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I personally hate divisions.  They help with the playoffs this one year but at a cost of not seeing teams in the other division nearly enough.  That would get worse with 16.  I want to play the traditional Big Ten teams, not feel like they are an occasional out of confernence opponents.

Also, with a 12 team playoff, a weaker team upsetting a higher one means no byes to the quarterfinal bowls.  This is small to me compared to schedules, but an added factor.

I sort of like the idea of using a pod system like soccer does.  Using the previous years ending 16 team standings, teams would placed into four pods changing each year by ending standings.

Pod A
Michigan, Purdue, Minn, Neb
Pod B
Ohio St, Ucla, Wis, Ind
Pod C
USC, Ill, Maryland,  Rutgers 
Pod D
Penn St, Iowa, Mich St, NW

Every team in each pod would play each other.  Then rivalry games would be scheduled unless the game was already played inside a pod.  Haven't figured out how to complete the results of the schedule yet.

Your still playing a 9 conference game schedule not just 3 games.  Maybe after the first round Pod A / C and B / D would play against each other, which is 7 games and then 2 game left for the rivalrys.

yes, but you don't play the other 6 conference teams every season

the trophy rivalries might not have developed if they didn't play every season

Floyd of Rosedale, the bucket, the Axe, the brown jug

I get the concern.  Abandoning regional conferences and moving to mega-conferences is inevitably going to harm some of the tradition and history of college football.  Every move, is one step closer to the NFL.  And a lot of college football fans like the sport, precisely because it is NOT the NFL.

Yay, progress.

As utee notes, a lot of fans want an NFL style situation, while I think most veteran fans do not.  But, it's inevitable because of money.

Just like CGs, they are a good strategy for raising money.

at least the NFL keeps rivals together

Da Bears, Packers, Vikings, and Lions play each other twice EVERY season

it's called the Norris Division or the black & blue division

playing another team every 3 or 4 years just so you get to play them regularly is watered down

Well pods would preserve those rivalries in the same way NFL divisions do, so now I guess I'm not sure what you're getting at?

The Dallas Cowboys have three main rivals-- the Giants, the Eagles, and whatever Washington is calling themselves today.  As you point out, that's a result of being in the same division (or you could call it a pod) for many years.  But the rest of their schedule is varied and fluid and changes year to year.  There's no real rivalry with the Falcons, for example, because they're not on the schedule every year.

In a college football mega-conference, pods would exist in the same way. 

Also, pretty sure that's NFC Norse, not Norris.

I get the concern.  Abandoning regional conferences and moving to mega-conferences is inevitably going to harm some of the tradition and history of college football.  Every move, is one step closer to the NFL.  And a lot of college football fans like the sport, precisely because it is NOT the NFL.

Testify 94 Testify......after you make your eggnogg