The best place to be in the College Football Playoff... and it's not No. 1

The 12 team College Football Playoff is something new that we have never seen and with that comes a new way of looking at the bracket. For example, with this many teams now in the field we may want to consider factors other than just getting in; such as who has the easiest path in the bracket. 

While it would be easy to point to teams seeded 1-4 to claim this title with a first round bye, I would much rather be sitting in the number 5 slot and here’s why:

First of all having a bye is great, but I am sure there are many coaches out there who would prefer to not have nearly an entire month in between playing games, especially when dealing with college kids (Conference championship weekend: Dec. 6-7 - CFP Quarterfinals: Dec. 31/Jan. 1). This would lead to the whole argument of rest vs rust which has no right answer, so I digress. 

In the 12-team format it is important to remember that seeds 1 through 4 will be given to the four highest ranked conference champions. This means it will not be the four best teams in the eyes of the committee, but the four best who won their conference championship game. 

With that being said, the fifth spot is for the highest ranked team who did not win a conference title; and with how things have played out so far this team will very likely be ranked higher than five in the final rankings. 

For example, in the committee’s first rankings Ohio State was ranked number 2, but received the 5 seed due to fellow Big Ten member Oregon being ranked ahead of them making them presumed Big Ten champion.

Now let’s consider the bracket. While the 5 seed will not get the luxury of having a first round bye, they will get to host a home playoff game which will be an awesome opportunity for the program and experience for the fans. 

This game will also be played against the No.12 seed, or in other words the worst team in the field in the eyes of the committee. 

This spot will likely be filled by the fifth automatic bid which is awarded to the highest ranked Group of 5 conference champion. Obviously there will be no easy games in the playoff, but the five seed should have the easiest first round game.

Looking past the first round I see no better path moving forward then for seed 5, especially in the quarterfinals where I believe we see some upsets. 

The winner of the 12v5 matchup will meet seed 4 in the quarterfinals. Now remember, this team will be the fourth highest ranked conference champion, not the fourth best team in the country. This means that the 5 seed could be looking at a very favorable matchup here. 

With how things have played out so far this season that 4 seed will likely be filled by a shaky conference champion such as BYU, Miami, Colorado, or Clemson. 

I would take that second round matchup on a neutral field as No. 5 all day rather than being a team seeded 1-3 who gets a bye but then has to play a Notre Dame, Penn State, or any of the multiple SEC teams who will make it in.

I strongly recommend keeping an eye on the weekly releases of the CFP committees' rankings and looking at how that fifth seeded team and their path compares to seeds 1-4.

Now since we are talking about college football, where it is impossible to predict what will happen, looking any further beyond this point would be silly, but I will stand strong in my stance that the 5 seed is the best place to be.

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