have little impact on CFP qualification. Without guaranteed spots, teams may protect their records and not risk playing high-level nonconference games. Lastly, without divisional play in a larger conference, Big Ten officials believe guaranteed slots provide more teams with a major goal, especially if the Big Ten (and possibly the SEC) added two play-in games to decide some of its spots in a 16-team CFP. Had that format taken place last year, Indiana would have played Iowa and Illinois would have played Ohio State in December with CFP berths at stake. 'I love that,' Illinois coach Bret Bielema told The Athletic this spring. 'It makes all the games meaningful.' Advertisement The Big Ten and SEC have control over the next CFP era, so it's up to them, with consultation from other conferences, to find the best path forward. But until the Big Ten's scheduling concerns are met, don't expect it to fold anytime soon on its desire for guaranteed CFP bids. (Photo of Ohio State's 2017 Big Ten title game win: Joe Robbins / Getty Images)
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Iowa football legend among top 25 coaches of the 21st century
Iowa football legend among top 25 coaches of the 21st century As the 2025-26 college football season is just around the corner, The Athletic's Chris Vannini ranked the nation's top 25 head coaches of the 21st century, with Iowa's Kirk Ferentz making the list among the sport's elite names. According to Vannini's rankings, Ferentz was named as the No. 22 coach on the list. Vaninni shared that the Iowa legend's consistency is underrated amongst other coaches of his stature. Ferentz will pass Woody Hayes as the winningest coach in Big Ten history with two more victories. His consistency is underrated, reaching bowl eligibility in 23 of the last 24 seasons with five top-10 finishes. The Hawkeyes have had five Top 25 finishes in the last seven seasons but no top-10 finishes since 2015. - Chris Vaninni, The Athletic. Regarding the accomplishments that allowed the Hawkeyes' head coach to reside in the No. 22 slot, Vaninni listed Ferentz's two Big Ten championships, five top-10 finishes, three BCS and New Year's Six bowl appearances and eight double-digit-win seasons as evidence to support his ranking. Ferentz took over the head coaching duties in Iowa City in the 1999 season following the illustrious career of College Football Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry, who retired after a 143-89-6 record over 20 years with the Hawkeyes. Despite struggles in the early years of Ferentz's tenure at Iowa, the Hawkeyes' program eventually found even ground and has now evolved into a well-respected program that has continuously developed NFL-ready talent year after year. Ferentz's recent success with the Hawkeyes also places Iowa in an elite group of programs that have recorded at least eight wins in each of the last 10 seasons, joining Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and Ohio State. Concerning how other Big Ten coaches fared in the rankings, 10 of the top 25 names listed either currently coach or were formerly involved with a program in the now-18-member Big Ten conference. That lists includes, former Oregon and UCLA coach Chip Kelly at No. 24, former Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio at No. 21, current USC coach Lincoln Riley at No. 20, current Penn State coach James Franklin at No. 15, current Ohio State coach Ryan Day at No. 11, former Washington head coach Chris Petersen at No. 10, former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh at No. 8, former Ohio State coaches Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer listed at No. 7 and No. 2 respectfully, with former USC coach Pete Carroll between the two Buckeyes at No. 3. Due to the recent criteria alteration for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, former Texas Tech, Washington State, and Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach is eligible for a posthumous entry. Ferentz's 59.8% all-time win record would make him eligible for immediate consideration upon retirement. With Iowa preparing for its upcoming 2025-26 season over the summer, could a particularly successful season in Iowa City constitute a higher ranking for the Hawkeyes' winningest head coach among his peers? Fans can make that judgment once Iowa's season begins on Aug. 30, when the Hawkeyes host Albany from Kinnick Stadium at 5 p.m. CT on FS1. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
USA Today
09-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Brian Kelly's top five offenses: Here are Kelly's top units from his 21-year FBS career
