What Would A Hypothetical G5 Tournament Look Like?: AAC Rules The Roost

Remember a few months ago when there was chatter of an interest in eventually forming a G5 playoff? Of course, it was shot down, first from Navy and then from a majority of the G5 with the playoff seen as admitting that the G5 programs should not be allowed to compete with the P5.

The thought behind a fight against a G5 playoff makes sense and it looks extremely unlikely that it would ever come to fruition. That is probably for the best as sooner or later a G5 program will break through into a playoff for the national title, certainly when the playoff eventually moves from four to eight teams.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t say “what if?”

With non-conference play virtually over for most of the G5, now is as good of a time as ever to imagine what a G5 playoff would look like. Remember, I am not advocating for a G5 playoff. Instead, I am just offering a “what if” scenario to break up a lazy week and give you reading material as you watch Georgia Southern and Arkansas State face off in Funbelt Wednesdays.

*****AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A "WHAT IF" AND I IN NO WAY WANT OR EXPECT TO SEE A G5 TOURNAMENT NOW OR IN THE FUTURE. JUST FOR FUN.******

Format:

Eight-team single elimination tournament.

How teams are chosen:

In what would be an eight-team tournament, all five conferences would get an automatic bid with three teams getting an at-large invite.

• American Athletic Conference Champion
• Mid-American Conference Champion
• Conference USA Champion
• Mountain West Champion
• Sun Belt Champion
• At-large
• At-large
• At-large

Sites:

The quarterfinals and semifinals would be at the higher seed’s home field like playoffs in the FCS. The title game would be in a neutral site that makes sense for the entire G5. New Orleans, Dallas, Atlanta, Tempe, Los Angeles, and Miami are too entrenched with the P5 playoff system and would make little sense as a piggyback location for the G5 tournament final. I would love to hear from you which location would make sense as a championship location. Be creative.

Now, let’s move on to the biggest argument piece of this article—the eight teams that make the cut. This is based only on the current outlook five weeks into the season. Please try to understand that I am not counting a hypothetical win over Toledo or Boise State in the future, only current work on the field. I am basing the teams selected and seeding on the CFO G5 Top 10 Poll.

• San Diego State (MW Champion)
• South Florida (At-large)
• Central Florida (AAC Champion)
• Troy (Sun Belt Champion)
• Toledo (MAC Champion)
• Navy (At-large)
• Houston (At-large)
• UTSA (CUSA Champion)

Yes, I know. That is a lot of AAC in the tournament. I never said every conference would be equally distributed, but it is a bit wild that four of the eight teams would be from a single conference. It happens.

The Bracket: