TCUdirtbag
Active Member
Logistics for an 8-team playoff get interesting. Do you keep Dec 31 / Jan 1 as "round 1' and make 4 of the "access" bowls quarter-final sites, then bid out the semis AND the championship? That pushes the championship back to between 1/15 and 1/22. While the goal is to consolidate the bowl season.
Or...do you do the quarterfinals before Christmas....after conference championships but before any bowls......seed the playoff 1-8, and have the quarterfinals at the home of 1-4? Then drop the winners into the semis and the losers into other access bowls against numbers 9-12 that didn't quite qualify for the playoff? I really am intrigued by / interested in this approach.
Example of the second option.
1. Alabama (SEC Champ)
2. Clemson (ACC Champ)
3. Ohio State (B1G Champ)
4. TCU (Big 12 Champ)
5. Stanford (PAC-12 Champ)
6. Georgia (At-Large)
7. Michigan (At-Large)
8. Oregon (At-Large)
9. Oklahoma (Out of playoff, but in Access Bowl)
10. Boise State ("")
11. LSU ("")
12. Notre Dame ("")
Saturday, 12/06/14: Conference Championship Saturday / Last Regular Season Games
Sunday, 12/07/14: Selection/Seeding Sunday
Monday, 12/22/14: Quarterfinals. #8 Oregon @ #1 Alabama AND #7 Michigan @ #2 Clemson
Tuesday, 12/23/14: Quarterfinals: #6 Georgia @ #3 Ohio State AND #5 Stanford @ #4 TCU
(For purposes below, assume all higher seeds won in the quarterfinals)
12/31--Orange: #12 Notre Dame (At-Large) v. #6 Georgia (Lost in QF)
12/31--Chick-Fil-A: #11 LSU (At-Large) v. #7 Michigan (Lost in QF)
12/31--Fiesta: #10 Boise (At-Large) v. #8 Oregon (Lost in QF)
1/1--Cotton: #9 Oklahoma (At-Large) v. #5 Stanford (Lost iQF)
1/1--SEMIFINAL--Rose: #2 Clemson v. #3 Ohio State
1/1--SEMIFINAL--Sugar: #1 Alabama v. #4 TCU
1/12/15--Championship Game
I see two key issues: (1) practice time amidst finals and (2) logistics for fans traveling to the major bowls...half won't know their 12/31 or 1/1 destination until 12/22 or 12/23. An alternative would be to play quarterfinals the Saturday after championship Saturday (but you still have a final exams issue). But, I really like how a round 1 quarterfinals in on-campus stadiums preserves the bowl system.
One quirk in the above system, though, is that a playoff team could actually lose their last 3 consecutive games. Above, #1 Alabama beat #6 Georgia in the SEC Championship, Ohio State beat Georgia in the QF, and Georgia could lose the Orange Bowl to ND.
Or...do you do the quarterfinals before Christmas....after conference championships but before any bowls......seed the playoff 1-8, and have the quarterfinals at the home of 1-4? Then drop the winners into the semis and the losers into other access bowls against numbers 9-12 that didn't quite qualify for the playoff? I really am intrigued by / interested in this approach.
Example of the second option.
1. Alabama (SEC Champ)
2. Clemson (ACC Champ)
3. Ohio State (B1G Champ)
4. TCU (Big 12 Champ)
5. Stanford (PAC-12 Champ)
6. Georgia (At-Large)
7. Michigan (At-Large)
8. Oregon (At-Large)
9. Oklahoma (Out of playoff, but in Access Bowl)
10. Boise State ("")
11. LSU ("")
12. Notre Dame ("")
Saturday, 12/06/14: Conference Championship Saturday / Last Regular Season Games
Sunday, 12/07/14: Selection/Seeding Sunday
Monday, 12/22/14: Quarterfinals. #8 Oregon @ #1 Alabama AND #7 Michigan @ #2 Clemson
Tuesday, 12/23/14: Quarterfinals: #6 Georgia @ #3 Ohio State AND #5 Stanford @ #4 TCU
(For purposes below, assume all higher seeds won in the quarterfinals)
12/31--Orange: #12 Notre Dame (At-Large) v. #6 Georgia (Lost in QF)
12/31--Chick-Fil-A: #11 LSU (At-Large) v. #7 Michigan (Lost in QF)
12/31--Fiesta: #10 Boise (At-Large) v. #8 Oregon (Lost in QF)
1/1--Cotton: #9 Oklahoma (At-Large) v. #5 Stanford (Lost iQF)
1/1--SEMIFINAL--Rose: #2 Clemson v. #3 Ohio State
1/1--SEMIFINAL--Sugar: #1 Alabama v. #4 TCU
1/12/15--Championship Game
I see two key issues: (1) practice time amidst finals and (2) logistics for fans traveling to the major bowls...half won't know their 12/31 or 1/1 destination until 12/22 or 12/23. An alternative would be to play quarterfinals the Saturday after championship Saturday (but you still have a final exams issue). But, I really like how a round 1 quarterfinals in on-campus stadiums preserves the bowl system.
One quirk in the above system, though, is that a playoff team could actually lose their last 3 consecutive games. Above, #1 Alabama beat #6 Georgia in the SEC Championship, Ohio State beat Georgia in the QF, and Georgia could lose the Orange Bowl to ND.
