8-team Playoff

[bronco]

IMO a 4 or 5 loss team making an 8-team playoff by virtue of winning some convoluted division tiebreaker and playing in the far easier division within their conference, and then pulling off one upset....and making the playoffs over a 10-2 team that has proven over the course of the season to be a far better team.....would be a bigger fraud.

And you'll say that 4 or 5 loss team hasn't even done that, so why worry about it? Then why even play the CCG?

If the

IMO a 4 or 5 loss team making an 8-team playoff by virtue of winning some convoluted division tiebreaker and playing in the far easier division within their conference, and then pulling off one upset....and making the playoffs over a 10-2 team that has proven over the course of the season to be a far better team.....would be a bigger fraud.

And you'll say that 4 or 5 loss team hasn't even done that, so why worry about it? Then why even play the CCG?

By virtue of winning the conference "championship" game they are the conference champion. If conference champs don't get auto bids why hold the game? Just make Clemson the conference champion by virtue of their season record. Maybe, and I doubt it, if they went to an eight team playoff the conferences might work together (for a change) to realign and make 5 conferences of somewhat equal size. In today's world it is every conference trying to grab a bigger piece of the pie. They don't work together for the greater good of college football.

 

[Wexahu]

Because there hasn't been a need! It's the old saying, if there's a will there's a way, and there is more than enough money and will at this level of college football to make these things happen. You think TCU is going to opt out because we can't figure out our stadium? You think GP would let Donati do that?

These are the types of excuses that stop good things from happening

Just for the record, I'm all for expansion if they do it right. If I'm reading it right in terms of how people want it structured, I think the end result might not be all that satisfying and we'll have some pretty lopsided games just so we can say team X or Team Y got a chance, but if that's what everyone wants that's fine.

 

[Eight]

No. I believe that playing in a bowl game after losing in the first round of playoffs would be a nice consolation for those that lose. And I believe the playoffs would be a complete freaking joke if playing in the playoffs means going to Wisconsin for one game on December 20th.

By having the first round in early December, you have an opportunity for those who lose in the first round to also have a good experience. Traveling to Madison Wisconsin on December 20th is much less of an experience than the Sugar Bowl.

so it is a joke if a team plays and loses after playing in one game, a game that is more important than 3 currently played games because it is the potential for a title?

i don't see this as something for the fans and i can't recall meeting an athlete who would rather play in an exhibition game which bowl games are instead of having a shot to win a title.

 

[jake102]

Just for the record, I'm all for expansion if they do it right. If I'm reading it right in terms of how people want it structured, I think the end result might not be all that satisfying and we'll have some pretty lopsided games just so we can say team X or Team Y got a chance, but if that's what everyone wants that's fine.

I think you are going to have some very lopsided games in an 8-team. Can you imagine Alabama playing UCF in Tuscaloosa this year?

But can you also imagine TCU playing Florida State in 2014? Would have looked a lot like the Peach Bowl.

 

[froginmn]

so it is a joke if a team plays and loses after playing in one game, a game that is more important than 3 currently played games because it is the potential for a title?

i don't see this as something for the fans and i can't recall meeting an athlete who would rather play in an exhibition game which bowl games are instead of having a shot to win a title.

You seem tired. I keep telling you that they will play in the playoffs. If they lose in the first round of the playoffs which they just played for, they will also have an opportunity to play in a high-profile bowl game. So they get to do both. Not sure why that is so damn unclear.

And yes, the playoffs will be a joke if game 1 is in Madison Wisconsin in late December. It's cold, there's no other activities planned, and if you lose that was your reward for being the 5th to 8th best team in the country. I for one had a hell of a good time at both the Rose Bowl the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl not just because of a single football game, but because of all the other experiences tied to that. And the fans and players should be able to enjoy those experiences. Is there a problem with playing those games during ccg weekend?

 

[Wexahu]

If the



By virtue of winning the conference "championship" game they are the conference champion. If conference champs don't get auto bids why hold the game? Just make Clemson the conference champion by virtue of their season record. Maybe, and I doubt it, if they went to an eight team playoff the conferences might work together (for a change) to realign and make 5 conferences of somewhat equal size. In today's world it is every conference trying to grab a bigger piece of the pie. They don't work together for the greater good of college football.

This is my personal opinion, but I think the value of conference championships left town once conferences expanded to 12-14 teams (especially 14 team). They aren't really even conferences anymore, they are more or less Financial Partnerships. A conference isn't really a conference if a team doesn't even play five teams within it's own league. A team that goes 6-3 in it's league shouldn't be crowned conference champion over a team that finishes 9-0. That's just stupid. And it's why I don't think conference championships shouldn't really mean much in terms of which teams advance to the playoffs.

