College Playoff

[Mike80]

Chances are we will have a plus one type system at the next BCS contract signing. However, years like this one make me wish they'd adopt an 8 or 16 team playoff system:

There are 11 conference champions within D-1A. In my system they all get a bid and can be variably seeded.

After that, there are 5 "at-large" BCS bids as determined by the BCS formula. Those should go to the highest rated teams regardless of conference.

Now in that utopia (there's no way it will happen), CBS, ABC/ESPN and Fox come together so that all these games would get televised on the various networks to ensure that every game is both viewable to the maximum amount of people as well as available in the home markets of each team.

The first round games would be played at the higher seeded teams' home stadium.

2nd round games would be played in the 1st tier non-BCS bowl stadiums and the previous year's championship location which will also rotate.

Semi-final and final games would be played in the BCS stadiums.

Like I said, it won't happen because it would require the networks to work together along with the university presidents and the bowls themselves, but it's a fun thing to talk about from time to time

 

[schwab]

While I do admit that Oh8ch is making some good points about keeping it the way it is, I will still never be convinced that NCAA FB is better off without a playoff system. We are missing out on some great games. It is just plain stupid if you ask me.

When I think of the age and level of sports that shouldn't end with a true champion being crowned on the field, I think of my cousin's YMCA 2-4 grade basketball leagues on Saturday mornings. You know, let 'em play the schedule, and then matchup teams based on records, one last time, and lets call it a season. Who cares who the best team is? We're all winners! Yay! This way we learn about being on a team and leadership for our future, and half the teams end their season with a win.

Like I said, good enough for 8-10 year olds, but let's be serious here...

 

[billmac91]

I am a long time opponent of a playoff (anything more than 4 teams) for the very reason that I could live with one this year. In almost every season one or two teams - sometimes three - separate themselves from the pack.

This year nobody has, so what the hell.

But unless what we are seeing this year becomes the norm, I stay with my original position. What you have accomplished over a 12 games season should count for more than the one game you played against the #8 seed in the rain with your starting quarterback on the bench with a concussion.

And without reading all the new posts in this thread since the last time I visited, has anyone come up with the playoff scenario that appropriately addresses this year's SEC? Particularly if Tenn wins next Saturday.

If Tennessee were to beat LSU too bad for LSU.

You take the conference champion of:

• SEC
• Big East
• Big 10
• Pac 10
• Big 12
• ACC

This is where it gets tricky, but in my opinion you keep the BCS formula in place for seeding and the #7 and #8 team.

The highest rated non-BCS school gets a bid and the highest rated non-conference champion gets a bid so the "determined" hardest conference has a good shot at qualifying 2 teams in the given year.

This sytem would encourage teams to schedule hard OOC games int he event they don't win their conference. You can also keep the bowl system in place for non-qualifying playoff teams. Those that attend the "Sun Bowl" are still attending even though neither team has a shot in hell at the national title.

Each conference can determine their own conference championship however the hell they like, since they're only guaranteed 1 team in. If the SEC wants to risk not qualifying their regular season champion in the name of money, so be it.

First round games are played at the home schools ranked 1-4 in the BCS. This prevents all the whining of having to travel to multiple bowl games to follow your team. Utilize the other BCS Championship venues for the semi's. Use a rotation for which bowls get which games and play the thing out for the National Championship.

No bitching about not having a team b/c "our conference was way harder than your conference", and each "major" conference has a shot. All other teams have a shot as well. Highest rated non-BCS school is in the playoff in scenario. Bowl games remain with some tweaking to the BCS system.

 

[billmac91]

Oh8ch, just wanted to hit on those that don't or wouldn't follow if a playoff system were created. I agree you will lose some viewership, but I like the idea of making the conference champion worth even more. I think games like OSU-Michigan, Texas-Oklahoma, USC-UCLA mean more if a spot in the "whatever corporate sponsor you want to call it" playoffs is on the line.

Im definately with OH10 in that, if you haven't won your confernce or aren't the wild-card team you have no reason to bitch. The NFL has avoided contoversy and it really isn't that fair when it comes to wild-card teams. The Browns got lucky on its non-conference schedule but I don't think we'll hear many national media types bitching if the Browns squeeze in.

Win your conference or go home basically. Most people, I think, would be ok with 1 non-BCS school in. This year it would be Hawaii, last year it would have been Boise St. Every year theres a good enough non-BCS school that has a gripe with the system. Now they'll have a shot too.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

While I do admit that Oh8ch is making some good points about keeping it the way it is, I will still never be convinced that NCAA FB is better off without a playoff system. We are missing out on some great games. It is just plain stupid if you ask me.

