It's that time of year again, why oh why no college football playoffs?

[Shocky]

It's the yearly ritual, the yearly time to bitch and moan, the yearly time to question why an organization would refuse to make billions upon billions of dollars, it's the College Football Bowl Season.

Nothing like the wonderful world of old school Conference leaders sticking to the idea of antiquated bowl games as a way to keep their fan base happy. Recently, Barack Obama even mentioned it's about damn time that College Football had a playoff.

So here we go, I'm all for a playoff, but how would you get one to work? In theory, a four team playoff would be wonderful. You can look though at the last few years of the final standings though, and see that you can make a legit argument for teams 5-8, so that's why I would go with an 8 team playoff.

What Bowls would get games? I say that with 8 teams,t aht's four games, that's your four Big Bowl games right there. Have that first weekend of January be your First Round games hosted by the Orange, Fiesta, Sugar and Rose Bowls. Much like now, you have the NC Game hosted by one, so just add two games and use two of those bowls for the Semi-Final round. Tough shit if you're the odd ball, it's once every four years you'll be only able to host one game, deal with it.

Now as far as the people that don't want to break tradition, screw them in my opinion. If the Rose Bowl and it's ******ed ideas of "We must have Big Ten vs. Pac 10" don't want to play ball, then give the bowl to someone else. Same with the conferences that don't want to acknowledge it, it's fine, just don't complain when you're not recognized as a national champion, regardless of your 12-0 record.

I think now, you would use the 6 BCS League Champions as automatic entries, and have two wild cards. Sure, the SEC and Big-12 are stacked, and probably the third place teams are more deserving then the ACC or Big Ten Champions, but the way the system is set up, that's the way it goes for now. Those conferences have automatic ties to the BCS, so use them for now.

Oh well, anyone have any ideas, or just keep it as is. I would love to hear the argument from someone that thinks the system is fine.

 

[strafro]

I know that one of the main arguments against going for the postseason is that right now, college football has a feel that if you lose a game, you're out of it. That feeling makes the regular season the single most important regular season in any sport. As of now the system they have makes a ton of money, corporations spend tons of money to sponsor a bowl game, the association is effictively a power-hungry cartel that can do whatever it wants because it has little competition. I currently attend a Division II college (Grand Valley St.) and we have been one of the best programs in the history of D2 football over the past 6 years, our regular season is so boring because we pretty much know we'll make the playoffs every year.

If those playoffs only allowed one team from our conference in, we'd have a huge target on our chest, every other team essentially plays to get a wild card for the playoffs. But D2 playoffs include 24 teams I believe, this system works well but with lasts over a span of a month and a half. Although I'm sure ESPN would love that, an 8-team playoff probably would make the most sense as those teams would all have a legitimate shot at beating each other and could make for 7 intense and meaningful games. Another problem with the NCAA and playoffs is the New Year's Day tradition. Because games like the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl have always been played on Jan. 1, they don't want to move them, sp if they were to have those as quarterfinal games, the season would carry into mid-January, and that seems to be a little late in the year.

Although I would love to see it happen, I just don't see it happening anytime soon until conferences and the NCAA can agree on anything, maybe Obama will regulate the NCAA and force them to make a playoff system w/ threats of cutting funding, hey we can hope right?

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

I think they should just do a plus 1 system, which is take the top 4 teams play 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 and the two winners face off for the championship. That way all your doing is adding one extra game so the season will only last a week longer. Cause normally it really only comes down to 4 worthy teams anyway. This year it looks like it might be a little different though with all the 1 loss teams that are evenly matched but no matter what system you use there is gonna be some complaints somewhere unless there is true seperation in the teams. Say you take the top 8 but you have 3 undefeated and 6 1 loss teams one of those 1 loss teams is gonna get screwed and have a case for getting in.

I think if you are gonna do an 8 team playoff it should only be the BCS conference winners(6 teams). the highest at large and a mid major if they're undefeated if not take 2 at larges. I know it would be unfair to a team in the Big 12 or SEC since their conferences are stacked but atleast if you have it that way you control your own destiny from the start. All you gotta do is win your conference and your in the playoff. With the way it is now you dont necessarily control your own destiny cause you can go undefeated but 2 other teams might as well and get to the championship game instead of you.

 

[Shocky]

So pretty much the worst case scenario for the Bullshit Championship Series is about to unfold over the next week. 3 teams in the Big 12 are tied, and teh computer determines who moves on to the title game, which is Oklahoma. Then you have Florida vs. Alabama, which is essentially a semi-final game. You have Texas looking in saying, hey, we beat Oklahoma and have one loss too. Oh, and not to forget about Utah, Boise St., or Ball St. who haven't lost yet, and Penn State, which is a one loss team from a BCS conference. There are four undefeated teams, and 6 one loss teams, and only two will play for the championship. This is the best scenario for College Football. Even in an 8 team playoff, two teams get screwed, and that's not even bringing into account that two automatic bids haven' teven been taken into consideration with the ACC and Big East. Hopefully this system is completely fucked up beyond repair this year. Even with a plus one, how could you hold out a Texas, Utah, USC, Texas Tech, etc...?

In a 16 Team Playoff with the current BCS standings, it would be perfect to solve most of the problems presented. Why not have a 16 team playoff, with first round games being played at the higher seeded teams home turf to save on travel cost?

To run down what we would have.

