If adopted, college football's new playoff system will have three effects: 1) Destroy the traditional bowl system 2) Force some teams to play as many as 17 games and many others 15 and 16 thus exposing more young men to serious injury and concussions 3) Really tick off the teams that finish 13th, 14th 15th thus forcing them to expand to …
If adopted, college football's new playoff system will have three effects: 1) Destroy the traditional bowl system 2) Force some teams to play as many as 17 games and many others 15 and 16 thus exposing more young men to serious injury and concussions 3) Really tick off the teams that finish 13th, 14th 15th thus forcing them to expand to 16 teams.
One thing that won't change is that the same teams (see Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson) will win the damn thing. If you'll excuse my language, it's all a bunch of bullshit designed to line the pockets of NCAA officials, TV execs and whoever else can profit off the labors of young unpaid men.
The only change I want to see is the option for working aged people to sign professional contracts and sponsorships and play in a viable professional league somewhere. Let all the best players go there, and let losers like me revel in the amateur game, steeped in tradition.
1) the traditional bowl system is bloated and could use an overhaul. No one wants to see a 6-6 Kansas St play a 7-5 Memphis on a Wednesday night in Boca Raton, except a fraction of those fan bases. And most of these bowls are owned and operated by ESPN with a lot of these bowls serving as nothing more than participation trophy bowls. Congrats! You finished with a winning record (barely). Here's your reward, a gift bag and a crappy bowl (that your best players may opt out of) against an equally crappy team. Or that one team who got screwed and is going to take it out on you on national TV.
2) FCS already does this. So does DII and DIII. FBS schools account for less than 20% of all NCAA football teams. The other three divisions play 16 team playoffs.
It will change the bowl system and some teams will play more. As a former player I would have been happy with this if it meant the Natty was legit. Also, there will be some Cinderalla stories AND other than the four who seem to be perennial playoff attendees, expanding the field will change the recruiting dynamic. Bama, OSU, Georgia and Clemson probably won't get two 5 stars at the same position anymore as more teams will be in the mix or on the edge of the mix. I think its good for the game, although I would have liked to see a legit 16 team playoff with no byes.
As to point one, I was referring only to the Rose, Sugar, Orange and Cotton bowls. I miss the old days of traditional tie-ins as with the Pac -8/10/12 winner versus the Big Ten.But I'm a dinosaur. As to point two, good point, hadn't thought of that. As to point three I think I nailed that one.
if you're afraid of finishing 13, 14, or 15, do better during the season. but sometimes it all depends on where you start the season. If one of those teams starts the season unranked then they'll have a tougher road than say team #12 who started the season ranked 23. It's easier to slip out of the rankings with one loss when you're ranked near the bottom than a top tern team.
It's (like all things) subjective where you draw the line. Someone can validly say "do better" than #3 if you want to play for the title. At a certain point, in this sport in its current incarnation, you realistically don't have a chance of winning outside of the top x, but fairness of inclusion becomes a legit gripe because of the financial impact of getting left out, and left out behind teams that didnt "do better" than you by any objective measures.
Eh, I don't think a system that gives all Power 5 conferences and one mid-major conference an automatic spot is an "illusion" of inclusion. That's legitimately more inclusive.
I just mean if you are #4 and get in, you literally make more money than #5 who got left out, and there might be no objective measures to say you did "better" than #5.
I try to think of this like the basketball tournament. There are always debates about the last at-large teams being selected, but it's pretty rare that this actually makes a difference as to who is the champion. All of the top teams get in, and of course everyone always has a chance to just win their conference and guarantee a berth.
I suspect the expanded FBS field would probably be seen the same way. Guaranteeing spots to all the top ranked conference champions means a lot, and the extra spot for a mid-major champion means that an undefeated Coastal Carolina or Boise State or whatever would also get their shot.
Definitely has no bearing on the actual champion. I dont think expansion past 4, or hell even 2 teams, really does now. It's just about what extra dollars you'd make and exposure for your program. Just think, one day we can get stomped by Bama on national tv! In basketball it's a big deal for recruiting for those small teams to make the tournament, and with such a big field of teams there is bound to be some entertaining magic. But the physical reality of football also doesn't allow for a dark horse the same way that basketball does.
There's more a "fairness" issue with the current 4-team system, since by its very nature it has to leave out at least one Power 5 conference champ (sometimes more) and will never let in a mid-major team. Under the proposed new system, there is a path for everyone.
Most of the time it's pretty clear that one of the top four teams would definitely win the championship. But still . . . we've seen years where neither of the Top 2 teams advance, or where the 4 seed wins the whole thing, so who's to say someone from 5-12 couldn't pull it off? And yes, I think a knock-on effect of this will be that recruiting wealth can be spread more broadly. The top recruits were increasingly gravitating to the select few programs that are seemingly always in the tournament (Bama, OSU, Clemson), but now more teams could legitimately claim to have a shot at the playoff and attract more recruits.
I think this tends to wash out over the course of a season. For Power 5 teams if you've only got 1 loss you'll definitely be in the top 12, and will likely make it if you've only got 2 losses too.
Yes, point #2 never made much sense to me, given that other divisions already have a schedule of the same length. I don't think it's a big deal, and only two teams will actually reach the 17 game threshold anyway. I think they'll be okay with that, given that they're playing for the national championship.
Actually, it's not that brutal, especially these days where practices are tailored to team health. In the old days we hit more in practice (and sometimes on a Thursday) if we lost a game, even late in the season. Coaches don't do that anymore. They got smart.