I'll beat this dead horse some more...every other college sport and every college football division except I-A has a playoff system. We are way behind the power curve. It's funny how folks keep bragging how far college football has come (spread offenses, etc.), yet we doggedly refuse to change a half-century old antiquated bowl system.

 

[HailToMichigan]

Like I said before - you have the same bitching with the NCAA tournament. Yet I never hear that they should just scrap the thing and let computers and idiots in the media decide which two teams should play for the title.

And isn't that telling? You never hear people saying the NCAA tournament sucks. But yet plent of intelligent people have come to the conclusion that the BCS sucks. Hmmm... which championship is better? Hmmm...

You're right. The NCAA tournament is fantastic. You get to see George Mason make a Cinderella run to the Final Four (no Cinderellas in football), VCU topple powerhouse Duke in the first round (no VCU's in the football playoffs) and office pools (which don't mean quite so much when 1/10th the teams are involved.) By the way, how about that OSU-VMI game this year? Mean anything? No? Anyone care much about Wisconsin-Green Bay? Coppin State? Really looking forward to that showdown against Minnesota on March 1st or the rumble with Purdue on the 4th? Big regular season coming up, and NOBODY CARES. Accidentally lose to Coppin State, and the world goes yay Coppin State and ceases to care 24 hours later, because it meant nothing to OSU's chances in the tournament. Accidentally lose to Ohio next year in football and you just ruined everything, national-championship-speaking. Lose to Purdue in the next-to-last game of the basketball season and the committee shrugs and you get Albany instead of Central Connecticut State in the first round. Lose to Illinois in the next-to-last game of the football season, and, well....you know. If Mizzou and WVU meet for the title, you'll rue that Illinois game as long as you live.

Oh8ch, just wanted to hit on those that don't or wouldn't follow if a playoff system were created. I agree you will lose some viewership, but I like the idea of making the conference champion worth even more. I think games like OSU-Michigan, Texas-Oklahoma, USC-UCLA mean more if a spot in the "whatever corporate sponsor you want to call it" playoffs is on the line.

A conference-champion-based playoff system would totally ruin the non-conference slate. Virginia Tech-LSU...Ohio State-Texas...Michigan-Notre Dame...Oklahoma-Miami....USC-Nebraska....all gone. Other than traditional rivalries, like say Clemson-South Carolina, why would any powerhouse team ever schedule even a remotely difficult non-conference game again, when they could just drag in Ball State, Temple, and Akron and get the same revenue?

 

[billmac91]

You're right. The NCAA tournament is fantastic. You get to see George Mason make a Cinderella run to the Final Four (no Cinderellas in football), VCU topple powerhouse Duke in the first round (no VCU's in the football playoffs) and office pools (which don't mean quite so much when 1/10th the teams are involved.) By the way, how about that OSU-VMI game this year? Mean anything? No? Anyone care much about Wisconsin-Green Bay? Coppin State? Really looking forward to that showdown against Minnesota on March 1st or the rumble with Purdue on the 4th? Big regular season coming up, and NOBODY CARES. Accidentally lose to Coppin State, and the world goes yay Coppin State and ceases to care 24 hours later, because it meant nothing to OSU's chances in the tournament. Accidentally lose to Ohio next year in football and you just ruined everything, national-championship-speaking. Lose to Purdue in the next-to-last game of the basketball season and the committee shrugs and you get Albany instead of Central Connecticut State in the first round. Lose to Illinois in the next-to-last game of the football season, and, well....you know. If Mizzou and WVU meet for the title, you'll rue that Illinois game as long as you live.


A conference-champion-based playoff system would totally ruin the non-conference slate. Virginia Tech-LSU...Ohio State-Texas...Michigan-Notre Dame...Oklahoma-Miami....USC-Nebraska....all gone. Other than traditional rivalries, like say Clemson-South Carolina, why would any powerhouse team ever schedule even a remotely difficult non-conference game again, when they could just drag in Ball State, Temple, and Akron and get the same revenue?

I answered that on the previous page. If you take an 8 team playoff, with 6 spots reserved for conference champions, 1 spot for a non-BCS school, the last spot is for the highest-rated non-conference champion.

Difficult Out of Conference games would be needed if you slip up in conference. If "my" playoff system were used, you would definately see an increase in "big-time" out of conference games.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

You want office pools? I guaran-fucking-tee you that if they implement a 16-team playoff like they do in I-AA, you'll see as much, if not more, office pool action. It's a lot easier lining up 16 teams than 64 teams, and folks doing the football bracket will likely be far more familiar with all participating teams than they would be of the March Madness bracket.

