Finally a Playoff?

[AUChizad]

I've held back on talking about this, since every time I get my hopes up, the subject dies on the vine. However, this time it appears that we really and truly are about to finally get the +1 game. It's definitely as good a start as any to a true playoff.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/05/college_football_landscape_cha.html

College football landscape changing before our eyes (Hicks)
Published: Monday, May 07, 2012, 7:24 AM
Tommy Hicks, Press-Register By Tommy Hicks, Press-Register

In two years, the race for this trophy will be considerably different, but it's not the only thing changing.

MOBILE, Alabama - It seems the stage is set for a four-team college football playoff in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Every college football fan who has looked forward to such a day should thank the SEC. The league's six consecutive national titles has contributed to other leagues finally joining the discussion for a playoff.

The fact two SEC teams played for the BCS national championship last season and, perhaps more importantly, that the non-league champion came away with the crystal football (at least until it was accidentally shattered), settled the matter.

Yes, there were leanings toward this for a while, but Alabama can be credited not only with pushing the possibility forward, but doing so in a brisk fashion. No one knows yet what the four-team playoff will look like, how it will play out, where it will be played and how (or who) will determine the four teams that get the opportunity to play for the national championship, but we know the game is going to be different.

The toughest decisions are yet to be decided. Those decisions won't come easily or quickly.

In two years, the championship race will be considerably different, but it's not the only thing changing.

Conferences continue to shuffle the membership deck. The rosters for the so-called mid-major leagues are going to look drastically different, forced that way by the domino effect that has become conference realignment.

Just last week, Conference USA added five teams -- to fill the void left by losing four schools to the Big East. The Sun Belt Conference lost two members to C-USA and added two new members in Georgia State and Texas State. It could add more. It could lose more.

The Western Athletic Conference lost its commissioner to the Sun Belt and may indeed cease to exist much longer as its membership continues to dwindle. There also will likely be teams left standing out in the cold when the music stops and all the available chairs are filled.

After all, realignment is about football. Plain and simple. Other sports are considerations, but football makes the sale.

That's why the Big East isn't just in the East anymore, and why its members will have baseball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, golf and other sports teams traveling across the country for regular-season games in the future. It's why Missouri is now in the SEC. It's why FIU started football and why it's leaving the Sun Belt and heading for C-USA.

So soak up all you can from the upcoming football season, regardless of your stance as to playoffs vs. BCS, bowls and conference affiliation. After the next season, a big change is coming to the game. Time will tell if it's going to be for the better.

[Snaggletiger]

I'm happy to see a playoff coming, even though it will wind up looking nothing like I envisioned.  4 teams or +1 are better than nothing but I still think 8 is the number.

[AUChizad]

I'm happy to see a playoff coming, even though it will wind up looking nothing like I envisioned.  4 teams or +1 are better than nothing but I still think 8 is the number.

I agree, but 4 is so much better than 2. Who shouldn't be left out will always be nitpicked, no matter what number you go with. The more teams, the more exponentially fair it is. Four is a good starting place, for them to "experiment" with. Last year, for example, having Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma State, and Stanford would have made for a much more interesting final game, even if it ended up being LSU & Bama again. At least it would have felt more like they earned it instead of just being placed there by ESPN.

[Townhallsavoy]

I'm not happy about a 4 team playoff. 

It doesn't solve much.  It may solve seasons that end like 2004 or 2011, but college football - with 120 teams and a dozen conferences - is not set up to crown a true national champion.  When human voters are controlling the end of the season, it's inadequate. 

There will always be arguments and the championship trophy will represent something more mythical than tangible. 

I'd prefer they forget about the national championship race and concentrate on pageantry, rivalries, and school spirit.   

[Snaggletiger]

I agree, but 4 is so much better than 2. Who shouldn't be left out will always be nitpicked, no matter what number you go with. The more teams, the more exponentially fair it is. Four is a good starting place, for them to "experiment" with. Last year, for example, having Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma State, and Stanford would have made for a much more interesting final game, even if it ended up being LSU & Bama again. At least it would have felt more like they earned it instead of just being placed there by ESPN.

I heard one caller last week present a scenario that makes sense for the 4 team.  Put 1 against 4 and 2 against 3.  Play the game at the higher seed's field and have the initial games the week following the season's end.  The two winners obviously meet later on in the Championship but the 2 losing teams go on to play in a bowl as usual.

[Shug Dye]

Ok I need some clarification....would this mean that our SEC representative would have played 12 games + the SECCG and then go off to play at least one more game, or best case scenario, two more games?

15 games? That's a professional schedule.

[AUChizad]

Ok I need some clarification....would this mean that our SEC representative would have played 12 games + the SECCG and them go off to play at least one more game, or best case scenario, two more games?

15 games? That's a professional schedule.

I don't think anything has been officially decided on, but yes, that's the idea. I mean, it's one more game. They were talking about adding that into the regular season anyway. Would much rather see it only be played at the end of the season by the four best teams in college football, then drag everyone through it for no real gain.

[JR4AU]

I'm not happy about a 4 team playoff. 

It doesn't solve much.  It may solve seasons that end like 2004 or 2011, but college football - with 120 teams and a dozen conferences - is not set up to crown a true national champion.  When human voters are controlling the end of the season, it's inadequate. 

There will always be arguments and the championship trophy will represent something more mythical than tangible. 