16. Georgia @ #1 Alabama
15. Georgia Tech @ 2. Oklahoma
14. Oklahoma State @ 3. Texas
13. Cincinnati @ 4. Florida
12. Ball State @ 5. USC
11. TCU @ 6. Utah
10. Ohio State @ 7. Texas Tech
9. Boise State @ 8. Penn State


How in the hell wouldn't that sell and make you more money. Broken Down, it's about as fair as it gets. You get Four Teams from the Big 12, which is widely considered the best conference in football, 3 From the SEC, 2 from the Big Ten, 1 from the Pac 10, 1 from the Big East, and 1 from the ACC. This leaves 4 teams from non BCS confereneces int his thing, it seems all to perfect to me.

So say it plays out that the top seeds all advance, you would have a scenario like this.
Penn State vs. Alabama
Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma
Utah vs. Texas
USC vs. Florida.

Those four teams taht have the higher seed would get to chose which bowl they want to play in, assuming of course the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange Bowls want to participate in this. Then you would have a situation where one of these sites would host this round, then a semi-final and finals round.

This all could take place in a span of four weeks. And for all of the, well they aren't professional athletes, you're asking too much, bullshit. A lot of schools already play 14 games in a regular season. Get rid of the stupid conference championship game, and then these teams would already play a bowl game regardless, so you're asking a total of two teams to play two games extra, and a total of four teams to play one game extra. I think that argument is null and void at this point.

How isn't a playoff the answer to this?

 

[klunderbunker]

The simple answer: money. The networks pay out big money to get these games. ESPN just offered I believe 125 million to get the games for the next 4 years. The BCS, and namely the people running the damn thing, line their pockets with that money. College football delivers big ratings, and that means sponsorship money. You keep the BCS together, you get big ratings. A playoff means that certain games might not mean as much. Instead of the Rose Bowl game being a huge game, it would be a playoff game, which isn't the Rose Bowl, getting that publicity. With the deals having been made, the money is there for the BCS, meaning that it will continue to make money. Football and players be damned, the dollar is more important.

 

[Shocky]

Well then, screw the bowls that don't want to be involved with it. I know the major history of this being that each conference has a right to due their own thing and such. This was the whole situation with college basketball and the NIT being bigger then the NCAA tournament, until the NCAA stepped in.

That's what the NCAA needs to do here, instead of the BCS conferences having a monopoly on it, the NCAA should step in and just do it, conference heads be damned. If they don't want to be a part of it, then tough shit, no crystal ball for that team. Take teams that want to be involved. Same with the bowls. I can give a shit about the history of the Rose Bowla nd it's Pac 10 vs. Big 10 bullshit. If the Pac 10 and Big 10 want to be a part of the Rose Bowl, fine, those two conferences just won't have a shot at winning the Crystal Ball.

Someone somewhere has to grow a set of balls and screw the bowls that don't want to be a part of it. if the rose bowl declined, you don't think a bowl like the Gator or Sun Bowl would jump all over the opportunity to be a part of a huge big paying playoff?

March Madness makes a billion dollars or so for the NCAA, and most analyst think that a College Football playoff would be bigger then March Madness.

 

[klunderbunker]

Didn't Obama say he wants a playoff?

I honestly don't get it either. Every other sport has a playoff. Think about it. A fucking computer is going to pick who goes to the Big 12 Title game. If you really want the BCS to go into a freefall (listening to Tom Petty, couldn't help that word), pray that whoever plays Missouri LOSES. Either way you look at it, Florida or Bama is going to the championship game. If Missouri wins the Big 12, that spot is wide open. It could come again to the point where a team goes to the title game and doesn't even play for their CONFERENCE title. Imagine that. OU goes to play Mizzou, and loses. National title game: Texas vs. Florida. The BCS would be the laughingstock of the country, and the playoff pushers would have all the ammo they needed.

 

[supersayian]

i agree the system has had this problem every bullshit year. the system is flawed because the BCS voters think they own the dam NCAA and this case they control the teams destiny. lets look at Utah, Boise State, Ball State. all 3 team are undefeated what system are saying is these teams went undefeated and they get screwed out of the rock. your right screw the big ten and pac ten. let them get screwed for once. they should not get to right there name all over a bowl every year. the best teams play in the top 4 bowls and BCS tittle game. that decision is final.

 

[strafro]

i agree the system has had this problem every bullshit year. the system is flawed because the BCS voters think they own the dam NCAA and this case they control the teams destiny. lets look at Utah, Boise State, Ball State. all 3 team are undefeated what system are saying is these teams went undefeated and they get screwed out of the rock. your right screw the big ten and pac ten. let them get screwed for once. they should not get to right there name all over a bowl every year. the best teams play in the top 4 bowls and BCS tittle game. that decision is final.

Just so you know, a Big Ten team getting screwed is how the BCS came about, it was a solution to fix the Michigan/Nebraska split national championship debacle. Both teams went undefeated and Michigan wanted to play against Nebraska in a championship game, but the Big Ten, Rose Bowl and NCAA stopped it and had them dismantle Washington in the Rose Bowl. Although it was pretty obvious that Michigan was the better team the Coaches Poll recognized Nebraska as champ (because Tom Osborne was retiring and they wanted to give him a title). So they came up with the BCS, even though there was a cry for a playoff then. I am guessing they'll come up with some other flawed system instead of the playoff to try and please everyone. But they don't care about fans, they care about themselves, I hope the system is fixed, but I doubt it will be.