I'm just speaking from experience and there were some instances when teams (read: coaches) would schedule light out-of-region competition knowing that they would be in the thick of the region-title hunt and if they split with the one other team that could win the region, then they could capitalize on #3/#4 tie-breaker scenario to get a much, much better playoff seed (including home field advantage).
I think that the "golden goal" debate would need to be voted on as well.
