T1B

I think he had this same format proposed last year but he's bringing up the idea again...a 16-team playoff.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news?slug ... &type=lgns

Hypothetically, I'd say 8 teams is better because the idea of having every conference represented seemed like a good idea before but when you consider all of these small conferences are essentially massacred by the BCS conferences in the non-conference season since that's mostly who they schedule, they're proven to already be inferior opponents. You'll get the odd team like a Boise State, Utah or Hawaii that will rack up an undefeated or one loss season, which will include a win or two over a BCS conference team. Rarely is it over a powerhouse but they can rise up and beat a middle level major conference team on more of a regular basis.

I think you can virtually keep the BCS format but with 8 teams instead of the 10 they've gone to now. Pretty soon, that's going to be a bloated format where they'll let 2, 4 or even more teams in and it'll start resembling a tournament field without the actual brackets. Teams have to qualify to get into that already by winning their conference or by having a strong regular season. Take the 6 conference champs plus two at-larges. What to do with a situation like Hawaii this year, record-wise they deserve to play for a national title but you wish they had that one quality win over a notable team that gives them more credibility. Honestly, a 3-loss Florida or Illinois is better than Hawaii and would fair better in a playoff against the nation's elite. Is Hawaii one of the 8 best teams in America this year? I don't think so but at least under the present format, they'll get their chance to play a top 10 team in a major bowl game to show whether they can hang with the big dogs.


This is the spot where Dins flips out and calls me Schotzie a half dozen times and tells me to shut up every other sentence...

...and begin

Shoalzie wrote:Teams have to qualify to get into that already by winning their conference or by having a strong regular season. Take the 6 conference champs plus two at-larges.

I am a big fan of ^this^ idea as opposed to the 16-team format. Although if there were ever a 16-team field, I would prefer Wetzel's idea (including mid-major conference winners) over just the Top 16 teams in a random poll. I also like his idea of playing at least the first round of games ON CAMPUS. I think that could apply to an 8-teamer as well.

8-team/conference champion format for this season might look like this, hypothetically:

1. West Virginia (Big East champ)
2. Missouri (Big XII champ)
3. Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
4. LSU (SEC champ)
5. USC (Pac-10 champ)
6. Boston College (ACC champ)
------------
7. Georgia (At-large)
8. Hawaii (At-large)

Dec. 8th

[8] Hawaii @ [1] West Virginia

[5] USC @ [4] LSU

[6] Boston College @ [3] Ohio State

[7] Georgia @ [2] Missouri


After that, you could either play the semifinal games on campus the next week and let the bowl games stay in tact, picking up all the teams as what happens currently.

Or play the semifinal games at bowl sites Jan. 1st and play the championship game a week after that.

Either way, at least in this situation:

a) An argument over who's the bottom two teams in the playoff is better than an argument over who's the top two teams
b) The importance of the regular season remains in tact, as you'd better win your conference or else you need LOTS of help
c) Teams that are 10-2 / 9-3 / 8-4 that don't even win their conference are rarely in the discussion for a national championship, just as it is now

I know, I know. Another playoff thread. Where's Terry & Mgo at?

^ Works for me...other than the potential bickering about Hawaii.

no playoff without NCAA generated OOC schedules will ever work.. after one year of a team taking second in a major confernce but with an OOC loss or 2 vs good OOC quality teams knocks them out of a playoff bid.... No more tough OOC games.... everyone will play only scrubs

I am all for the Wetzel plan with the exception of a Mid-Major Champion must meet certain criteria. A team like Central Michigan would lose thier slot to an at-large program because they did not win a non-conference game. I know, I know...this would probably spawn cupcake schedules for all of the mid-majors; however, a playoff would probably generate more away games played by the big powerhouses if they can be ranked 8th or 9th in the nation and still have one or two conference losses. This levels the playing field a bit when it comes to scheduling non-conference foes.

We would probably see more matchups like the Texas @ UCF matchup we saw earlier this year if Wetzel's plan were to take affect. All these Mid-majors have to hold onto today is the slim chance they get an at-large BCS bid if they play a cupcake schedule and go undefeated. Even if they win, all they get is a big check and what else? A high ranking? Big whoop. Powerhouses would be more open to traveling to play legit mid-major competition under the newly proposed plan. Games like the one mentioned above is probably more likely to happen if there are 5 or 6 at-large bids for the tournament of 16. Schools wouldn't have to worry about 2 losses ending their hopes of a national title shot and we would probably see more mathcups like Arizona St. @ Tulsa, or Michigan @ Southern Miss, or Oklahoma @ Troy.

If the powerhouses start to travel during non-conference games, then the better the system is and the idea of cinderella knocking off a big dog is still inticing to just about everyone.

Trying to keep some semblance of reality here, there is zero chance that CFB can go from no true champion to 8/16 team playoff format overnight. Hell the re-naming of the subdivisions tells you all you need to know. The former 1-AA is where they play for championships, the former 1-A is where they play for bowls.

That said, to arrive at a playoff/true champ baby steps are needed and holding to some form of "tradition" is required. So I think the only realistic first step toward a playoff is the And1 mixtape tour, errr, plus 1 format. The BCS crap would remain virtually unchanged and the top 4 teams get seeded and play their bowl games 1v4 & 2v3 with the two winning teams playing a title game 2 weeks later. That would pacify the powers that be/status quo crowd and at the same time drop the M from the MNC.

If we take a trip into Never Happen Land then I say an 8 team playoff is the best, with the first round being played in mid-December at the home field of the higher seeds, the second round being played in the bowl games and then a national championship game.

SoCalTrjn wrote:no playoff without NCAA generated OOC schedules will ever work.. after one year of a team taking second in a major confernce but with an OOC loss or 2 vs good OOC quality teams knocks them out of a playoff bid.... No more tough OOC games.... everyone will play only scrubs

I agree NCAA mandated scheduling is the only plausible resolve to the situation. The current system gives none of the mid-majors any control over who they play unless of course they have to play in the perenial powerhouses backyards.

What kind of Big Time Football is it?

College football, maybe?


So, should the kids all skip the holiday breal for this, or are you proposing they just take the entire spring term off to play a couple of extra games to keep people from bitching?


They're students, people... don't lose sight of that.


But if Wetzel thinks it's a good idea, it probably isn't. I'm suprised he stopped short of renaming it the Wetzel Championship Series.


Geez, and you people think I'm an arrogant windbag? I can't carry Wetzel's jock when it comes to being a self-worshipping wordsmith.


Wetzel's latest column mentions how the Partriots getting caught cheating was a good thing. Nuff said?


Oh, here's a gem:

Dan Wetzel wrote:The people to remember in thoughts and prayers are the families and friends of those dealing with death and injury, with life-altering moments that they had nothing to do with

Uhm, Dan... uhm, actually, the players' parents had a great deal to do with raising their sons to be gangstas, which seems to be getting them killed at an alarming clip.


Dude's a fucking idiot.

There will never be a playoff because of the economics of College Football.
The NCAA basketball tournament directs all the money to the NCAA, it then distributes the money as it sees fit and keeps the rest for themselves. The NCAA doesnt get their peace of the bowl games, that money goes straight to the conferences who distributes it among the schools in the conference. If they were to go to a playoff for football, the NCAA would take all the money first and the conferences are not prepared to give that up