Locked due to no posts in 60 days. Report 1st post if need unlocked Playoffs? This team? PLAYOFFS!

[DuckTownHusker]

DuckTownHusker, your numbers for NCAA baseball are off... 64 teams make the playoffs; the CWS is only a part of the overall playoffs. So it's only NCAA Football that has a single-digit #

Thanks for the catch! Either way, even if FBS expanded to an 8- or 16-team playoff, it would still have the lowest ratio of teams making the cut. Personally, I like the 4-team approach but I also think an 8-team model would be a nice mix of teams - probably the top 4 conference winners and top 4 at-large teams.

Team #5 (or #9) will always gripe about not making the playoffs, but it's a moot point. I can never once recall a year when there were more than 4 undefeated teams in the nation. And generally, there are less than 8 teams with a single loss.

 

[Cardinal]

The beauty of the current system is that all of those arguments can never be resolved, so teams do their best to bring it, every singe week.

nut, if you don't think teams will bring it, every single week, then you have never been part of a D-1 college football team. They always bring it. Coaches don't put people on the field who don't bring it, because there are plenty on the sidelines who will. Guys made it to D-1 ball because they always bring it. The intensity is something you can never imagine unless you've been there.

 

[Scarlet]

Worry Warts? It's football. Who would actually waste time on worrying about a game?

However, the 1971 NU OU classic would be irrelevant, for example, even with four teams. Think of all the end of season classics, pitting true rivals, that would have been meaningless if both teams got in, even with a loss. Upsets are going to be less shocking and gut wrenching in many cases. The Mizzou NU heartbreaker of 1978.....less meaningful, especially under an eight team format.

Many late fall afternoon tussles are absolutely going to be watered down. Maybe not every matchup, every year but a few, or maybe more, each season. The uniqueness of college football is gone. I'll roll with it. A four team playoff system will water down the season to a minor degree. But I promise it will be an eight team format soon enough making even more classic matchups potentially meaningless, at least during specific seasons. Then 16....

Does anybody really think they are going to stop at a four team format?

And what did this solve?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[Scarlet]

nut, if you don't think teams will bring it, every single week, then you have never been part of a D-1 college football team. They always bring it. Coaches don't put people on the field who don't bring it, because there are plenty on the sidelines who will. Guys made it to D-1 ball because they always bring it. The intensity is something you can never imagine unless you've been there.

Can you envision a scenario whereby two teams enter their end of the season rivalry and both are locks to be in, even with a loss? Sure whoever plays will bring it, but will it be the stars or are they on the bench, avoiding injury?

 

[Cardinal]

So last season, Oregon won the conference but had two losses. Stanford had only one loss, but it was to Oregon. What would the selection committe do? Would they take the conference champ? Or the one-loss team with the higher ranking?

In 2010, Stanford again finished with one loss and did not win their conference. They were rated higher than conference champions Oklahoma (which had 2 losses) and Wisconsin (also with one loss). Ohio State also had only one loss (to Wisconsin) and was ranked ahead of Oklahoma. Michigan State and Boise State also each had only one loss. Do you take the Sooners as conference champions? Or do you pick from one of the one-loss teams? If so, how does the committee choose between them?

In 2009, how do you pick undefeated TCU over undefeated Boise State? Are Cincinnati, TCU, and Boise State really more deserving than a 1-loss Florida team? What about the Big 10 and Pac 10 champions? Are their accomplishments (2 losses each) worthy of inclusion over that of a team that went undefeated in the WAC?

What a fun mess this will be.

Agree that a committee could likely turn out to be a bad idea. I would have gone with the BCS point system (i've always been pro-playoff, but have always thought the BCS point system, while not perfect, was as good a way to select 2 (now 4) teams as I ever heard anyone come up with). The first time the committee overlooks some team that is rated in the top 4 in both AP and Coaches' polls, it will be thunderous.

 

[Cardinal]

Can you envision a scenario whereby two teams enter their end of the season rivalry and both are locks to be in, even with a loss? Sure whoever plays will bring it, but will it be the stars or are they on the bench, avoiding injury?

You've obviously never been part of such a rivalry. Plus, if it is your rival, then you are talking about the last game of the regular season. If a team loses that game, then loses in the CCG, they likely could be out of the playoffs. If you meant the last game of the season before the playoffs, then it is a conference championship game and winning the conference means everything to coaches and players in that conference. Maybe not to certain fans, but I guarantee you it does to the players and coaches.

