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SimPLLLLLLLe Jim "6-13" Harbaugh (B1G Suspenders McKhakiPants, Cheater Cheater Booger Eater)

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BuckeyeNation27 said:
You only have to be #4 to get to play for #1. By the end of November, everybody's goal is to be at least top 4.....not #1 going into the playoffs.
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They're talking about what the purpose is of having a playoff system in general, not what the team goals are given the current structure.

The theory is that the post season should ONLY exist to best identify the #1 team. The logic, right or wrong, is to balance casting as wide of a net as you can to make sure you include all teams that could actually be the best team without also including teams that are clearly not (or under performed in the season) but could fluke their way into a championship and/or water down the post season. What BuckeyeSoldier is saying is that in pretty much every year, the #5 team does not really have an argument that they might be the best team in the country, but the #1-#4 teams could generally be in that discussion.

This minimizing of the post season is what puts so much importance on the regular season in college football, compared to every other sport. The regular season is kind of the playoff itself, with a mini tournament at the end so it ultimately gets settled on the field.
 
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Dryden said:
Stay at four. There are plenty of examples throughout college football history where a legitimate argument could be made for the third or fourth team in the final regular season polls (‘98 Ohio State, ‘14 Ohio State). When we start getting to historical finishes for AP poll 5-8, there simply aren’t a lot of genuine title contenders in that group.
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I'm not arguing for an expanded playoff, but....

1973 is the counter-argument to this. Here were the top teams heading into the bowl season:

Associated Press
_1. Alabama (11-0-0)
_2. Oklahoma (10-0-1)
_3. Notre Dame (10-0-0)
_4. Ohio State (9-0-1)
_5. Michigan (10-0-1)
_6. Penn State (11-0-0)
_7. Southern Cal (9-1-1)
_8. Texas (8-2-0)
_9. UCLA (9-2-0)
10. Arizona State (10-1-0)
11. Texas Tech (10-1-0)
12. Nebraska (8-2-1)

Clearly, the top 6 teams in 1973 deserved to get into a hypothetical playoff, with Southern Cal making a strong case as the Pac-8 representative, and with mid-majors Arizona State (then in the WAC) and Texas Tech (SWC) also having an argument for inclusion. Miami of Ohio finished the regular season at 10-0-0 and #15 in the pre-bowl poll, and of course the MAC Defenders of the Faith would have been crowing for the little guy to get a shot.

2007 was a similar cluster, with no single team really standing out from the pack:

BCS Rankings
_1. Ohio State (11-1)
_2. Louisiana State (11-2)
_3. Virginia Tech (11-2)
_4. Oklahoma (11-2)
_5. Georgia (10-2)
_6. Missouri (10-2)
_7. Southern Cal (10-2)
_8. Kansas (11-1)
_9. West Virginia (10-2)
10. Hawaii (12-0)

Even in 2014, a pair of Power5 one-loss teams (Baylor, TCU) were left out of the playoffs. Not that I'm upset about that....

So while four teams is a really good number in most years, you will always have seasons where five or six or even more teams would be deserving. But life isn't fair, and I'd personally vote for under-inclusion rather than over-inclusion. Leave the playoffs at four teams and let #5 cry like a baby for the next year.
 
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BuckeyeSoldier said:
no one celebrates a 4th place finish.
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Correct.

Now, 3rd place..... not in the country, or even in your conference, but in your HALF of the conference. Now THAT is an accomplishment....do it a few years in a row and and it becomes something that should be celebrated with a trip to Rome!

See now we're in the right thread!
 
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AJHawkfan said:
Correct.

Now, 3rd place..... not in the country, or even in your conference, but in your HALF of the conference. Now THAT is an accomplishment....do it a few years in a row and and it becomes something that should be celebrated with a trip to Rome!

See now we're in the right thread!
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That’s gotta be worth 9 or 10 million right?
 
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BuckeyeSoldier said:
That is exactly the point.. we are trying to find the #1 team in america.. not the #4..
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And that's exactly what the playoff does. But you have to determine which teams get into those playoffs first.

BuckeyeSoldier said:
I dont care if you have a legit gripe to be #4.. no one celebrates a 4th place finish.
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Maybe you're missing the purpose of the committee. They're not determining the final #1 or final #4...they're selecting who they feel are the best four teams to be put into the playoffs. Are we not the 2014 national champions, despite "finishing" #4 in the "final" CFP rankings?
 
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