 

[Eight]

You seem tired. I keep telling you that they will play in the playoffs. If they lose in the first round of the playoffs which they just played for, they will also have an opportunity to play in a high-profile bowl game. So they get to do both. Not sure why that is so damn unclear.

And yes, the playoffs will be a joke if game 1 is in Madison Wisconsin in late December. It's cold, there's no other activities planned, and if you lose that was your reward for being the 5th to 8th best team in the country. I for one had a hell of a good time at both the Rose Bowl the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl not just because of a single football game, but because of all the other experiences tied to that. And the fans and players should be able to enjoy those experiences. Is there a problem with playing those games during ccg weekend?

activities?

the reward for being the 5th -8th team in the country is a chance to win a national title. something only 8 schools would have that chance, but i can see where dinners, t-shirts and swag bags would be much more appealing.

the dream of every kid in the back yard playing games is swag and dinners and not winning titles or do i have that backward? i must be tired, because i thought for players it was about playing for championships

 

[bronco]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Make the first round of the playoffs on the week of the current CCG's, and eliminate the meaningless CCG's.

The four teams who lose remain eligible for the traditional bowls, so their seasons don't end with a loss in Tuscaloosa or Columbus, which would suck for a fan.

Those four losing teams still get a great travel experience, have the same length of time to plan, the Rose Bowl still happens on Jan 1 and the Rose Parade still happens. Fans don't need to make tentative plans to go to LA a week after a quarterfinal. They still get a cool bowl as a consolation prize if they lose.

The winners go to the semifinals, and the semis have a full event flavor and those fans have time to plan too.

This way, you don't worry about kids missing any more school than they do now, they still have the same time to rest and refresh that they have now, travel isn't more complicated by short notice that would happen if you tried to fit the quarters into mid late December, bowls don't lose prestige or have to change schedule, get a good number of hotel rooms sold, and the 5th to 8th best teams in the country don't lose the experience.

If you don't do this, there is a guarantee that instead of OU going to the Sugar Bowl and Michigan going to the Rose, they'll get to travel to Tuscaloosa or Columbus for a one and done. As a fan, that would suck. As a player who got yourself into the playoff, a game at Wisconsin in December with no bowl swag etc. would be a kick in the nuts.

Dead on. This is so simple and so easy it is amazing it hasn't been done but as someone else noted if we do get to eight the format chosen (like the CFP) will be less than ideal. I would like to see what is now "Championship Saturday" become Army Navy and make up Saturday. The Army Navy game would get an exclusive tv window and any games previously canceled would be played that day. That way everyone plays the same number of games. Under this scenario there could be a playoff team or two that might not get a week off between the regular season and the play offs but that would just be an unfortunate circumstance and it could create some meaningfull games that weekend.

 

[bronco]

This is my personal opinion, but I think the value of conference championships left town once conferences expanded to 12-14 teams (especially 14 team). They aren't really even conferences anymore, they are more or less Financial Partnerships. A conference isn't really a conference if a team doesn't even play five teams within it's own league. A team that goes 6-3 in it's league shouldn't be crowned conference champion over a team that finishes 9-0. That's just stupid. And it's why I don't think conference championships shouldn't really mean much in terms of which teams advance to the playoffs.

I agree for the most part. Get rid of divisions and play nine conference games would certainly make it more meaningful to win your conference.

 

[froginmn]

activities?

the reward for being the 5th -8th team in the country is a chance to win a national title. something only 8 schools would have that chance, but i can see where dinners, t-shirts and swag bags would be much more appealing.

the dream of every kid in the back yard playing games is swag and dinners and not winning titles or do i have that backward? i must be tired, because i thought for players it was about playing for championships

THEY STILL GET TO PLAY IN THE PLAYOFF.

 

[froginmn]

activities?

the reward for being the 5th -8th team in the country is a chance to win a national title. something only 8 schools would have that chance, but i can see where dinners, t-shirts and swag bags would be much more appealing.

the dream of every kid in the back yard playing games is swag and dinners and not winning titles or do i have that backward? i must be tired, because i thought for players it was about playing for championships

Since you seem to be struggling with this so much, let me give you a scenario. Oklahoma finishes number one in our conference and is ranked number four. TCU finishes number two in our conference and is ranked number 5. TCU will then go play at Oklahoma in the first round of the playoffs. The loser will be done for the year. Meanwhile, Baylor finished third in the conference and is number nine. They get to go to the Sugar Bowl.

