Eight Team Playoff System

[Woodrow Thames]

Later today (i.e., the Sunday after the conference championship games) the Big Ten Champion will be omitted from the four-team college football playoff. I am predicting that the top four seeds will be all the zero and one-loss BCS conference teams: Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Washington. While it is easy to yell, "What about head-to-head competition?", I think the Selection Committee will take the easy way out and simply point to the number in the loss column for all the schools.

I have been in favor of an eight-team playoff since the beginning because it gives the Selection Committee more flexibility in addressing situations like today while still holding on to the tradition of the New Year's Day bowl games. I also hate, hate, hate the idea that a bunch of yodelers (i.e., media) get as much power as they do in something that can easily be decided on the field. Below is my not too surprising recommendation:

1) Use the four traditional New Year's Day bowl games as a quarterfinal round.
2) The Power Five Conference winners automatically go to their respective bowl games
3) The Selection Committee can appoint three other teams.
4) The semi-final round will be played three weekends before the Super Bowl (most often that is President's Day weekend).
5) The championship game will be played the weekend before the Super Bowl.

I also believe that the "Group of Five" conferences should be able to send one team to this tournament. If you do not in some way include those schools then they are going to gather their dolls and go home, and I wouldn't blame the. Notre Dame will ask for some type of guarantee that they will be included if X or Y condition exists. I would disrespectfully tell them "no".

The material negative of this system is it locks two conference champions into the first round head-to-head competition - Pac 12 vs. Big 10 in the Rose Bowl. To this I shrug my shoulders and in my best Fiddler on the Roof voice I sing, "Tradition!" Also for two schools that extends football for another month and a total of up to 15 games. I think one thing which mitigates that negative is the two weeks rest between the two rounds after the bowls. Also, is anything of importance going on in the classroom in January? Admittedly I am not familiar with the quarter system so someone enlighten me, if applicable.

I've written my peace. Thanks for reading.

 

[BevoJoe]

Later today (i.e., the Sunday after the conference championship games) the Big Ten Champion will be omitted from the four-team college football playoff. I am predicting that the top four seeds will be all the zero and one-loss BCS conference teams: Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Washington. While it is easy to yell, "What about head-to-head competition?", I think the Selection Committee will take the easy way out and simply point to the number in the loss column for all the schools.

I have been in favor of an eight-team playoff since the beginning because it gives the Selection Committee more flexibility in addressing situations like today while still holding on to the tradition of the New Year's Day bowl games. I also hate, hate, hate the idea that a bunch of yodelers (i.e., media) get as much power as they do in something that can easily be decided on the field. Below is my not too surprising recommendation:

1) Use the four traditional New Year's Day bowl games as a quarterfinal round.
2) The Power Five Conference winners automatically go to their respective bowl games
3) The Selection Committee can appoint three other teams.
4) The semi-final round will be played three weekends before the Super Bowl (most often that is President's Day weekend).
5) The championship game will be played the weekend before the Super Bowl.

I also believe that the "Group of Five" conferences should be able to send one team to this tournament. If you do not in some way include those schools then they are going to gather their dolls and go home, and I wouldn't blame the. Notre Dame will ask for some type of guarantee that they will be included if X or Y condition exists. I would disrespectfully tell them "no".

The material negative of this system is it locks two conference champions into the first round head-to-head competition - Pac 12 vs. Big 10 in the Rose Bowl. To this I shrug my shoulders and in my best Fiddler on the Roof voice I sing, "Tradition!" Also for two schools that extends football for another month and a total of up to 15 games. I think one thing which mitigates that negative is the two weeks rest between the two rounds after the bowls. Also, is anything of importance going on in the classroom in January? Admittedly I am not familiar with the quarter system so someone enlighten me, if applicable.

I've written my peace. Thanks for reading.

Interesting concept. May take the NCAA to grow a pair of cogliones and take the power away from the conferences. I would like to see them restructure the entire Division 1, primarily the current P5s and assign schools to a conference keeping those together as best as possible, into 8 conferences. The whining about rivalries can be resolved with OOC games. Seasons all start last weekend of August, and no bye weeks. No OOC games outside the 8 conferences period (think Baylor's and most SECs OOC schedules here). Limit the number of schools in a conference to 12 so about 30 schools in Division 1 go elsewhere. Look at whatever criteria is necessary, revenue, brand, facilities, academics, whatever. preserves the conference championship games or play round robin with 1 OOC game. Winner takes all so if for example tOSU is 12-0 and looses to say Minnesota at 9-3. Minnesota is in and tOSU goes to a minor bowl game somewhere. Win you move you advance to the next round, lose you go home. If Minnesota wins the NC then they were playing "the best football" at the time. A lot to work out with this and I like the system above too. What ever happens, it has to be better than the current system with a committee deciding, which is subjective and prone to bias. Or else the 4 slots are always going to be a point of disagreement as to who gets in and who's left out.

So we'll see...

 

[X Misn Tx]

if ND is not given special treatment, then they would be highly motivated to join a conference.

i like my playoffs like i like my women...uh 8 anyway... It prevents the Penn St screw job for winning both HTH and the B10. No conf can complain. Go5 and Indies have to make it in the 3 at large along with everyone else.

also: about Go5...i'd like to see them get a shot to prove themselves in a playoff if they made it into the Top 8. Decide their quality on the field.

 

[n64ra]

The semi-final round will be played three weekends before the Super Bowl (most often that is President's Day weekend)

Are you thinking of MLK Jr weekend? Presidents' Day is observed on the third Monday of Februrary.

I like the idea of the best non-P5 conference champion getting a spot along with the P5 conference champions - then 2 wild cards.

 

[yelladawgdem]

So in 1996, our 8-4 Big 12 Championship team ("Come To Run") would advance, and a Nebraska team that was planning on going to a third straight national title game (actually their 4th, they did get robbed in that 1994 FSU Orange Bowl), would be in the Independence Bowl?

Just because I am small and petty when it comes to a program that I once had so much respect for, I like the sound of that. A lot.

37 points.....500+ yards....1 punt....Blackshirts my ***.