Success of Navy, Army-Navy date, could impact CFP bowl selection

Navy’s win over previously unbeaten Memphis was big in more ways than one.

Not only did it allow the Midshipmen to control their own destiny in the AAC West, but it could also create a bit of a sticky situation when determining the Group of Five representative in a College Football Playoff-affiliated New Year’s Six bowl.

If Navy rounds out the regular season by beating SMU, Tulsa and, most importantly, undefeated Houston, the Midshipmen would represent the West in the inaugural AAC title game. If it goes ahead and wins that game, Navy would be one of the strongest contenders for that heralded spot in the New Year’s Six.

There is one problem, however.

The annual Army-Navy game is scheduled for Dec. 12 – a week after the AAC title game is played on Dec. 5 and the final College Football Playoff rankings and bowl matchups are announced on Dec. 6. Army is only 2-7 this season. A loss in that game would definitely negatively affect Navy’s stock in the eyes of the CFP committee, right?

Completely aware of this potential scenario, College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock clarified to ESPN what would happen in this instance. The committee would simply wait until after the Army-Navy game to reveal the participant of the bowl that is home of this year’s Group of Five representative.

Here’s how Hancock explained it to ESPN’s Heather Dinich:

"If Navy is the AAC champion and in the mix for the Group of 5 berth to the NY6, and the outcome of the Army/Navy game could impact Navy’s selection as the Group of 5 representative or its place in the playoff, the pairings would be delayed only to the extent necessary. That means the committee would most likely fill all the bowl slots except one on December 6 and then determine the Group of 5 team after Army/Navy on Dec 12. If Navy is in the mix for the top four, then the committee would probably delay all of its bowl assignments until December 12."

Of course, a lot needs to happen before things go down this path, but credit the CFP committee for being prepared.

With Navy joining the AAC, discussions about the potential ramifications of the Army-Navy date have been documented back to January. At one point, the outcome of the Army-Navy game was not going to impact Navy’s standing in the Dec. 6 rankings at all, but the committee eventually changed its tune.

This will certainly be something to keep an eye on as the rest of the season progresses.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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