I'd prefer they forget about the national championship race and concentrate on pageantry, rivalries, and school spirit.   

I used to be a supporter of the playoff system.  I'm not now, for the reasons you stated.  We should either reassign teams to divisions and cut off the top division, ie D1/FBS at about 60 teams.  Make it just like the NFL in terms of season, and playoffs.  Let the "mid majors" have their own division, and championship just like D2/FCS and D3.  And, for the reasons you state about pageantry and rivalries, which I think would be lost, I think we need to simply go back to the old Bowl/Poll system.  Hell, let their be 3 or 4 MNCs if it works out that way.  Quit trying to half ass a playoff.  Either college football is unique, or it's not.  There is no best of both worlds that I can see.

[Saniflush]

Ok I need some clarification....would this mean that our SEC representative would have played 12 games + the SECCG and them go off to play at least one more game, or best case scenario, two more games?

15 games? That's a professional schedule.

I think you are gonna see the SEC either drop the title game or one regular season game.

[Townhallsavoy]

I used to be a supporter of the playoff system.  I'm not now, for the reasons you stated.  We should either reassign teams to divisions and cut off the top division, ie D1/FBS at about 60 teams.  Make it just like the NFL in terms of season, and playoffs.  Let the "mid majors" have their own division, and championship just like D2/FCS and D3.  And, for the reasons you state about pageantry and rivalries, which I think would be lost, I think we need to simply go back to the old Bowl/Poll system.  Hell, let their be 3 or 4 MNCs if it works out that way.  Quit trying to half ass a playoff.  Either college football is unique, or it's not.  There is no best of both worlds that I can see.

Exactly.  I think there's a long post somewhere in the archives where I typed out the ideal professional college football landscape.

6 conferences.  10 teams each.  6 conference champs go to the playoffs.  2 wildcards make it an 8 team tournament.  Forget rivalries, conference pride, and pageantry.  Forget football lore, Heisman winners, and tradition.  And pay the players.  And don't make them go to class. 

[Townhallsavoy]

I think you are gonna see the SEC either drop the title game or one regular season game.

Too much money in the SEC title game to see it disappear. 

I for sure could do without one regular season game.  Lord knows I don't need to see Auburn play Furman. 

[Shug Dye]

Too much money in the SEC title game to see it disappear. 

I for sure could do without one regular season game.  Lord knows I don't need to see Auburn play Furman.

Agreed, but when all our games are against big boys...it makes for a long, injury ridden season and hardly any wiggle room for letting the second stringers get any experience.

[Snaggletiger]

Too much money in the SEC title game to see it disappear. 

I for sure could do without one regular season game.  Lord knows I don't need to see Auburn play Furman.

Dropping one game from the schedule would be fine with me too.  Auburn and Alabama A&M???  Yeeesh!!!

[Saniflush]

Agreed, but when all our games are against big boys...it makes for a long, injury ridden season and hardly any wiggle room for letting the second stringers get any experience.

Roy Kramer was told by multiple coaches that the SEC would never win another national title once the SEC championship started.

[The Prowler]

....And pay the players.  And don't make them go to class.

uat already does that.

[Pell City Tiger]

Weeks ago, when this first came out, I laid out the best way to get a true champion. Let's take a look at the PCT cure for the college football monkey fuck.

We have 8 major conferences in D1. Scrape 1 cupcake off the regular season schedule, to reduce it down to 11 games. Have the champion from each of the major 8 entered into the championship pool. These teams play for it all and, by making it a requirement that a team be their conference champ, it removes ESPN's bias that produces the horseshit we have seen since the BCS's inception. In this scenario, only 2 teams will have to play a 15th game, but we will have a true national champion that is decided on the field. No bias, no bullshit, win your conference & you get a shot.

Everyone else (that qualifies) plays a bowl game.

Win, win ..... gimme my $50 million for being so damn brilliant.

[The Prowler]

Weeks ago, when this first came out, I laid out the best way to get a true champion. Let's take a look at the PCT cure for the college football monkey fuck.

We have 8 major conferences in D1. Scrape 1 cupcake off the regular season schedule, to reduce it down to 11 games. Have the champion from each of the major 8 entered into the championship pool. These teams play for it all and, by making it a requirement that a team be their conference champ, it removes ESPN's bias that produces the horseshit we have seen since the BCS's inception. In this scenario, only 2 teams will have to play a 15th game, but we will have a true national champion that is decided on the field. No bias, no bullshit, win your conference & you get a shot.

Everyone else (that qualifies) plays a bowl game.

Win, win ..... gimme my $50 million for being so damn brilliant.

Nah, that sounds stupid.

[JR4AU]

Nah, that sounds stupid.

No disrespect to PCT, but although it's not stupid, it's a one of a 100 similar variants I've heard.  Nothing new.  In fact, the fix (if you want to make CFB like the NFL) is incredibly simple, and there are many ways to do it.  But until EVERYBODY in D1 has a legit shot at winning it, it will never be completely fixed by any stretch of the imagination.  And, as I said, I've decided I don't want it "fixed" I want the old way back. 

[Pell City Tiger]

Nah, that sounds stupid.

Shouldn't your skreets be telling you that George Lindsay is about to die?

[Saniflush]

Shouldn't your skreets be telling you that George Lindsay is about to die?