Somebody always gets screwed. Left out of the title game or the crazy computer rankings leave them out altogether.
It's been bad in the past but this year could be the apocalypse.
Let's consider some scenarios and breakdown what's wrong.
Of the three big undefeated teams (Alabama, TT, PSU) all could lose.
Alabama and Texas Tech will lose.
Tech has to beat Oklahoma St, win at Oklahoma and defeat Missouri (maybe Kansas) in the Big 12 champ game to run the table. Sorry, not going to happen.
Alabama has to win at LSU and beat Florida in the SEC champ game. Florida is the better team, LSU is tough at home. They are going down before bowl season comes.
That leaves Penn State. Now although the Nittany Lions schedule is a joke, Michgan State could give them problems but they get them in Happy Valley. Win or lose we are stuck with a big problem.
We will have a Big 12 champ with at least one loss but coming out of the best conference in college football and the toughest in recent memory. Behind them there will be three or four really good teams that may all belong in the Top 10.
If Oklahoma wins out do they get in? Texas loses on the last play of the game at Texas Tech after knocking off OU, Missouri and OK state in consecutive weeks. OK State's only loss to this point was by four points at Texas. All four play in the same Big 12 division and no more than two will make the BCS.
There could be a one loss Florida team emerging from a very good SEC conference that features three other Top 15 schools. Alabama could be 12-1 having won at LSU and Georgia.
USC could have just one loss but touts a defense that has allowed more than 10 points just once so far this season (27 in a loss at Oregon State) and has give up just 10 points in their last four games combined.
Boise State is undefeated in the WAC and the Moutain West boasts a trio of teams Utah (9-0), TCU (9-1) and BYU (8-1) that should all not be overlooked. Even Ball State is 8-0 right now and leading the MAC.
The consensus among pro-playoff advocates is a 8 team system. I disagree.
Unless you are willing to do away with automatic bids for weak conferences like the ACC - Honestly, whoever comes out of that mess would be like the 7th best team in the Big 12 or force the Pac-10/Big 10 to play title games - There has to be more than 8 spots.
Having 2 at-large bids with these stacked conferences is absurd.
My suggestion is a 12 team playoff like the NFL does with the top-4 teams getting a bye. Have the Pac-10 and Big Ten do title games and give those winners and the winners of the Big 12 and SEC byes. Then there are 8 spots left.
If you want to give auto bids to the ACC and Big East that's fine but they don't get to host a game unless their seed warrants it. Most importantly that leaves 6 more spots for your cinderella types like Boise State and your really good non-conference winners like say Texas and Florida that might be in a fifth place game under the current BCS umbrella but should no doubt get a crack at the National Championship.
If Fresno State and George Mason have a chance in college baseball and basketball it can't be too much to ask for 12 teams including the likes of TCU or Ball State to get that opportunity in football.
First and second round matchups would be home games for the lower seed. The final four would be at regional sites like the basketball is.
Based on that formula and the current BCS Standings a 12-team playoff would look like this:
Byes
(1) Alabama
(2) Texas Tech
(3) Penn State
(4) USC
First Round games
(5) Texas vs (12) West Virginia
(6) Florida vs (11) North Carolina
(7) Oklahoma vs (10) Boise State
(8) Utah vs (9) Oklahoma State
If everybody wins who is supposed to Utah goes to Alabama, Oklahoma to Texas Tech, Florida to Penn State and Texas to USC.
The four winners advance to the semi-finals.
The wild card weekend so to speak is the week/weekend prior to Christmas. The Elite Eight takes place Christmas week/weekend. The Final Four with the two big semi-final games take place back-to-back on New Years and the championship game occurs the following week like the BCS champ does currently.
Not only does this system decide the best team, afford more home games to the schools, but it also ensures a better quality product/game since the layover between the final regular season games and the first round would be about three weeks maximum.
The Big 12 gets four teams in but that reflects the strength of that conference so far this season. Next year it could be three Big 10 or SEC teams but it leaves the door open for some flexibility and most importantly room for the most competitive, deserving teams.
2 comments:
Tucker, i have been and will continue to be a big proponent of a playoff but your talking about adding up to 4-5 games for teams and that is just too much. (5 games for big and pac 10)
It seems to me that a playoff would be good but it needs to start during the season and for a true SOS rating and SOC rating the games need to be decided at the end of each season and cannot be decided by the AD's of the schools.
I love the big 10, but seeing a team get to play powder puff games against mac and worse leagues and then make the BCS title game is a joke. We need to see more games like USC-Ohio state during the year to really let teams separate themselves from one another. Further only 1/2 the schedule should be set up through like week 6, 7, or 8 and then we should see the playoff bracket start. This would allow teams to keep down the number of games while truly letting them control their own destiny.
However, your still going to get teams left out. Look at this years BIG 12 at least on of those teams would have to get out, how can you bring 4 or more teams from the same conference? On top of that right now we hear the bitching from numbers 3-5 about how they should be in the game...under your system the bitching would come from teams 11-20 instead.
On top of all of that you would be talking about changing rivalry week...idk about you but i start getting amped to see Michigan destroy those buckeye bitches in the horse shoe or the big house...like 15-20 mins after the game ends....Looking into the sad eyes of the sweater vest as rich-rod and the boys bounce of the field...its going be awesome
Anyways, before i would want to see a playoff i want to see the NCAA schedule the games for the season and not the athletic directors, out-of-conference games need to be about determining Strength of Conference not ability to maintain enough focus to beat Ap State...
put that in your blog and choke on it
kisses
-the domination station
I agree rivalry games are important, of all the games to take out those are not the one. I don't think college kids should be subjected to too many games either but the current system just flat out eliminates the opportunity for more than 2 teams to be champion and no other major American sport, pro or college does this.
What I would suggest then is a ten game schedule. These rivalry games could still be played cause they are in-conference and the non-conference easy games would be almost eliminated.
Under that format, only two teams would play 15 games and the others no more than 14.
NFL playoff teams play at least 20 with preseason games so at least you are keeping the numbers down below that.
Post a Comment