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Josh Pate's plan could fix College Football Playoff, portal schedule

ESPN contributor breaks out plan that could fix multiple college football issues
Joe Cox|
As the College Football Playoff threatens to push into February, ESPN's Josh Pate offers a quick fix.
As the College Football Playoff threatens to push into February, ESPN's Josh Pate offers a quick fix. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

College football has got itself a calendar problem. The Playoff pushes later and later, the transfer portal threatens to extend into infinity, and conference title and bowl games are at risk of being pushed into the netherworld.

But all is not lost. ESPN commentator Josh Pate unveiled a common sense proposal that would fix most if not all of the issues in front of college football today. Pate discussed the proposal at some length on his show. Here's the rundown of the plan.

Step 1: Move Week 1 up a week.

With Week 0 games already becoming common, Pate's first step is hardly shocking. Iowa State and Kansas State played in Week 0 in Ireland this year, and other teams including Kansas and Stanford played a week earlier than the rest of college football. This is definitely a simple fix.

Step 2: Conference championship games stay-- but they're played Thanksgiving weekend

This might be the most controversial point. With the playoff looking to extend and with several conferences moving to nine-game slates, the conference championship games look like the most likely casualty. But bumping them up a week could certainly help.

Step 3: Six bowls are revitalized with Playoff-important matchups for the same weekend as conference championships.

This is the most revolutionary part of the idea, but it definitely jump-starts bowl games and will likely help clear up last team out/last team in type situations. Pate's hypothetical 2025 slate would have included Oregon vs. Houston, Ole Miss vs. Michigan, Texas vs. Utah, and Notre Dame vs. Vanderbilt. These games wouldn't necessarily be determinative of Playoff status, but they would provide a significant last chance to make a statement for Playoff bubble teams.

Step 4: Set and announce the CFP field on Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Again, we're moving dates up, which seems like a positive.

Step 5: CFP first round games are played on campus on the first Saturday in December, with second round games on campus on the second Saturday in December.

Moving second round games to campus sites has been a popular topic. Other than conflicting with the possible Presidential executive order on Army/Navy exclusivity, this looks solid.

Step 6: Neutral site semifinal games are played on the third Saturday in December, with the CFP title game played on New Year's Day.

Again, it's a condensed schedule, but the benefits follow the quick turn-around.

Step 7: Signing Day and the transfer portal entry window immediately follow.

"Wrap that thing up by mid-January," says Pate, and that proposal actually does check out to more or less exactly that time frame.

Pate has tongue-in-cheek dubbed himself the College Football commissioner... but with a plan like this, maybe he shouldn't be kidding.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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