You could be a CFB homer who has not missed a Saturday for years on end. Or you could be somebody new to the sport. With the new playoff format yet to make its debut, everyone’s essentially learning on the fly. No one seems to know how it’s all going to pan out on Selection Sunday. So when an expert leverages some intel, it immediately becomes a talking point.

ESPN’s senior college football analyst Heather Dinich has formulated a projected playoff bracket for the masses. Inadvertently, it has raised more questions than answers. Dinich’s bracket was dissected in her appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. One particular facet became a point of contention between the show’s namesake and his guest.

Heather Dinich’s projections entailed multiple games between teams from the same conferences. In one case, the two teams have even played in the regular season not long ago. She was asked if the committee will look to avoid such a scenario in the formal bracket. “No. They will not do that. They won’t try to avoid rematches. There will be no reseeding”, she claimed.

The bracket included an 8 vs 9 matchup between Georgia and Tennessee, who played as recently as Week 12. Georgia won by a comfortable 2-touchdown margin, 31-17. Naturally, Pat McAfee and others on the panel didn’t deem a round 2 necessary. Heather Dinich did not agree with this notion. 

“Let me tell you something. Every week I have done [playoff projection brackets] for the past 13 weeks. Every single week, there’s not one matchup on here where I’m like ‘Oh man, I don’t want to see that game’. I want Indiana and Penn State to settle it on the field. I love that matchup because of these super sized conferences and no divisions. Indiana doesn’t play Penn State, they don’t play Oregon. So how does that work itself out? And Tennessee would have to go to Georgia again? Listen, I’m all for it. Sign me up”, said Heather Dinich. McAfee proceeded to make a captivating counter-argument to this.

Pat McAfee suggests a solution to avoid potential repeat matchups

Members of CFB media are often criticized for showing SEC bias. Whether it occurs inadvertently or by design, the criticism is true in some cases. Within the existence of such a dynamic, Pat McAfee offered a solution to the intrinsic superiority that is afforded to teams in the SEC.

McAfee suggested a stipulation where teams from the SEC face against Big 10 teams, for instance, and vice versa. Not only would this avoid regular-season rematches, but it would also add an extra layer of adversity. The southeast dwellers playing in freezing December temperatures that teams like Ohio State and Michigan are accustomed to. The elements are a huge part of football. Indulging in them would make an enticing prospect and perhaps even make the playoffs a more level playing field.

For now, no such stipulation is in the pipeline. Albeit it can still happen if that’s how the pieces fall in place after Saturday. Mere days remain before the first-ever 12-team CFP is formalized. Whether it brings about repeats of previous fixtures or unprecedented new matchups, expect fireworks.