It’s more obvious than ever.
College football needs a playoff. For the first time in history, the difference between the No. 1 and No. 15 teams in the nation seems negligible.
That means it’s ridiculous to pick two teams at the end of the season with some convoluted formula and have them play for the national title. It’s time to have a national championship that’s earned on the field.
Here’s how it should be done:
- Seed the six BCS conference champions, the best non-BCS team and one at-large team (this leaves room for Notre Dame) in an eight-team bracket.
- Include the current BCS bowl sites plus Atlanta, Dallas and one other city as neutral locations for the games.
- Charge some eager TV network $17 bajillion for the broadcast rights.
There, that was easy. And for you college presidents who pretend to be concerned about academics, we promise we can get this done long before the ridiculous Jan. 7 date when the current season’s BCS title game will be held. So the playoff system won’t interfere with second-semester classes the way the BCS system does.
And you can keep the second- and third-tier bowls operating as rewards for all the teams that have winning records but can’t get into the playoff.
If all the intelligent people who run our nation’s universities can’t figure out a way to implement such a playoff system, well, maybe they’re not as intelligent as we think. – Ken Tysiac
Monday, October 15, 2007
College football needs a playoff
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19 comments:
Truer words were never spoken. Look at how popular the basketball tourney is. Look at how exciting the baseball tourney can be. The whole situation is extremely frustrating.
yep...i'm tired of these polls taking up the momentum in a future game. Playoffs is a very good idea.
16 teams, use the BCS as the seeding process, 1st two rounds played at home so the regular season still means something and someone probably won't have to travel 3 or 4 games, then the semis and finals at a neutral site...still done by the current date...If 1AA and II can have 16 and III has 28 teams, this is possible.
You need 16 teams. If there's such parity 1-15, why limit to 8? Especially this year?
Can you imagine this tournament with LSU but without Florida/Kentucky/South Carolina?
Let's think for a moment, al-beit, a very brief (Jordan Haynes) moment, **Sponsorship**, that TOSTITOS, Poulon?? WEEDEATER, and say, South of the Border (Cotton Bowl 2010), agree....and then, lets imagine that "ONE" "1" Network has the Bajillion, and yes, there is such a number, *this very number has been paid to purchase all precipitation which would have previously fallen over North Carolina, PLEASE, BY ALL MEANS, Let Us not forget about Notre Dame, oh no, and somehow Touchdown Jesus will be brought down before each travel game?? and Starbucks Enriched youth will paste the mosaic on the nearest wall of whatever city they land in, (this year, my bet is OTTOWA), wait, now I need confessional! sigh..... There is much more to this than meets the eye, and here is why. We live in a society, where 14 people are ultimately and hopefully with due dilligence used to decide which brand of toilet tissue to use, and then that choice the one that really matters, still has to pass a vote of oh, 32 more? C'mon, this is not a new discussion (College Football needs a Tournament) rofl (The biggest names, with the largest microphones, have echoed all of it over and over and over again, Hence the BCS.. nor is it one that hasn't been thought out thouroughly from where it really matters, the pocketbook, how will a game in MY city affect MY economy, LETS GET A COMMITEE ON THAT JUNE!! remember this, short note, RACING WAS BUILT HERE, RACING SHOULD STAY HERE, BUT LETS DO EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO HAVE A MAN THREATEN TO PIECE BY PIECE (Move his Track??), the money is made now in Football, and the Big Div. 1 A Teams are happy, End of Story......It took quite some time to get it where it is today, where a #1 plays a #2 at the end of the year, for a possible "Hypothetical" championship, BUT WE WATCH, oh yes, we watch, Texas-USC, we watch, Ohio State-Okhlahoma,Texas A&M-UNLV..didnt happen, just seeing if you are still paying attention.... People Watch, um....USF *University of South Florida ..Bulls..vs Appalachin State Mountaineers? Sure John Carter would, and OKAY, YES, SO WOULD I as long as there is Ham or Turkey left over from what is now an EXTENDED HOLIDAY!. I think that unlike the other sports, Football has a dynamic that doesn't lend itself well for "BRACKETS"....so shoot me, I don't blame anyone for wishing wanting even throwing a dime or two at the three fish by the church rectory beside the green in the hope of a miracle TOURNAMENT, but the games have been better with the changes made and the first few of these have been nothing short of phenomenal, *the bowl games* POPULARITY CONTESTS? hardly, these have been better too there have been some very close games, and even every now and then the upsets, massive, each better than the previous years, and Lo and Behold, Notre Dame is 0-6? and personally, I like anyone *ND COACH* name omitted to protect identity*** who listens to Bon Jovi at 6:00am full tilt, and who has the decency to answer a question about 2 touchdowns that were scored in a loss this past week by some blonde who is smarter than any of us, about who he will start at QB the next week???....We Love It. Playoff, Computer Ratings, Vegas Bookies, or letting Greyhounds Run with Team Names and 1 vs. 3, 2 vs. 4 etc...It really will not matter, until ONE person says, ENOUGH!!! My bet on that ONE person, Dubai's Crown Prince! or McEnroe, he has the Stones!
