The College Football Super League has been at the center of plenty of conversation ever since “College Sports Tomorrow” tried to make its own proposal. In that proposal, there are 80 teams at the top with eight divisions of 10. Only members of the one division could be relegated, leaving 70 programs immune. According to them, all 18 programs are worthy of the top tier of college football.
At best, the proposal is weak and asinine. At worst, it destroys what the Super League is meant to be.
Last Word on Sports proposed its own Super League and it’s quite a bit better. To start, programs are ranked by win percentage against FBS foes. Then, no program is immune to relegation. If Georgia finishes 2-12 at the bottom of their division, they get sent down.
In their proposal, the FBS and so forth split up into 40 school tiers.
ACC Programs Make the Top Tier of College Football Super League Proposal
| West | North | South | East |
| Arizona State | Bowling Green | Air Force | Clemson |
| BYU | Miami (OH) | Alabama | Florida |
| Colorado | Michigan | Arkansas | Florida State |
| Fresno State | Michigan State | Auburn | Georgia |
| Washington | Minnesota | Houston | Georgia Tech |
| Oregon | Notre Dame | LSU | Miami (FL) |
| Stanford | Ohio State | Nebraska | North Carolina |
| UCLA | Penn State | Oklahoma | Tennessee |
| USC | Toledo | Texas | Virginia Tech |
| Utah | Wisconsin | Texas A&M | West Virginia |
Unsurprisingly, the conference’s top programs made the cut. All of Stanford, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami (FL), North Carolina, and Virginia Tech made the cut.
Cal, Louisville, SMU, Boston College, Duke, NC State, Pitt, and Syracuse made Tier 2 while Wake Forest and Virginia round out Tier 3.
Worthy Inclusions
The seven programs that made it to the top 40 represent the elites in terms of the FBS winning percentage:
12. Florida State (0.64997)
16. Miami (FL) (0.6025)
21. Clemson (0.5839)
33. Stanford (0.5401)
34. Virginia Tech (0.5399)
36. Georgia Tech (0.5374)
41. North Carolina (0.5263)
The ACC has had its share of dominance in history. Florida State is considered a blueblood, Miami (FL) just about owned the 90s and boasts what could be considered the greatest team assembled in 2001. In terms of the new ACC programs, Stanford brings its history within the Pac-12 over as a near top-30 program.
This Could Save the ACC from Itself
The ACC is an uncovered sneeze away from disintegrating. Florida State and Clemson are actively suing the conference. UNC and its cohort are likely weighing their own options. It is disappointing to see a conference so steeped in tradition torn apart like this. However, the conference could survive in essence with this proposal.
All in all, a College Football Super League is absolutely a great idea. Is there truly a better way to make sure the cream always rises to the top than to make sure each and every program’s feet are held to fire? No longer can the Wake Forests of the world rest on their laurels that they are included in the ACC.
Given, at this point, conferences would die in favor of an NFL-like divisional system. However, would you trade conferences, which are becoming increasingly a formality with how national it’s all getting, for a system that guarantees the best of the best battle it out each and every weekend?
And, if the gripe is that a few Group of 5 teams got through, it’ll be sorted in time. If those Power 4 programs are worth their salt, they’ll win and keep winning, thus sending those MAC or Mountain West programs down.
College football has become unrecognizable from the game that most fans fell in love with as kids. We are already headed for a Power 2 system with the Big Ten and SEC with the ACC about to implode. Might as well steer into it.
