Through the decade of the four-team Faculty Soccer Playoff format, there was a notion that the identical groups would play in it every year. A few of that could be true: Alabama gained eight berths; Clemson went 6 occasions; Ohio State claimed six spots. Georgia and Oklahoma every went 3 occasions. In these ten seasons, solely 15 completely different applications earned a playoff berth (40 whole spots).
Each every so often, somebody sneaks in that you simply did not anticipate. In 2021, Cincinnati turned the primary Group of 5 workforce to earn a playoff spot. The next season, TCU got here out of nowhere to play within the nationwide championship recreation. Michigan State performed within the second playoff.
Final yr, within the first version of the expanded format, six colleges made their first look within the playoffs. Colleges like Indiana, Arizona State, and Boise State broke via and located themselves within the match to play for the nationwide championship. Despite the fact that none of these colleges gained a recreation within the playoffs, they acquired their program on that form of stage for the primary time. That ought to really feel like it is going to be the brand new regular as groups have extra entry to this playoff … and particularly with a probable enlargement to 16 groups coming within the close to future.
So who may very well be the following TCU or Indiana? Or who may very well be the Group of 5 faculty that breaks via? Or who may very well be the college that won’t get there however may play spoiler for groups trying to get in (like Syracuse knocking Miami out within the common season finale)? Listed here are 15 groups who may throw a wrench within the Faculty Soccer Playoff.
