The final weekend of college football before the College Football Playoff and bowl revelations has often been an amazing weekend. The stakes, the emotions, the intensity were off the charts in the BCS and four-team CFP eras. There were a ton of flaws with the BCS and the four-team CFP, but one thing was regularly true: Having only two to four teams competing for the national championship in the postseason made those conference title games hugely important more often than not. The conference championship games weren't always defining games, but they often were. Now, in a 12-team playoff format, the sport completely needs to rethink the usefulness of these events. The ACC Championship Game with five-loss Duke is a perfect example.

It's time to completely revise the way these conference championship games are used as television properties and as high-stakes college football events. Let's have a brief discussion:

SEC Championship Game is a rematch

The SEC Championship Game is a rematch of a regular-season game. Conference title games don't feel nearly as big when this is the case. Conferences could stipulate that if a rematch is the result of the conference standings and any tiebreakers involved, the two teams are declared conference co-champions with other teams playing in the conference championship game. The event would therefore not be called the conference championship game. It would be called the "SEC Playoff" or "SEC Showcase."

ACC championship disaster

Duke has five losses. The ACC could have installed a rule saying no team with more than three losses can play in the conference championship game, but it didn't, and here we are. In an enlightened world, the ACC would set up a rule structure (for next year -- it's obviously too late for this year) where teams that finish at the top of the standings are legitimate conference champions and will always be honored as such in the history books, but they don't play in the big game in Charlotte. Another team worthy of playoff consideration -- Miami -- would get its chance to play its way into the playoff as the ACC representative. The game in Charlotte would not be called the ACC Championship Game, since Duke and Virginia won the tiebreakers. They're champions, but Miami would play Virginia to be the ACC's playoff representative. Again, like the SEC, the game would be called the "ACC Playoff." It's simply a matter of adjusting the label. The game remains a TV property, but with adjusted components. The other power conferences could do similar things.

Big Ten Championship Game problem, two years in a row

In each of the first two seasons of the 12-team playoff era, the Big Ten has had a situation in which its No. 1 team is 12-0 and has to play in the Big Ten Championship Game. If you stop and think about it, this is not how things should work in the 12-team playoff era.

Ohio State and Indiana, both unbeaten, have to play each other and beat each other up. Oregon, the third-place team in the Big Ten, gets crucial rest to heal its injured players. Shouldn't it be the exact opposite? The third-place team has to play an extra game before the CFP, and the top teams rest.

Imagine this, folks: Oregon plays either Texas or Miami this Saturday in a game called the "Big Ten Playoff." Ohio State and Indiana get declared conference co-champions, and we can eagerly anticipate a Buckeye-Hoosier playoff game. That game would matter a lot. Now, under the current framework, OSU and Indiana will both get byes regardless of who wins on Saturday, which makes this game one of the least consequential December 1-versus-2 games in college football history. The two teams could meet twice in seven weeks. That's a buzzkill. Only a January semifinal or title game would really matter. This is like a preseason game. Both teams should be resting and preparing for their playoff game. Instead, Oregon gets the rest.

Big Ten role reversal with Oregon

Before Duck fans get mad about this, remember: Oregon was in this position last year. The Ducks should not have played in the Big Ten title game. It should have been Indiana playing Penn State in the Big Ten Playoff with Oregon being the Big Ten champion and not having to play that weekend.

Make conference championship games bubble elimination games

The sooner college football makes this one adjustment, the better. Turn conference title games into bubble playoff games. Imagine how much better Championship Saturday would be if this happened.

Alabama vs Miami in Atlanta

Have Alabama play Miami in Atlanta for the SEC Playoff this Saturday.

Texas vs Notre Dame in Charlotte

Imagine the ACC title game being replaced by a Texas-Notre Dame bubble playoff game in Charlotte. So much better, right?

Oregon vs Utah in Indianapolis

Imagine Oregon playing 10-2 Utah in Indy, in place of Ohio State-Indiana.

BYU vs James Madison in Arlington

James Madison could simply be declared Sun Belt champion. Texas Tech could be declared Big 12 champion due to its win over BYU.

We could have JMU play BYU in another playoff-style test this weekend, instead of a soggy Big 12 rematch while JMU plays a Sun Belt opponent. There are so many ways to make this weekend so much better than it currently is.

Reminder about the ACC in 2025

Miami did not play Virginia or Georgia Tech this year. Yet, the ACC tiebreakers and format have allowed five-loss Duke to play Virginia. The larger size of these power conferences has enabled weaker teams to make the championship game because they avoid the top teams. This is a loophole that has to be addressed with better tiebreakers and provisional systems and policies, such as prohibiting a four- or five-loss team from playing in a conference title (or playoff) game.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Conference title games have never mattered less in college football

Reporting by Matt Zemek, College Sports Wire / College Sports Wire

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