Brian Kelly's top five offenses: Here are Kelly's top units from his 21-year FBS career LSU football head coach Brian Kelly has coached FBS football for 21 years. After a successful tenure at the D-II ranks, he took over Central Michigan in 2004. From there, Kelly went to Cincinnati before landing at Notre Dame. LSU hired Kelly at the tail end of 2021 and Kelly is set to begin year four with the Tigers in 2025. In his 21 years, Kelly has won 195 football games. A national title has eluded Kelly, but he's led teams to several playoff and New Year's Six bowl appearances. You don't win that many games without good offense, especially in the 21st-century version of college football. Kelly has been a head coach since 1991. He's not a guy with an "offensive" or "defensive" background. He's your classic football coach, involved with both sides of the ball. But today, we'll look at Brian Kelly's top five offenses through the years. 5. 2024 LSU Tigers Coming in at No. 5 is Kelly's most recent offensive unit. LSU's 2024 offense took a step back from the gaudy numbers we saw in 2023, but that was expected with the loss of Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers, and Brian Thomas Jr. Joe Sloan was in his first year calling the plays after Mike Denbrock left for Notre Dame. Despite the losses, the Tigers still finished the year No. 11 in ESPN's offensive SP+ rankings. QB Garrett Nussmeier has one of the most talented arms that Kelly has ever coached. Nussmeier put on a show in the second half of LSU's upset vs. Ole Miss and looked like an elite QB over LSU's final three games. The 2024 unit struggled to run the ball, but RB Caden Durham finished the campaign with over 1,000 total yards. Kyren Lacy and Aaron Anderson led a talented wide receiver group and left tackle Will Campbell is slated to be a first-round pick. 4. 2017 Notre Dame Fighting Irish LSU fans got to meet Kelly's offense in 2017. The Fighting Irish capped their year off with a win over Ed Orgeron's LSU in the Citrus Bowl. According to Sports Reference OSRS rating, the 2017 Notre Dame offense was the ninth-best unit in the country. Notre Dame's 7.99 yards per play ranked No. 14 in FBS, but the rushing attack was lethal, ranking No. 3 nationally in yards per carry. Running back Josh Adams was the centerpiece, racking up 1,430 yards. The Irish didn't have a single standout at WR, but it was a talented group that featured Chase Claypool and EQ St. Brown. Quarterback Brandon Wimbush completed less than 50% of his passes, but averaged 13.8 yards per completion. 3. 2015 Notre Dame Fighting Irish The 2015 Notre Dame offense ranked No. 7 nationally in yards per play and scored 34.2 points per game. The defense was pretty good too and Notre Dame finished No. 11 in the AP Poll after losing to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Kelly had one of his most talented QBs with Deshone Kizer leading the way. Kizer went on to be a top-60 overall pick in the NFL draft and was highly regarded as a college passer. The Irish boasted a strong RB duo of CJ Prosise and Josh Adams, resulting in ND ranking No. 9 in yards per rush. Notre Dame's overall yards per play mark was also good enough to rank top 10 in the FBS. Wide receiver Will Fuller added an explosive threat on the outside, racking up 1,258 yards and 14 touchdowns while averaging over 20 yards per catch. 2. 2009 Cincinnati Bearcats Kelly doesn't get the Notre Dame job without his 2009 Cincinnati offense. The Bearcats unit was one of the best in the country on its way to a Sugar Bowl appearance. Cincinnati averaged 7.0 yards per play, which ranked No. 2 in FBS. The passing attack was prolific, averaging over 300 yards per contest. The Bearcats ranked fourth in OSRS and QB Tony Pike tossed 29 touchdowns. Wide receiver Mardy Gilyard totaled 1,191 yards on the year. Gilyard, along with WR Armon Binns, combined for 22 scores. The passing attack was the main event, but running back Isaiah Pead averaged 6.7 yards per rush and finished the year with over 1,000 total yards. This offense scored 40+ points on six occasions. 1. 2023 LSU Tigers No. 1 is no surprise. The 2023 LSU offense wasn't just the best of Brian Kelly's coaching career, it was one of the best in college football history. LSU posted a 20-yard play rate of 12.7%. That was the best mark in the country by a wide margin. LSU averaged 8.4 yards per play and led FBS In yards per pass and yards per carry. It was complete dominance across the board. Quarterback Jayden Daniels put up historic numbers and Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. will go down as one of the best receiving duos in college football history. LSU led the country with 45.5 points per game, but a lackluster defense cost Kelly and LSU a chance at a playoff appearance and a national title run. Regardless, this unit is the best of Kelly's career.
New York Times
04-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Deion Sanders still isn't hitting recruiting trail, but has Colorado coach changed approach?