 

[Cardinal]

Many late fall afternoon tussles are absolutely going to be watered down. Maybe not every matchup, every year but a few, or maybe more, each season.

I think that is a true statement. But the other side of that coin is that many late fall games will be the opposite: more meaningful, because with more teams in the playoffs, there is more of a chance to get into the playoff. When it is 1 v. 2 only, then the late season games of teams 6, 7, 8 etc. are watered down because it is essentially impossible to jump into the top two. But with 4 or 8 teams in the playoffs, a lot more games will become more important than they have been. And the number of such more important games each season will outnumber the very few matchups in which a team feels it can lose and not put its playoff spot at risk. It would only be undefeated teams in a CCG that maybe ... maybe ... would feel comfortable that if they lost they are still in a playoff. If it is a regular season game, no team can afford a loss, because a second loss later in the season or in the CCG likely knocks them out of the playoffs.

 

[The Big Red Lebowski]

This isn't really about creating a more worthy champion or a more fair system. It's about creating a more compelling post-season. The BCS was doomed from the start because it took what used to be 2 or 3 bowl games with MNC implications and whittled it down to 1 game.

College football ceased to be amateur athletics and became a part of the entertainment industry a long time ago. And in the entertainment business, you don't produce 1 great movie when you can produce 3. More eyeballs, more dollars. The BCS failed because fans wanted more than one consequential post-season game. Even the fans who say they don't want it are going to watch it. And that's all that matters.

 

[Cardinal]

This isn't really about creating a more worthy champion or a more fair system. It's about creating a more compelling post-season. The BCS was doomed from the start because it took what used to be 2 or 3 bowl games with MNC implications and whittled it down to 1 game.

College football ceased to be amateur athletics and became a part of the entertainment industry a long time ago. And in the entertainment business, you don't produce 1 great movie when you can produce 3. More eyeballs, more dollars. The BCS failed because fans wanted more than one consequential post-season game. Even the fans who say they don't want it are going to watch it. And that's all that matters.

True that.

Just think what a great day for the fans it will be when the two playoff games are on back-to-back (Lord, I hope they set it up that way!).

 

[RedBlack&Blue]

To those against a playoff: The future is here. Embrace it. In some ways, the selection committee reminds me of the days when the Bobfather, Bear, JoePa etc would get on the phone after Thanksgiving and divvy up the Bowl games. So be happy, and enjoy the extra game, because that's all it is really.

 

[The Big Red Lebowski]

True that.

Just think what a great day for the fans it will be when the two playoff games are on back-to-back (Lord, I hope they set it up that way!).

I think it's a safe bet that game 1 will be in the late afternoon and game 2 will be in prime time. It will indeed be a great day for fans. It won't matter whether the "right" teams are playing either. The selection process is practically irrelevant. In most years, there will likely be 6 teams vying for 4 spots. They could put the names of those teams in a punch bowl and let the Kardashians draw out 4, and I'm still going to watch the games.

 

[FLAinCALI]

One of the things I love about college football is we can argue for decades on who really was the best team. The flaws of the BCS keep this age old tradition alive.

No play off system is going to solve this and I think what is being proposed will eventually be just as frustrating as the BCS. I can think of a few scenario where this won't work. It is college football people and there is a beauty in the fact that it isn't clear cut so tension and stories and rivalries can be formed.

And I don't care what any of my Michigan friend say we didn't share the NC with them they weren't that good

 

[huskrthill]

To those against a playoff: The future is here. Embrace it. In some ways, the selection committee reminds me of the days when the Bobfather, Bear, JoePa etc would get on the phone after Thanksgiving and divvy up the Bowl games. So be happy, and enjoy the extra game, because that's all it is really.

That's what people said about the BCS. It was a matchup of #1 vs. 2. Be happy. Enjoy the championship game.

But it's never enough for some. Four teams will soon become 8, and I can tell you that it will expand to at least 16 teams in my lifetime (I'm 35).

 

[DuckTownHusker]

However, the 1971 NU OU classic would be irrelevant, for example, even with four teams. Think of all the end of season classics, pitting true rivals, that would have been meaningless if both teams got in, even with a loss. Upsets are going to be less shocking and gut wrenching in many cases. The Mizzou NU heartbreaker of 1978.....less meaningful, especially under an eight team format.

