Lol, thanks for the scheduling advice cburton, but I usually have a top-50 non-conf, and I've made the NT 14 out of the past 16 years. I'll be ok.

You missed my point. Of course I'd rather be in the NT than not. But I just don't think being mediocre for 26 games and then winning 3 CT games is the hallmark of a successful season. There's a lot of variability in 3 games, and to say that it's a great measure of success, well, I don't buy that. If I was the coach of that team, I'm not thinking, "good job this year". I'm thinking, "phew, I got lucky this year, but I better get better if I want to come back to the NT, and maybe not lose to a #1 seed by 40 next time. "

What is your point?  There should be no CT?

No, I'm not saying that, tkimble. Here's a scenario: let's say you and I are about to play in the CT final. You've gone 22-6 so far, RPI in the 40's. I've gone 12-16, RPI in the 180's. Going into that game, who's had the more successful season? Obviously you, by a mile. Now, if I somehow upset you in the CT final, and you barely miss the NT, you're obviously bumming, and I'm ecstatic to have made the NT. But did that one game suddenly make my season a bigger success than yours?

I understand that many people would say yes - that the only thing that matters in defining success is making the NT. I guess I look at it a little differently. I'm going to get creamed by a number-one seed in the NT, so it's not like I really have any more chance to win a title than you do. You've got a chance to win five more games aginst top-100 teams. Now, is the PT going to make you forget / feel better about barely missing the NT? No. But I just think by the end of the year, I'm going to look at your season as more successful than mine. (And obviously more sustainable in the future, but even putting that aside...)