Please move your crack pipe away from the computer!
Getting back on topic, yes this is definitely needed. Go Bulls!
As fans, if we want a playoff to happen, we must start boycotting bowl games as they exist now. When the $$$ stops flowing to the bowls, then things will change. Otherwise, it won't.
I concur: football needs a playoff. And those people that want a playoff need to start boycotting bowl games (at least). And they need to remind their school's ol' football coach and AD that that going to a toilet bowl does not ensure job security.
Truth be told, I've never watched a BCS bowl game or any other bowl game primarily because they are held with a 3-4 weeks gap after the regular season ends! Which other sport kills momentum like college football does heading into the postseason?
Who thinks Kentucky could beat LSU again? What about App State? One of the best things about COLLEGE football is that every game matters and you don't win all the games you are "supposed to". The pride for your conference and the hatred you feel for other teams and conferences is what makes the college game great. Most college fans will tell you that if their team wins their conference and beats the team you hate, the season is a success. There are only 10 or 15 teams that consistently have a shot at the national championship. Those teams and the sportwriters are the only ones who need a national champion. They should just watch the NFL. The rest of us LIKE arguing about conference strength and the meaning of a win over Bowling Green.
Polls are opinions. Play-offs are proven results.
Let's "play" ball in the play offs!
Please give at least three cheers for Ken Tysiac for having the courage to take on the BCS. The purpose of the BCS is to keep lesser known schools that have no TV market from developing a competitive program and therefore will not likely qualify for a major bowl game. The best recruits naturally want to go to schools that have a chance to play in a major bowl and this puts up and coming programs at a distinct recruiting disadvantage; thus, these school have the deck stacked against them. The BCS method protects television from having to worry about, for example, East Carolina University playing Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl. The BCS is patently unfair and stifles competition.
A playoff makes too much sense. That's why it will never happen.
Here's another reason why it won't happen: the "in" schools are not going to voluntarily give up a huge recruiting advantage. BCS status is a great trump card when recruiting against the Fresno States, Utahs, and Central Florida's of the world.
College football is the last great frontier of elitism. ABC/ESPN/CBS love a cinderella team occasionally, but they don't want anyone or anything to threaten their "franchise" teams like ND, USC, Michigan, Alabama, Texas, etc.
Ken, you're the one who isn't as intelligent as you think. Instituting a playoff system would retain most of the same controversy (Why did Team A get in and not Team B?), while also compromising the significance of the regular season.
Regarding the latter, if conference championships were the determinant, that would leave teams no incentive to play tough non-conference match-ups. Moreover, Michigan's loss to App wouldn't prevent it from being in the playoff, and unbalanced scheduling would mean that someone like Iowa could make it in even though they never had to face their conference's toughest opponents (if they hadn't already lost games to lesser opponents, obviously).
Like it or not, the BCS puts better teams into its title game than the NCAA tournament does, as the latter is all about getting hot at the right time instead of what you've done all season long. The problem is that quite a few fans and columnists don't use their brains to actually consider the ramifications of a change or the merits of a playoff system. If you've honestly considered the flaws of a playoff and still want it, that's one thing, but I've seen no evidence to suggest that you have.
leave out the stupid notre dame comment and it sounds like a plan. just leave two openings for non bcs teams and tell the arrogant azz irish to pick a conference or not be included.
I couldn't agree with your more! However I could disagree more with J.D. I wouldn't underestimate FCS teams like App State. If there are sooooo many problems with the idea of a playoff system then why does College Basketball seem to have absolutely no problem with it? NFL makes it work....oh wait thats right, every other sport makes it work. Just because a team isn't ranked #1 and #2 at the end of the season doesn't mean that team can't play a game and make it interesting. Michigan wrote off App State without a second thought and for those who saw the game can admit that it was interesting. I think a playoff system would prove at the end of the season who deserves the national title.
If all the intelligent people who run our nation’s universities can’t figure out a way to implement such a playoff system, well, maybe they’re not as intelligent as we think. – Ken Tysiac
There's a difference between "intelligent" and "willingness"...
We used to argue over who was #1. Now we argue over who's #s 1 & 2. Now you want to argue over who's #s 1-8? Genius guys. Pure genius...
You know what? Thanks to the playoffs, the Colts-Pats game last week meant squat, diddly and bupkus, all rolled into one. Home field? Please. That's for the fans, and doesn't mean a thing for the players. They have to win no matter who's in the stands.
Florida-LSU? That was an elimination game. Followed the next week by an elimination game, followed the next week by an elimination game. Get the point? These games matter. Pro games don't. Institute a playoff, and it becomes "OK" to lose a game. Great job there guys. That's the way to make college football more fun.
Elimination game? OK, so who eliminated Boise State last year? Oh, that's right, NOBODY!!! They finished the season unbeaten and still weren't allowed to even play for the mythical national title. That's right, I dusted off the old "mythical" term, because it really hasn't changed that much. Until there's a playoff, the legitimacy of the so-called national champion has to be questioned. And if you're not going to crown a champion at the end, what are you playing for anyway? (Aside from the almighty dollar)
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