Exactly what would an NBA-style bubble look like for college football?
The NBA sent 22 teams to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, to play in their “bubble.” Although some players opted-out, most of the NBA’s elite made their way to Florida to play. Those 22 teams played eight “seeding” games.
The top eight teams would make to the playoffs. The postseason would use the format used regularly with the best of seven series for all rounds until a champion is named.
There is no way to “bubble” all of college football. There are well over 100 teams in FBS. You could not bubble only the Power Five schools either. Just like the NBA brought 22 of their 32 teams, not everyone would get an invitation. Sorry Scarlett Knight and Jayhawk fans, Rutgers and Kansas are not getting invited to this dance.
College football missed an opportunity to come up with a bubble to safeguard the players, coaches and ensure a safe football season
For the sake of sounding cynical, the NCAA does not make many moves that do not make monetary sense. One criterion of the teams invited is they are schools people want to watch. Universities that have made the College Football Playoff will be there as well as traditional conference powers.
Just like the NBA, there are 22 teams in this bubble. There is representation from across every conference. Four Group of five schools received invitations. Teams are split into two 11-team divisions by geography.
Eastern Division:
- Clemson
- Notre Dame
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Penn State
- Cincinnati
- Central Florida
- Florida State
- Florida
- Wisconsin
- Georgia
Western Division:
- Oregon
- Washington
- USC
- Utah
- Alabama
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- Memphis
- Texas
- Baylor
- Boise State
Every team that has made the College Football Playoff since its inception is represented except Michigan State. Alabama, Clemson, Washington, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida State and Oklahoma are all invited. USC and Michigan get an invite because of name recognition. The Trojan offense versus the Crimson Tide defense would be fun too.
Every team in the bubble is one of the top programs in the country. Not only that, but each team is also one of the “brands” in college football. For example, Baylor might not have the cache that USC does, but they have been an up and coming team in the Big 12.
Memphis, Cincinnati, Central Florida and Boise State have been the standard programs of the Group of Five for years. Inviting these teams will allow them to see how they measure up against the best the Power Five has to offer.
What is the format?
Each division will play a 10-game round-robin schedule. There are no cross-division games. A team that wins six games is eligible for a “bubble bowl” game. The top four teams atop each division make it to the National Semifinal.
Location, location, location
The bubble has to be somewhere that can contain an entire football team and its entire staff. That is why college football needs two. There are two places within two hours of one another with state-of-the-art football stadiums; Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
The Eastern Division would have their bubble in Vegas while the Western Division would play in Los Angeles. Each city could accommodate 11 football programs and have enough small colleges and high schools for teams to shuttle and practice.
In LA, teams could rotate between the Rose Bowl, the Colesseum, and De Lasalle High School for practice in addition to the SoFi stadium. In Vegas, teams could practice at UNLV, Bishop Gorman or Coronado High School along with the new Allegiant field.
The National Semifinal would be played in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium while the Bubble Bowl games would be played in Las Vegas.
What would players do with their free time?
Technically, players should be doing their homework since the bubble would happen when class is still in session. Where ever the teams stay had better have some good wifi with all of the distance learning going on at these hotels.
There are only so many papers to write and books to read after practice. For the remaining time, what better locations are there than Vegas and SoCal?
It’s a bubble, so teams have to have as much entertainment in-house as possible. That might be a bit easier in Vegas. Players would stay in a hotel with all the amenities for players and staff. Some activities are for players that are of age and those that are not.
They can gamble, eat, swim, go to shows –socially distanced of course– all in the same hotel. The NCAA will spring to rent out Caesar’s Palace, the MGM Grand, and Atlantis for the Bubble. In Los Angeles, players are staying in beach-front hotels only.
Who wouldn’t love watching Nick Saban learn how to surf?
Could an NCAA bubble happen? It’s not likely; conference commissioners would never agree on who to send or where to play.
It’s nice to imagine, however.
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