How the SEC's scheduling decision affects the ACC, Big 12, College Football Playoff and more - ESPN

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey elaborates on the decision to play a 10-game, conference-only schedule for football starting on Sept.

The SEC's decision to play only conference games caught the ACC by surprise, a day after that league announced it would play 10 league foes plus one nonconference opponent.

Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack, on the ACC subcommittee that looked at scheduling models, said the league decided to play one nonconference game as a nod to the four ACC teams with SEC rivals.

"Those games are important to Clemson and Florida State and Louisville and Georgia Tech," he said.

One of the most discussed proposals in how to go about adding the two conference games this season would be to use the rotating cross-divisional opponents for the 2021 and 2022 seasons and simply add those two foes to the existing 2020 eight-game conference slates for each school.

Under this proposal, Alabama, for example, would add Florida and Vanderbilt from the SEC's Eastern Division this season, and Georgia, for example, would add Arkansas and Mississippi State from the SEC's Western Division.

Of note, this proposal would also mean Alabama would face both Florida and Georgia during the regular season in 2020.

Another proposal that has strong support is for the league to devise a ranking system using strength of schedule and add the two additional league games based on that system.

The College Football Playoff is evaluating a new timetable for its selection committee meetings, and it will reconsider its protocols for the 2020 season, CFP executive director Bill Hancock told ESPN on Thursday.

"Since there won't be as many nonconference games as normal, certain tools used by the committee, such as head-to-head results and results against common opponents, will have limitations this year," Hancock said.

One conference source told ESPN a nine-plus-one model (nine conference games, one nonconference) has gained significant support from the athletic directors.

USC in the AdvoCare Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, was canceled when the Pac-12 opted to play only conference games.

Other intriguing games that won't be played: Texas at LSU, Arkansas at Notre Dame, Tennessee at Oklahoma, Missouri at BYU, Vanderbilt at Kansas State and Mississippi State at NC State.

UCF, for example, had one game canceled outright (Florida A&M) and will not be able to play both North Carolina (home) and Georgia Tech (away).

Since the SEC will not play nonconference games, this opens the door for UCF to keep the Georgia Tech game but that decision will be in the hands of the Yellow Jackets

Boise State won't play Florida State

It's safe to say that any slim hopes for busting into the College Football Playoff would be nonexistent without Power 5 games on the schedule for 2020