If adopted, college football's new playoff system will have three effects: 1) Destroy the traditional bowl system 2) Force some teams to play as many as 17 games and many others 15 and 16 thus exposing more young men to serious injury and concussions 3) Really tick off the teams that finish 13th, 14th 15th thus forcing them to expand to 16 teams.
One thing that won't change is that the same teams (see Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson) will win the damn thing. If you'll excuse my language, it's all a bunch of bullshit designed to line the pockets of NCAA officials, TV execs and whoever else can profit off the labors of young unpaid men.
The only change I want to see is the option for working aged people to sign professional contracts and sponsorships and play in a viable professional league somewhere. Let all the best players go there, and let losers like me revel in the amateur game, steeped in tradition.
1) the traditional bowl system is bloated and could use an overhaul. No one wants to see a 6-6 Kansas St play a 7-5 Memphis on a Wednesday night in Boca Raton, except a fraction of those fan bases. And most of these bowls are owned and operated by ESPN with a lot of these bowls serving as nothing more than participation trophy bowls. Congrats! You finished with a winning record (barely). Here's your reward, a gift bag and a crappy bowl (that your best players may opt out of) against an equally crappy team. Or that one team who got screwed and is going to take it out on you on national TV.
2) FCS already does this. So does DII and DIII. FBS schools account for less than 20% of all NCAA football teams. The other three divisions play 16 team playoffs.
3) Do better
28 teams for division 2 now
It will change the bowl system and some teams will play more. As a former player I would have been happy with this if it meant the Natty was legit. Also, there will be some Cinderalla stories AND other than the four who seem to be perennial playoff attendees, expanding the field will change the recruiting dynamic. Bama, OSU, Georgia and Clemson probably won't get two 5 stars at the same position anymore as more teams will be in the mix or on the edge of the mix. I think its good for the game, although I would have liked to see a legit 16 team playoff with no byes.
As to point one, I was referring only to the Rose, Sugar, Orange and Cotton bowls. I miss the old days of traditional tie-ins as with the Pac -8/10/12 winner versus the Big Ten.But I'm a dinosaur. As to point two, good point, hadn't thought of that. As to point three I think I nailed that one.
Re: point 3
if you're afraid of finishing 13, 14, or 15, do better during the season. but sometimes it all depends on where you start the season. If one of those teams starts the season unranked then they'll have a tougher road than say team #12 who started the season ranked 23. It's easier to slip out of the rankings with one loss when you're ranked near the bottom than a top tern team.
It's (like all things) subjective where you draw the line. Someone can validly say "do better" than #3 if you want to play for the title. At a certain point, in this sport in its current incarnation, you realistically don't have a chance of winning outside of the top x, but fairness of inclusion becomes a legit gripe because of the financial impact of getting left out, and left out behind teams that didnt "do better" than you by any objective measures.
Expansion is the illusion of inclusion.
Eh, I don't think a system that gives all Power 5 conferences and one mid-major conference an automatic spot is an "illusion" of inclusion. That's legitimately more inclusive.
I just mean if you are #4 and get in, you literally make more money than #5 who got left out, and there might be no objective measures to say you did "better" than #5.
I try to think of this like the basketball tournament. There are always debates about the last at-large teams being selected, but it's pretty rare that this actually makes a difference as to who is the champion. All of the top teams get in, and of course everyone always has a chance to just win their conference and guarantee a berth.
I suspect the expanded FBS field would probably be seen the same way. Guaranteeing spots to all the top ranked conference champions means a lot, and the extra spot for a mid-major champion means that an undefeated Coastal Carolina or Boise State or whatever would also get their shot.
Whoa,
A game you play at most once a week is entirely different that one you can play every other day.
I don't see the point here.
Definitely has no bearing on the actual champion. I dont think expansion past 4, or hell even 2 teams, really does now. It's just about what extra dollars you'd make and exposure for your program. Just think, one day we can get stomped by Bama on national tv! In basketball it's a big deal for recruiting for those small teams to make the tournament, and with such a big field of teams there is bound to be some entertaining magic. But the physical reality of football also doesn't allow for a dark horse the same way that basketball does.
There's more a "fairness" issue with the current 4-team system, since by its very nature it has to leave out at least one Power 5 conference champ (sometimes more) and will never let in a mid-major team. Under the proposed new system, there is a path for everyone.
Most of the time it's pretty clear that one of the top four teams would definitely win the championship. But still . . . we've seen years where neither of the Top 2 teams advance, or where the 4 seed wins the whole thing, so who's to say someone from 5-12 couldn't pull it off? And yes, I think a knock-on effect of this will be that recruiting wealth can be spread more broadly. The top recruits were increasingly gravitating to the select few programs that are seemingly always in the tournament (Bama, OSU, Clemson), but now more teams could legitimately claim to have a shot at the playoff and attract more recruits.
I think this tends to wash out over the course of a season. For Power 5 teams if you've only got 1 loss you'll definitely be in the top 12, and will likely make it if you've only got 2 losses too.
Yes, point #2 never made much sense to me, given that other divisions already have a schedule of the same length. I don't think it's a big deal, and only two teams will actually reach the 17 game threshold anyway. I think they'll be okay with that, given that they're playing for the national championship.
Actually, it's not that brutal, especially these days where practices are tailored to team health. In the old days we hit more in practice (and sometimes on a Thursday) if we lost a game, even late in the season. Coaches don't do that anymore. They got smart.