 

[HailToMichigan]

I answered that on the previous page. If you take an 8 team playoff, with 6 spots reserved for conference champions, 1 spot for a non-BCS school, the last spot is for the highest-rated non-conference champion.

Difficult Out of Conference games would be needed if you slip up in conference. If "my" playoff system were used, you would definately see an increase in "big-time" out of conference games.

The wild card won't go to the team that dared to schedule Texas instead of North Texas, it'll just go to the second-best team in the toughest conference. I maintain that big-time out-of-conference games would almost completely disappear.

 

[HailToMichigan]

You want office pools? I guaran-fucking-tee you that if they implement a 16-team playoff like they do in I-AA, you'll see as much, if not more, office pool action. It's a lot easier lining up 16 teams than 64 teams, and folks doing the football bracket will likely be far more familiar with all participating teams than they would be of the March Madness bracket.

And I guaran-fucking-tee you that IF a playoff is ever implemented, it will be far fewer than 16 teams. Six or eight teams do not make good pools. They have a 12 team playoff in the NFL and how many office pools do you see?

 

[billmac91]

The wild card won't go to the team that dared to schedule Texas instead of North Texas, it'll just go to the second-best team in the toughest conference. I maintain that big-time out-of-conference games would almost completely disappear.

I guess we'll just disagree on that point then. If I'm a coach and I know I can make the playoff in 1 of 2 ways (winning my conference or being the highest rated non-conference winner) I'm sure as hell scheduling a tough OOC schedule.

Also, if the BCS formula stays in place, you'd want difficult OOC games.

What does it hurt to play those games? If you win you're helping your cause in the event of a slip-up in conference, and if you lose you've still got conference play.

If you schedule patsies, the team that didn't who has the same record, will make it in front of you.

I just don't see your argument really. It's in no way advantageous to scedule patsies.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

And I guaran-fucking-tee you that IF a playoff is ever implemented, it will be far fewer than 16 teams. Six or eight teams do not make good pools. They have a 12 team playoff in the NFL and how many office pools do you see?

Thanks for your input, Karnac.

Actually, I've seen several NFL playoff pools...granted, not to the degree of "March Madness", but I've seen them. But I-A college football playoffs would be new and a lot of folks would like to get into it. Oh, by "far fewer" teams, you mean four? No way will that be the final layout. The BCS will fuck around with a "plus-one" system and then after a few years of the number 5 and number 6 teams whining about not getting in, they'll move to eight, then eventually 16 (which is what I-AA has for almost the same amount of teams that are in I-A).

 

[OH10]

A conference-champion-based playoff system would totally ruin the non-conference slate. Virginia Tech-LSU...Ohio State-Texas...Michigan-Notre Dame...Oklahoma-Miami....USC-Nebraska....all gone. Other than traditional rivalries, like say Clemson-South Carolina, why would any powerhouse team ever schedule even a remotely difficult non-conference game again, when they could just drag in Ball State, Temple, and Akron and get the same revenue?

First of all, don't include that game in the "powerhouse" category. Second of all, why would that change? If a team needs to get prepared for the conference slate, then why wouldn't they schedule a tougher non-conference game? If you win, that's huge for an at-large bid. If you lose, then you can still win your conference and your season isn't over.

 

[MondayAMGenius]

money

If you look at this from the perspective the athletic directors and college presidents, you get playoffs. And you get as many high quality non conference games as possible. Better games and a playoff bracket system simply make more money.

Yes, the bowl games are engineered to make money too. So they simply name the various games by the sponsor and geographic place. ex. The Nokia-South-Eastern-Quarter-Final-Orange Bowl. The Tostitos-Western-Semi-Final-Fiesta-Bowl etc... The championship game rotates the 4 major sites.

 

[kn1f3party]

Just a couple of observations:

Hawaii has one of if not the worst schedule in the league. Part of that may be due to a few factors such as stronger opponents choosing Appalachian State over them (had to throw that in there) due to their relative strength and part due to the conference they play in. First, teams are already refusing to schedule them and there isn't a playoff. TSUN made a conscious decision to choose Appalachian State over Hawaii. They chose a surefire win over a possible loss to protect their reputation and ranking. So what you have here is a team that deserves a little more respect than it gets and big-time programs who are terrified to schedule them.

Secondly, Hawaii may or may not get a BCS berth. If they do, and win against a big-shot, don't you think momentum is going to continue towards a playoff system that would be inclusive of schools like Hawaii (Boise State alone was enough for big-wigs to declare the sky was falling)?

I think schools will continue to schedule the way they have, that won't change very much.