It make a big difference, especially in a four team model.

In 1971, #1 Nebraska and #2 Oklahoma headed into the Thanksgiving classic. The Sooners lost, and Alabama beat Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Because of this shuffling, Oklahoma fell past the remaining unbeaten teams (#5) and the 'Tide jumped up to #2 in the next poll:

1. Nebraska
2. Alabama
3. Michigan
4. Penn State
5. Oklahoma

The weekend of December 4th, Nebraska was granted permission to play a twelfth game (@ Hawaii). The Huskers remained unbeaten, but #4 Penn State got demolished by #11 Tennessee, opening the door for Oklahoma to creep back into the #4 slot. The Sooners finished the regular season with a victory over the Cowboys in the Bedlam Game, thus preserving their #4 status.

Now assume we had a playoff in 1971.

Because of the late season loss to Nebraska, Oklahoma was knocked out of the playoff. They were only saved by the last-week upset of Penn State, which still only got them back up to #4 overall. The difference between a #2 seed and a #4 seed is getting a first round home game against Michigan, versus traveling to Lincoln for a rematch. And in an 8-team model, a #2 slot would have meant a home game against #7 Georgia while a #4 slot would mean hosting #5 Auburn.

In any event, I think that Oklahoma trumps Michigan, Georgia or Auburn and wins out meaning a national title rematch with the Huskers. What better motivation for the Sooners than getting a second shot at the team who knocked you out of playoff consideration? Everyone had written off Oklahoma until Penn State caved against the Volunteers, opening the door for a second chance.

That's what college football is all about - controversy, last minute upsets and fighting until the last second. Of course 1971 played out nicely for Nebraska and I'd never change history, but a playoff would have ensured an epic finish to that year for sure.

 

[Cardinal]

It make a big difference, especially in a four team model.

In 1971, #1 Nebraska and #2 Oklahoma headed into the Thanksgiving classic. The Sooners lost, and Alabama beat Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Because of this shuffling, Oklahoma fell past the remaining unbeaten teams (#5) and the 'Tide jumped up to #2 in the next poll:

1. Nebraska
2. Alabama
3. Michigan
4. Penn State
5. Oklahoma

The weekend of December 4th, Nebraska was granted permission to play a twelfth game (@ Hawaii). The Huskers remained unbeaten, but #4 Penn State got demolished by #11 Tennessee, opening the door for Oklahoma to creep back into the #4 slot. The Sooners finished the regular season with a victory over the Cowboys in the Bedlam Game, thus preserving their #4 status.

Now assume we had a playoff in 1971.

Because of the late season loss to Nebraska, Oklahoma was knocked out of the playoff. They were only saved by the last-week upset of Penn State, which still only got them back up to #4 overall. The difference between a #2 seed and a #4 seed is getting a first round home game against Michigan, versus traveling to Lincoln for a rematch. And in an 8-team model, a #2 slot would have meant a home game against #7 Georgia while a #4 slot would mean hosting #5 Auburn.

In any event, I think that Oklahoma trumps Michigan, Georgia or Auburn and wins out meaning a national title rematch with the Huskers. What better motivation for the Sooners than getting a second shot at the team who knocked you out of playoff consideration? Everyone had written off Oklahoma until Penn State caved against the Volunteers, opening the door for a second chance.

That's what college football is all about - controversy, last minute upsets and fighting until the last second. Of course 1971 played out nicely for Nebraska and I'd never change history, but a playoff would have ensured an epic finish to that year for sure.

In short what you are saying, and what I agree with, is that the1971 NU-OU game would NOT have been rendered meaningless if there were a four team playoff, because the loser very easily could have been knocked out of the playoffs, and almost was. No team wants to take that chance. So despite that Scarlet and all the other Chicken Littles are saying "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" because games will be rendered meaningless, I can tell you that that will very, very rarely happen, if ever. No team is a lock to get into the playoffs with a late season loss, even unbeaten ones. Other one loss teams who lost early in the season and won impressively late in the season could pass them under many, many diffferent scenarios. And again, I say again to all you fans, the coaches and players will never, ever let up in a late season game against a conference rival or in a CCG. Never.