Playoff Expansion seems inevitable, my money was not on 12 teams
- Thread starter NYC Horned Frog
- Start date
As is always the case with the CFP they give themselves too much say in the issue. The 6 highest rated conference champions no auto bids. If I am Pac or maybe even MWC I would be against this. They could easily be left out again (speaking more about Pac than MWC). Maybe we could start by having 5 auto bids and one group of 5 for the first three years and then use some type of metric to (maybe play off success) not a committee that would determine the five auto bids for say the next two years and then reshuffle the deck again. Complicated? Yes, but maybe more fair. It is time to minimize the influence of the committee.
ECM
Active Member
If we’re not vacationing in Aspen or on the Amalfi Coast, we’ll be in Ford Stadium!
ECM
Active Member
2020 was an anomaly. If in the future the Pac can’t get one of the six autobids for conference champs or an at-large bid, they’ve got way bigger problems than how the CFP is structured
Endless Purple
Full Member
Endless Purple
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So what is the necessary reason for 12 teams and not 16 so that all teams must win the same amount of games?
Frog-in-law1995
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They give an advantage to the 4 that would’ve made the playoffs had the rules not changed.
Jared7
Active Member
That's a good question, but I'm just hoping that they can agree on the format for 12; which would vastly increase TCU's chances of making it whereas holding out for 16 would not marginally affect TCU all that much. If they can agree on 12, then the next step would be expansion from that - 16, then 24, then 32 (like the other Divisions).
The answer given so far to your question is that moving to 12 involves changing the current system from 7 games to 11, and they want those 4 additional games to have full open windows so that those and only those games will be on at that time and attract a maximum audience. Going to 15 games as you suggest would mean non-exclusive windows and some of those games would be played simultaneously and attract smaller audiences.
Endless Purple
Full Member
Not exactly since the byes go to conference champions and not the SEC runner up. Different selection process it sounds like. That does not explain why they deserve a bye. Why do some teams deserve an advantage once the playoffs start?
edit: I do like the suggested selection process better.
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Endless Purple
Full Member
Agree that 12 would benefit TCU more than my preferred 8. So would 16 though. I would also assume more often than not a TCU would be stuck without the bye, giving them a potential disadvantage in round 2.
As to the lower watched possibility, that means a lower profit margin, not necessarily lower profits if put into business speak. Are margins per game important? I don't know. Also if a team such as Alabama or Ohio St given a bye, don't they usually always bring a good rating even if it was against a 15 seed? That seems like you are cutting the more watched teams with the bye.
Paul in uhh
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Tcu and baylor both make it as at-large teams in 2014
Paul in uhh
Active Member
I think that by awarding byes you help preserve the integrity of the regular season a bit
Frog-in-law1995
Active Member
Keeps the SEC championship game from being essentially meaningless, for one thing. Both will make the field, but the winner gets a nice benefit.
Jared7
Active Member
The way it stands now with a 4-team playoff, TCU has to win the Big 12 and finish undefeated to make it. In theory, we could make it as 1-loss champ, but that happened in 2014 and our L was nitpicked to death whereas Ohio State's 1 L wasn't. With 8 teams, we would almost certainly make it as a 1-loss champ, likely make it as a 2-loss champ and possibly make it as a 1-loss non-champ. With 12 teams, we would virtually certainly make it as a champ, and likely make it as a 1-loss non-champ and quite possibly make it as a 2-loss non-champ (depending on SOS). With 16 (or more), the odds increase. But if the proposal is for 12, it is not in our interest to reject 12 and hold out for more (now).
I disagree on profits. The new 4 games need to get a monster share so that the networks can charge the most possible to advertisers. Bama-Coastal Carolina would get a huge share but that would be much lower if Wisconsin-Memphis was shown at the same time on a different network. Each of the new 4 games needs the highest possible rating and an exclusive window.
ECM
Active Member
We already have almost a month in between the CCGs and the playoff semis. And if your team has a bye, I think you’d be pretty interested to watch the first round game and see who you’ll play next.
Endless Purple
Full Member
Ok. I can see a slight benefit to the Championship games. That is a reason for 12.
I am not sure it outweighs 16 teams. I still think the extra 4 games would bring in more interest, inclusion and money. Full disclosure - I don't care about the Big 10 or SEC championship games much so bye or not, I don't know how much of an impact it would have on their viewership. Maybe it would be more valuable interest than adding 4 more teams.
Endless Purple
Full Member
Endless Purple
Full Member
Not disputing the additional teams. just the 12 vs 16 - bye or no bye. I just see it as an extreme unfair advantage which will go to the SEC champ, Big 10 champ, ACC champ (if Clemson, Miami or Fl St) plus one other champion to fight it out between Big 12 and Pac. No G5 champion will ever get considered for the bye. So no real change in fairness, just an opportunity to say "See you do have a chance".
There is almost no competition from other sport this time of year, so the times are not prohibitive to viewers in any extreme amount. The following teams are an example of who might make the playoffs given those extra games.
2019: 13-16 teams in AP - Baylor, Auburn, Iowa, and Utah. These teams playing against a top 4 team will get viewership.
2018: Washington, Michigan, Syracuse, Texas A&M
2017: Miami, Ok State, Michigan St, Washington
Paul in uhh
Active Member
If your team isn’t playing your star QB can’t break a leg. (He could get arrested though for punching a Riverwalk-club bouncer the night before the game though)
ECM
Active Member
If your argument is they should’ve gone to 16 then fine. But if you’re a fan of a top-4 team you’re still waiting about a month from the CCGs until your first playoff game. Having first round games in between isn’t going to decrease interest.
