Playoffs

[Rollo83]

Spent the day on the couch watching some incredible football games. If there ever was an indictment of the BCS system and a screaming call for a playoff system in major college football this day was it.

Bama beating Florida (not really an upset)
Arizona beating USC
Clemson taking Geo Tech to wire
Texas barely getting past Nebraska
Pittsburgh should have beaten Cincinnati
East Carolina upsetting Houston

With so many of the lower ranked teams winning or taking the higher ranked team to the wire, it made for some great drama. Can you imagine what a playoff system would bring in terms of excitement?

These rankings don't really mean anything. Lets settle it on the field...where anything can happen.

[Bleeding Orange]

Spent the day on the couch watching some incredible football games. If there ever was an indictment of the BCS system and a screaming call for a playoff system in major college football this day was it.

Bama beating Florida (not really an upset)
Arizona beating USC
Clemson taking Geo Tech to wire
Texas barely getting past Nebraska
Pittsburgh should have beaten Cincinnati
East Carolina upsetting Houston

With so many of the lower ranked teams winning or taking the higher ranked team to the wire, it made for some great drama. Can you imagine what a playoff system would bring in terms of excitement?

These rankings don't really mean anything. Lets settle it on the field...where anything can happen.

Meh, you and I can keep screaming this until we're blue in the face, but it doesn't change the fact that money dictates everything in college football these days. The only hope that there was out there for any kind of national epiphany to take place was earlier tonight - if Nebraska had defeated Texas, there would have been a total clusterf**k with the BCS. Had Nebraska won, who gets into the NC game? No. 4 ranked TCU, or No. 5 ranked Cincinnati? TCU clearly would have deserved the berth, but I feel safe in guaranteeing that the Bearcats would have made it in simply because they were from a BCS conference. It would have been a joke.

But, that didn't happen. Nebraska proved why they are Nebraska late, and as far as the Big 12 comissioner is concerned, everything is cool with the BCS, and everyone else sucks donkey d*ck.

[bgsufalcon24]

I do know one thing, Texas does NOT deserve to go to the national championship game. They've beaten only one team in the top 20 all year (Oklahoma State), and coming down the stretch they've struggled with some very mediocre opposition. At least Cincinnati and Texas Christian have beaten 3 teams in the top 25 (Cincy over Oregon State, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia, TCU over Clemson, Utah, and Brigham Young). IMO both of those teams have better cases to play for the NC than Texas does. Really, Boise State's schedule hasn't been much easier than Texas's either, so for them to be languishing 6th reeks of pure BCS power politics.

But the shame of this is, Texas is going to the NC over TCU, Cincy, and Boise simply because they were ranked ahead of those three teams in an AUGUST PRESEASON POLL!!! Because of some polls released before the season even began, they are going to be #2 tonight. That's the worst part of it.

[Globetrotter]

What the playoffs should be.....

Champs(Automatic Bid)
ACC Champ: Ga Tech 11-2
Big 12: Texas 13-0
Big East: Cincinnati 12-0
Big Ten: OSU 10-2
Con USA: East Carolina 9-4
MAC: Central Michigan 11-2
MWC: TCU 12-0
SEC: Alabama 13-0
Pac 10: Oregon 10-2
Sun Belt: Troy 9-3
WAC: Boise State 13-0

At Large:(5 spots)
Florida 12-1
BYU 10-2
Iowa 10-2
Penn State 10-2
Va Tech 9-3
Miami 9-3
LSU 9-3
Oke State 9-3

Not sure who should get in and who should be out here. I am going to go by a rule that a conference can only have 2 teams in. That knocks out one of Iowa/Penn State, Va Tech/Miami and LSU and gives us a quick 16.

So the tourney would be....

1 SEC: Alabama 13-0
16 Con USA: East Carolina 9-4

8 Pac 10: Oregon 10-2
9 ACC Champ: Ga Tech 11-2

5 At Large: Florida 12-1
12 At Large: Oke State 9-3

4 Big East: Cincinnati 12-0
13 At Large: BYU 10-2

3 MWC: TCU 12-0
14 MAC: Central Michigan 11-2

6 WAC: Boise State 13-0
11 At Large: Iowa 10-2

7 Big Ten: OSU 10-2
10 At Large: Va Tech 9-3

2 Big 12: Texas 13-0
15 Sun Belt: Troy 9-3

What an amazing month that would be this year. I would say 9 of those teams would have a decent chance to win the Championship With 5 standing out above the rest.

[SB-50]

Nice plan Globetrotter, but only Conference champions should get in any playoff scenario. This maintains the "every week counts" criticality of the regular season, and keeps each conference crown relevant.

I'd take the top 6 rated conference champions as determined by the BCS poll. Number 1 and 2 in poll get a bye in the 1st round. This would result in 5 football games. Oh guess what, there will be 4 BCS games, and a National Championship game for a total of 5 games. Play all games at those BCS sites.

Of course, this will never happen because the NCAA does not run the bowl system. We can dream anyway.

[Globetrotter]

Nice plan Globetrotter, but only Conference champions should get in any playoff scenario. This maintains the "every week counts" criticality of the regular season, and keeps each conference crown relevant.

I'd take the top 6 rated conference champions as determined by the BCS poll. Number 1 and 2 in poll get a bye in the 1st round. This would result in 5 football games. Oh guess what, there will be 4 BCS games, and a National Championship game for a total of 5 games. Play all games at those BCS sites.

Of course, this will never happen because the NCAA does not run the bowl system. We can dream anyway.

