These three conference championship fixes create a

Conference championship weekend and the College Football Playoff do not mix.We have since the CFP began in 2014. Five years later, we are no closer to addre sing the three biggest i sues with this weekend.There are far more upsets than blowouts.There are one-sided stakes outside of the SEC, and we still have five Power 5 conferences trying to jam into four spots.MORE: That leads to the usual talking points. We say conference championships dont matter. We experiment with our own personalized six-, eight-, 12- and 16-team Playoff models, and everybody thinks they havethe best plan. We fight for the preservation of the regular season.The regular season will always matter in college football.The conference championships?They will continue to be a farceif three i sues arent resolved.Problem: Lack of dramaThere have been 22 Power 5 conference championship games since the College Football Playoff era, and the statistics show a lack of real drama Ferguson Jenkins Jersey .The higher-ranked team is 18-4 in those games.The average margin of victory is 19.2 points per game, and 12 of those 22 games were decided by 14 points or more.These games lack spice. Clemson is a 24.5-point favorite against Virginia in this weeks ACC championship game. Ohio State isan 18-point favorite in the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin.Po sible solution:Eliminate divisionsThe Big 12 got this right when it added a conference championship game. Oklahoma used it to get into the Playoff each of the last two seasons, and the Sooners might vault in again with the help of a battle of one-lo s teams against Baylor this weekend.That Blank Jersey said, this isnt a perfect solution. Virginia really is the second-best team in the ACC. Ohio State already beat Wisconsin and Penn State.That speaks to another problem.MORE: Problem: One-sided stakes outside SECThe conference championships have produced few games whereyou could say with 100 percent certainty that the winner of that game was in the Playoff.In fact, there have been just three:YEARGAME2015No. 5 Michigan State 16, No. 4 Iowa 132017No. 6 Georgia 28, No 2 Auburn 72018No. 1 Alabama 35, No. 4 Georgia 28The only other game that was close was No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 7 Miami in the 2017 ACC championship, and the Hurricanes were not a guarantee to get in with a victory.The fact that the SEC produced two of those three games and has the biggest game of the weekend with No. 1 LSU and No. 4 Georgia is another hold-up for the eight-team playoff. The SEC has no incentive to go to eight knowing it is almost guaranteed one playoff team every year, and the Bulldogs and Tigers likely both will get in if Georgia pulls the upset Saturday.Po sible solution: Protect one-lo s championsJust think about those three games listed above. They were the best conference championship games po sible. Michigan States L.J Danny Santana Jersey . Scotts TDrunand Alabamas Jalen Hurts comeback were defining moments that could make the argument for the conference championship game.They work against it. Those games felt like true playoff quarterfinals. The other one that did a matchup between No. 7 Penn State and No. 6 Wisconsin in the 2016 Big Ten championship game produced a 38-31 thriller the Nittany Lions won. Penn State watched one-lo s Ohio State go to the Playoff instead.MORE: Problem: Five champions, four spotsAfter all the arguing, the CFP still is trying to please five Power 5 conferences and the Group of 5 with four playoff spots. UCF proved that a Group of 5 team will never get into the four-team Playoff.This weekend could expose another problem. Ohio State, LSU and Clemson could all take care of busine Darwin Barney Jersey s and give the Playoff three undefeated teams. What will the committee do with a one-lo s Utah against one-lo s Oklahoma or Baylor if it comes to that? You are leaving a one-lo s conference champion out of the Playoff.How many one-lo s Power 5 champions have been left out to this point? That list includes TCU and Baylor (2014)and Ohio State (2018).The more that happens, the more this proce s will be strained.Po sible solution: Perfect the eight-team modelIt does not have to happen overnight, and you need the SEC to buy in to make it work. The details are obvious otherwise.Put the quarterfinal games on campus. Wait until all five Power 5 conferences play nine or even 10 conference games. That would beef up and protect the regular season.Figure out the proper format for the conference championship games,with or without divisions Texas Rangers Jersey .Have a consistent model acro s the 10 conferences that produces a far more dramatic conference championship weekend. If you want to ditch conference championship weekend and seed out the best teams, then that's fine, too.Six is not enough and 16 is too many.Most models have the right idea with eight teams despite the variation.Include all five conferences, the Group of 5 and two at-large bids to give fans the best of the Bowl Championship Series and College Football Playoff which to be clear has been a huge succe s to this point. Well spend more time arguing about No. 8 and No. 9, but thats OK. At least a few two-lo s teams might sneak in.The solutions come easywhen you recognize the problems.It's time to make the conference championship and Playoff fit again.