Lincoln Riley cites Alabama in scheduling for 12-team CFP: 'They scheduled to win championships'

INDIANAPOLIS – As the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams this year, scheduling could change. Under the new 5-plus-7 model, there’s a potential for teams to play 17 games during a season and four in the CFP.

During Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday, Lincoln Riley said he saw what Nick Saban and Alabama did with their schedule model. In his eyes, it wasn’t meant to make the fans happy.

Instead, it was about achieving the ultimate goal of winning a championship. As a result, Riley said there’s a “decision” to make.

“‘Bama was ahead of the curve for years, I thought, on how they scheduled in the non-conference,” Riley told reporters. “They would occasionally hit the marquee non-conference game, they’d play two other not-very-good teams, they’d play one late so they got essentially a little bit of a bye week there late in the season. They didn’t schedule for their fans – they scheduled to win championships.

“My hope is we can do the best thing, schedule to win championships that includes a rivalry game for all that comes with that and all that it means. But if you get in the positions, you’ve got to make a decision on what the priority is.”

For USC, one of the most important scheduling questions involves a fierce rival. Notre Dame is a key part of the schedule every year, and the series will continue this season in the Coliseum. But with the Trojans playing a Big Ten schedule – featuring the two teams that played in the national championship a year ago, along with contenders such as Ohio State and Oregon – it’s worth wondering what a non-conference schedule could look like.

While Lincoln Riley said he’d “love” to keep the Notre Dame game, he pointed out whether it makes sense in terms of keeping USC in position to win a title. It’ll be part of the planning process as the college football landscape shifts.

“I would love to,” Riley said when asked about keeping Notre Dame on the schedule. “I know it means a lot to a lot of people. Again, the purist in you, no doubt. Now, if you get in a position where you’ve got to make a decision on what’s best for SC to help us win a national championship vs. keeping that? Shoot, then you’ve got to look at it.

“Listen, we’re not the first example of that. Look all the way across the country. There’s been a lot of other teams [that] sacrificed rivalry games. I’m not saying that’s what’s gonna happen, but as we get into this playoff structure and if it changes and we get into this conference, we’re gonna learn something about this as we go and what the right and the best track is to winning a national championship. That’s gonna evolve.”