Any plan that includes some conference champions but not all does not work for me.

[Falconfreak90]

Nice plan Globetrotter, but only Conference champions should get in any playoff scenario. This maintains the "every week counts" criticality of the regular season, and keeps each conference crown relevant.

I'd take the top 6 rated conference champions as determined by the BCS poll. Number 1 and 2 in poll get a bye in the 1st round. This would result in 5 football games. Oh guess what, there will be 4 BCS games, and a National Championship game for a total of 5 games. Play all games at those BCS sites.

Of course, this will never happen because the NCAA does not run the bowl system. We can dream anyway.

Any plan that includes some conference champions but not all does not work for me.

+1. GT, I really like your plan there. That's how I envision a playoff system. Taking teams by BCS poll numbers kinda defeats the whole purpose. Conference champs get an automatic bid and then 5 at large bids. People will piss and moan about who got left out but hey, we deal with that every year with the BCS and NCAA tourney.

Simply put, the BCS needs to go.

[NWLB]

And every year people "piss and moan" and gee whiz, it doesn't change anything.

College football tournaments, religion, and politics are three topics that can start a flaming thread of dung that accomplishes nothing, and we ought to simply skip for one year.

[SB-50]

Here's the problem with at-large bids; It completely neuters critical portions of the regular season. Case in point, under GT's plan, Florida AND Bama get into the playoff. Therefore, the SEC championship game would have been for "seeding" and not "loser goes home" stakes. It was those 'all or nothing stakes' that made the game compelling. (Think Ohio St-Michigan in 2006 also). Furthermore, someone would be "voting" for the at-large teams. Therefore the polls would be relied upon to determine the playoff participants.

This is not basketball. If you're not the best team in your conference, you're not the best team in the country!!!!

Top 8 conference Champs this year in BCS poll. Play it off, LET"S GO!!
Finally, there are no other conference champs in the BCS Top 25.

1 Bama
8 GA Tech (#9 in BCS poll)

4 TCU
5 Boise (#6 in BCS poll)

2 Texas
7 Ohio St (#7 in BCS poll)

3 Cincy
6 Oregon (#7 in BCS poll)

[NWLB]

Here's the problem with at-large bids; It completely neuters critical portions of the regular season. Case in point, under GT's plan, Florida AND Bama get into the playoff. Therefore, the SEC championship game would have been for "seeding" and not "loser goes home" stakes. It was those 'all or nothing stakes' that made the game compelling. (Think Ohio St-Michigan in 2006 also). Furthermore, someone would be "voting" for the at-large teams. Therefore the polls would be relied upon to determine the playoff participants.

This is not basketball. If you're not the best team in your conference, you're not the best team in the country!!!!

Top 8 conference Champs this year in BCS poll. Play it off, LET"S GO!!
Finally, there are no other conference champs in the BCS Top 25.

1 Bama
8 GA Tech (#9 in BCS poll)

4 TCU
5 Boise (#6 in BCS poll)

2 Texas
7 Ohio St (#7 in BCS poll)

3 Cincy
6 Oregon (#7 in BCS poll)

Among other problems with this, as always, every year, I don't see the best teams across the board there.

Why is OSU in that mix, along with Oregon, and GA Tech? Bama, Cincy, Texas, sure. TCU and Boise, maybe. But no Florida? I don't see it. Just seems like another way to come to the same end, and still have folks debating if somebody really is the best.

[San Diego Falcon]

The answer:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/n ... &type=lgns" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[hammb]

Here's the problem with at-large bids; It completely neuters critical portions of the regular season. Case in point, under GT's plan, Florida AND Bama get into the playoff. Therefore, the SEC championship game would have been for "seeding" and not "loser goes home" stakes. It was those 'all or nothing stakes' that made the game compelling. (Think Ohio St-Michigan in 2006 also). Furthermore, someone would be "voting" for the at-large teams. Therefore the polls would be relied upon to determine the playoff participants.

This is not basketball. If you're not the best team in your conference, you're not the best team in the country!!!!

Top 8 conference Champs this year in BCS poll. Play it off, LET"S GO!!
Finally, there are no other conference champs in the BCS Top 25.

1 Bama
8 GA Tech (#9 in BCS poll)

4 TCU
5 Boise (#6 in BCS poll)

2 Texas
7 Ohio St (#7 in BCS poll)

3 Cincy
6 Oregon (#7 in BCS poll)

If you win your conference you deserve a shot in any playoffs.

All the conference champs plus 5 at larges. It's the only way any playoff could ever happen. No way the NCAA would sanction a playoff and not allow all the conference champs in. It's the only fair way to do it, and it's the right way to do it. It's also what SHOULD be done (sorry Nathan, I know you completely are at a loss with reality in this, but it's okay).

Of course it WON'T ever happen because the big boys will not create a system that allows the smaller conferences a shot to play. The smaller conferences aren't going to take it in the ass again the way they have with the BCS.

I think we're pretty well stuck with the BCS for awhile.

[NWLB]

I think the bowl system will remain because there just isn't a true demand for a tournament. But why does a conference championship dictate a tournament bid? If Pitt doesn't choke and Cincy fails to escape with a win, I still think Cincy is a better team. Why would folks want to basically scuttle the premise for a tournament by mandating a system that would invite lesser teams?

I'm not pretending to be objective, I don't like the idea of a tournament for many and long-winded reasons. But I do listen to fair minded arguments. Maybe that is the mistake here, it is sports, hardly a deep topic to invest brain cells into.