Do you not think that would be a kick in the nuts to the loser of the TCU OU game?

By playing the first games on conference Championship weekend, the loser of that game would go to the Sugar Bowl. Baylor would go to San Antonio.

 

[PO Frog]

Good work, but I'd probably say the Virginia-Ohio game probably had about 10,000 people there and the Florida-LSU game is a bit of an outlier as they just flipped sites. LSU-BYU, that's the best rebuttal of all, no idea how much of a success that game was.

Again, I'm not saying it's an impossible task, just that it's not nearly as simple as some people make it out to be. Otherwise, why are all schedules released over a year in advance?

I’m sure there are a number of reasons, but so the school’s physical facilities can have time to prep is not one of them. Ridiculous.

 

[Casey T]

Since you seem to be struggling with this so much, let me give you a scenario. Oklahoma finishes number one in our conference and is ranked number four. TCU finishes number two in our conference and is ranked number 5. TCU will then go play at Oklahoma in the first round of the playoffs. The loser will be done for the year. Meanwhile, Baylor finished third in the conference and is number nine. They get to go to the Sugar Bowl.

Do you not think that would be a kick in the nuts to the loser of the TCU OU game?

By playing the first games on conference Championship weekend, the loser of that game would go to the Sugar Bowl. Baylor would go to San Antonio.

Why can't we keep CCGs and wait to announce bowls until after the first round of the playoffs... that's one extra week to wait. The losers of the first round of the playoffs still make a bowl, and the second round of the playoffs is the current rotation between NY6 bowls

 

[Casey T]

The only perfect solution will never happen because it would involve breaking up the P5 conferences into equally-sized conferences/groups that all follow the same rules.

The best alternative, which is realistic, is 8 team playoff, auto-bids for P5 conf winners, top 4 seeds host first round the week after CCGs (and there will only be a handful of teams vying for this by mid-Nov so they're the only ones who need to be prepared to stage a last-minute game), bowl selections made after first round of playoffs to include losers of first round games.

I don't like that this will probably lead to a combined 4-5 teams in from the B10 & SEC every single year but it's the best we've got. Maybe put a cap on up to 2 teams per conference.



(My perfect scenario if it were a video game: add 1 G5 team + ND to make 66 P5 teams and split it into 6 conferences of 11 teams. Play your other 10 teams plus 2 OOC games, winner of your conference gets an auto-bid. Then take 2 at-large selections for an 8 team playoff. Beautiful but impossible.)

 

[froginmn]

Why can't we keep CCGs and wait to announce bowls until after the first round of the playoffs... that's one extra week to wait. The losers of the first round of the playoffs still make a bowl, and the second round of the playoffs is the current rotation between NY6 bowls

I think it would press the timing on all of the other bowls too much, since they have to be announced together.

I don't think the loss of the Big 12 championship game would be a big issue, given that we didn't have one three years ago.

 

[Wexahu]

I think it would press the timing on all of the other bowls too much, since they have to be announced together.

I don't think the loss of the Big 12 championship game would be a big issue, given that we didn't have one three years ago.

Giving back money is hard. Now that they make about $40M off of it, I can't see them easily giving that up when every other conference has a CCG. Playing it though will effectively cap the Big 12 at one playoff team so there's that factor too. It's a mess since every conference operates a bit differently.

 

[flyfishingfrog]

He is saying that if you had automatic qualifiers for P5 champions and Pitt beat Clemson, they'd both make it, and he's probably right. Which would suck. Hell, you might have conferences fixing games to get two teams in.

You mean like 59-0 fix?

 

[flyfishingfrog]

Yes, you have to account for what might happen when decisions about this kind of stuff are made. Because what might happen eventually will happen.

And if it did - they would be the lowest seed and get pounded by one of the other 7 teams in round 1

Geez - but let’s have a a crappy system instead to avoid a hell freezes over scenario...

 

[flyfishingfrog]

There should also be consequences to losing to Penn State, North Carolina, Central Florida, Notre Dame and Miami. You're right, this isn't that hard.

And that is for the conferences to deal with

You want a one game upset in the CCG to result in being represented by some 8-5 asshat team - then fine

Or balance your divisions so it is less likely to happen

 

[stbrab]

And that is for the conferences to deal with

You want a one game upset in the CCG to result in being represented by some 8-5 asshat team - then fine

Or balance your divisions so it is less likely to happen

Or each conference could do what the Big 12 does. Play #1 vs #2, regardless of divisions.