Deion Sanders signed future Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter — the nation's No. 1 overall recruit — to Jackson State without ever stepping foot on his high school campus. No one on his staff visited, either. It was unprecedented, an unthinkable recruiting victory that established Sanders as a force in the sport. Advertisement But now entering his sixth season as a college coach and third season at Colorado, Sanders has a recruiting approach that has grown more traditional as his program has matured. No, Sanders still isn't making home or school visits, a much discussed choice that is believed to have made him the only one of 136 FBS coaches to have never made off-campus contact with recruits. Even new North Carolina coach Bill Belichick is making the rounds. But in two seasons, Sanders went from taking the most transfers of any team in college football history to a class that closely reflects the norms of roster building in a rapidly shifting sport in 2025. Colorado didn't respond to interview requests for this story, but the adjustment illustrates a lack of need for quick fixes at a program that's markedly improved from the 1-11 Colorado team Sanders inherited. The Buffaloes' 2025 class is 45 percent high school prospects (14) and 55 percent transfers (17), with 31 new faces, quite a change from the massive, unusual turnover he conducted in his first two seasons. In 2023, Sanders brought in 73 new players, with 21 (28 percent) being high school prospects. In 2024, the high school ranks dropped even more, with 43 transfers and 12 high school prospects (21.8 percent of the class). 'The (high school prospects) that we take, we want them to play immediately,' Sanders said in November. 'We want them to produce.' Sanders highlighted Colorado's 2025 class by flipping quarterback Julian Lewis, the nation's No. 6 quarterback, from USC after he was committed to Lincoln Riley and the Trojans for more than a year. Weeks before the December early signing period, with USC mired in a disappointing 7-6 season, he joined the Buffs class instead as Colorado stayed in late contention for the Big 12 title game. With former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion's son, NFL-bound, Lewis will compete to win the starting job this spring against Kaidon Salter, a Liberty transfer who helped lead the Flames to an undefeated regular season and a New Year's Six bowl in 2023 and rated as The Athletic's No. 7 transfer quarterback. Advertisement Colorado opens spring practice on March 11 and will host a spring game on April 19. The Buffaloes' class ranked second in the Big 12 and 27th nationally, per 247Sports. The top two prospects behind Lewis are offensive linemen. Carde Smith of Mobile, Ala., was committed to Auburn and then USC before flipping to Colorado a week before the early signing period. Fellow four-star Chauncey Gooden, from Nashville, Tenn., committed to the Buffaloes on the same day. The Buffaloes' class features six four-star high school prospects, more than any other Big 12 team but Texas Tech, which fielded the conference's top class. That's up from four high school recruits four-stars or better in each of CU's previous two classes. The 2025 class featured prospects from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Texas and Michigan. How is Colorado doing it, beyond coming off a 9-4 season? While Sanders hasn't changed his stance on taking visits — 'I don't go to nobody's school or nobody's house. I'm not doing that. I'm too old to be going to somebody's school, somebody's house,' Sanders, 57, told talk show host Tamron Hall in December — that strategy doesn't extend to his staff. Sanders left untouched a $200,000 allowance in his contract for private air travel for recruiting purposes, per USA Today, but the Buffaloes spent $943,504 on recruiting in the 2024 fiscal year, according to Colorado's NCAA financial forms obtained by The Athletic, which puts Colorado in the same ballpark as what is reported by many of its peers. Former Colorado offensive line coach Phil Loadholt, who left for Mississippi State after last season, visited Smith in person four or five times, according to Smith's high school coach, Antonio Coleman. '(Loadholt) was always in constant contact with Carde, and they built a relationship that made him feel like he was at home,' Coleman said. 'If (Sanders) showed up on campus, he'd probably get bum-rushed. Safety is a big deal in that also. Nick Saban came to campus, but he was always well-protected and well-surrounded.' Advertisement Sanders began his second season at Colorado with new coordinators. This year, both offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and defensive coordinator Robert Livingston are back. They have been fixtures on the road in recruiting, high school coaches said. Many coaching staffs around the sport assign assistant coaches to build relationships in specific geographic areas and later put prospects in touch with the program's position coaches. Colorado largely leaves position coaches to recruit their position, wherever the players may be. And though Sanders doesn't travel to recruit, he does frequently FaceTime prospects, usually from his office in Boulder. Players — and more importantly in some cases, players' parents — are familiar with Sanders' persona and playing days, which can allow Sanders to make an impression on prospects' families long before he makes contact. 'These days, you're dealing with a lot more people and kids where NIL is the biggest thing, and it's the biggest topic of conversation,' said Jamie Graham, who coached Gooden at Lipscomb Academy. 'Colorado didn't forget about NIL but understood the relationship part of this and what is going to make Colorado special and stand out to someone like Chauncey.' Coleman said Smith and his mother kept private the amount of an NIL offer Smith had been promised by Colorado but said it was less than what USC had offered. Willie Gaston, who coached four-star wide receiver Quanell X Farrakhan Jr. at Galena North Shore in Texas, said Farrakhan — who signed with Colorado in December and enrolled last month — didn't take the highest offer given to him by other schools. 'I know that for a fact. It was a pretty big gap. But he was going somewhere he felt comfortable,' Gaston said. 'All these kids want to play at the next level, and the biggest thing for him was who could develop him to play on Sundays. That was the biggest thing for him.' Advertisement Sanders has leaned into that talking point in his program every year. It resonates with players who see the NFL credentials of Sanders and his staff and buy into the idea they enhance their pro prospects. Shurmur and Livingston have spent nearly their entire careers in the NFL. Sanders has continued to stock his staff with former NFL players who lack experience coaching but have on-field bona fides. Hall of Famer Warren Sapp was promoted to pass rush coordinator after joining the staff as a senior analyst last season for a $150,000 salary. He was around the program in an unofficial capacity in 2023, too. Sanders hired Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk as running backs coach last month, despite Faulk never coaching at the high school, college or professional levels. Faulk and Sanders worked together at the NFL Network. And former Colorado star Andre Gurode is expected to help coach the offensive line after an All-Pro career and having spent two seasons as a coach in the XFL. 'We, as in Deion, myself, Warren (Sapp), and a lot of guys that played that coach right now … the game has given us so much. Coaches poured into us so much. We have to give that back to these young kids coming up in football, to teach them how to get to the next level, but make sure that they go to the next level the right way,' Faulk, who will make $400,000, told the 'Rich Eisen Show' last month. 'It just all made sense.' Jerrime Bell, who coached defensive lineman Christian Hudson in Daytona Beach, Fla., said multiple Big Ten schools offered Bell more money than Colorado. 'You don't get the helicopter landing like you do with the bigger schools. But they did a good job of zeroing in on him, letting him know he's their guy,' Bell said. 'Georgia, Florida, Miami, when they recruit a kid, they come flying in and they put the full-court press on. Colorado went about it a different way, and it was more just about relationships.' Hudson committed to UCF last summer but flipped to Colorado two weeks after taking an on-campus visit in October. He also took official visits to Iowa, Maryland and Iowa State, but Colorado was the only visit he took once his senior high school season began. Advertisement 'It wasn't about the money for him. It was about getting on the field and the relationships he had,' Bell said. 'And eventually, 'I'll make the money up on the back end when I make plays playing college football.'' Whether Colorado is maximizing its recruiting potential under Sanders if he's available only in Boulder is up for debate, but it does provide an added incentive for recruits to make visits to a campus to which they may have minimal exposure and an area of the country that infrequently produces elite talent. 'It's Deion Sanders. If you're in America and know sports, you know Deion Sanders,' Bell said. 'You know what you're gonna get.' Smith had never been to Boulder before his campus visit. Once he visited, his mind was made up, Coleman said. 'Him going up to Colorado was the biggest reason they were able to make him reconsider,' Coleman said. 'And he saw Jordan Seaton (the No. 1 offensive tackle prospect in the 2024 class) and the success he had and he wanted to bet on himself. That's why he chose Colorado.' As for Sanders' ironclad no-visit policy, even for prospects as highly rated as Hunter, who made good on his status as the nation's No. 1 recruit to become Colorado's second Heisman Trophy winner? Graham said with as much exposure and access as Colorado offers on YouTube, he can get a feel for what life is like for his former player there. He suspects recruits can get a feel for Sanders and the program in the same way. 'I find myself naturally following Colorado,' Graham said. 'Him not being out on the road, I don't see it being a big deal. He has so many good people around him that can get out on the road and speak for him.' (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Ric Tapia / Getty Images)
Boston Globe
26-02-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
College Football Playoff puts off any decisions on format changes, including seeding of teams
The committee is expected to meet again in March, a possible virtual session when it could review seeding models and other information. Another meeting is scheduled in North Texas in April. Any changes to the playoff system or the upcoming 2025 season, the final year of the current CFP contract, would have to be approved by a unanimous vote. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Rich Clark, the executive director of the CFP, said much of Tuesday's meeting, which lasted about seven hours in a hotel at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, included a review of last season's playoff, the first since the field tripled in size to 12 teams. Advertisement Clark said there was talk about next season's format, including seeding. He said there was no talk about the format beyond that, when the CFP's new contract with ESPN goes into effect through 2031. Related : The SEC and Big Ten will have the bulk of the control over what happens with the playoff in that new contract. The latest CFP meeting came a week after SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti came out of a combined meeting with their 34 athletic directors in favor of seeding changes. Sankey and Petitti were among several commissioners who left Tuesday's meeting without speaking to reporters while on the way to catch flights. Under the playoff format that began last season, the four highest-ranked conference champions were guaranteed the top four seeds that come with first-round byes. That means the seeding will not always be the same as the final rankings done by the CFP selection committee. That was probably the most controversial and confusing aspect of the expanded playoff, and the scenario happened in the first season. Advertisement After Big Ten champion Oregon and SEC winner Georgia filled the top two spots, coinciding with them being 1-2 in the CFP's final rankings, ninth-ranked Mountain West champion Boise State got the No. 3 seed, and 12th-ranked Big 12 champion Arizona State got the fourth seed. All four of those top seeds then lost in New Year's Six games that made up the quarterfinal round, to opponents that had played first-round home games on their campuses, including SEC runner-up Texas and Big Ten runner-up Penn State. The 12-team field included four from the Big Ten, three from the SEC, and two from the ACC. While straight seeding last season would have changed the matchups and byes, it wouldn't have altered the actual makeup of the field when still including five automatic qualifiers for conference champions and seven at-large berths. AJ Dybantsa is on track for NBA stardom. His Brockton roots keep him grounded Share AJ Dybantsa is a high school basketball star and is on track for NBA stardom. His Brockton roots keep him grounded.
