The Sad Reality of the New Playoff in College Football

[3USC1801]

First, this is an excellent thread. Great points and lucid arguments and discussions all the way around. Thanks @Fried Chicken.

Based on the flawed system, I actually contemplated “what if” . . .

(a.) the SEC reduced the number of in-conference games and
(b.) scheduled weak OOC games in their place.
(c.) And, I even had the thought of “what if” they discontinued the Carolina/Clemson game? Beyond the feel good purpose, the game doesn’t serve any benefit, or didn’t this year for sure. Clemson still backed into the playoffs and USC was still left out (and, yes, making the playoffs is the goal).

As mentioned, Alabama‘s AD has already publicly stated the possibility of changing their schedule since SOS in reality isn’t important to the committee. Now, he may be blowing smoke but it underscores the sentiment that the system is seriously flawed.

The bottom line: if the system isn’t changed to eliminate automatic bids and give weight to SOS, then fans will continue to feel disenfranchised. The whole pretense of moving to a 12 team playoff was to arrive at a fair (!) path to a consensus champion.

 

[Piscis]

Well if they won 3 games and we beat them we can’t take away those 3 wins either. Come on… We can’t ruin the ACC for them. Nobody cares about their 8th title in 10 years. That shows the conference basically has 1 good team. Nobody cares that they beat SMU. Only the automatic bid…

That ACC title 2 years ago was no big deal. But knocking them out of the playoff ruined their title hopes. I don’t care if Clemson wins the ACC. Has nothing to do with us. But again there’s the issue…now they get an automatic bid. Our win should’ve knocked them from the playoffs and everyone knows it should have.

Clemson probably doesn’t even care about the ACC at this point. Better than not winning I guess. It was big this year because they got the automatic bid.

Nothing says a conference is a one team conference more than one team winning the championship 8 out of 10 years.

 

[Piscis]

First, this is an excellent thread. Great points and lucid arguments and discussions all the way around. Thanks @Fried Chicken.

Based on the flawed system, I actually contemplated “what if” . . .

(a.) the SEC reduced the number of in-conference games and
(b.) scheduled weak OOC games in their place.
(c.) And, I even had the thought of “what if” they discontinued the Carolina/Clemson game? Beyond the feel good purpose, the game doesn’t serve any benefit, or didn’t this year for sure. Clemson still backed into the playoffs and USC was still left out (and, yes, making the playoffs is the goal).

As mentioned, Alabama‘s AD has already publicly stated the possibility of changing their schedule since SOS in reality isn’t important to the committee. Now, he may be blowing smoke but it underscores the sentiment that the system is seriously flawed.

The bottom line: if the system isn’t changed to eliminate automatic bids and give weight to SOS, then fans will continue to feel disenfranchised. The whole pretense of moving to a 12 team playoff was to arrive at a fair (!) path to a consensus champion.

The whole purpose of expanding the playoff to 12 teams was to give Disney/ESPN 8 more games to televise and collect ad revenue on. Fairness and creating a consensus champion had nothing to do with the decision.

 

[3USC1801]

The whole purpose of expanding the playoff to 12 teams was to give Disney/ESPN 8 more games to televise and collect ad revenue on. Fairness and creating a consensus champion had nothing to do with the decision.

I hear you. That’s why I used the word “pretense” in my statement.

pretense
noun
a way of behaving that is intended to deceive people

 

[gamecox4982]

How were we penalized by playing Clemson? We gained a win over our rival and bragging rights. We gained momentum. We gained another validating result for Beamer's program growth.

If you're measuring gain/positive results by what might be relevant to the grand scheme of college football, then as a Gamecock fan you're almost always going to be on the outside looking in. We've basically been irrelevant to college football our entire history.

What if we had only two losses going in to the Clemson game ranked 10th and lost. Then the committee dropped us down to 16th, would you feel the same?

 

[will110]

What if we had only two losses going in to the Clemson game ranked 10th and lost. Then the committee dropped us down to 16th, would you feel the same?

Losing to Clemson always sucks, but it would be expected to drop in the polls after losing a game.

I think the rivalry is important and should be continued. Tradition is what makes college football special.

 

[Anon1704296804]

If SOS is not a major factor, then the schedules and the season will be filled with a bunch of meaningless games.
Removing bias has to be the goal going forward and if that means scrapping the ''committee'' then so be it. The current members need some thorough scrutiny.
The current system is filled with inconsistencies and biases which make for a playing field which is not level.

Not sure what is so inconsistent. The selection process is clear. The top 5 Conference Champs get in + ND (if ranked in the top 12). That leaves 6 at-large bids to choose from Texas, Penn St, Ohio St, UT, Indiana, SMU, Bama, UM, SC, Ole Miss. You dont get an auto bid for beating Clemson.

I honestly don’t know why I put “good” in that sentence. Obviously it was nice to beat Clemson. But in the grand scheme of college football, the win meant nothing. We’re ranked in the final rankings in the exact spot we were before the game.

As I mentioned in the post, it felt good because we’re still used to the old way. Of course it’s always good to beat Clemson. But in this system, we’re only penalized by playing them. We gained nothing. That’s bizarre and was the fear for many entering the season. But it’s not just us. Michigan’s win didn’t mean much. Sure the fans loved it, but Ohio State simply loses a bye? Still gets a home playoff game?

It’s only a matter of time before a team decides to sit some key players in a conference championship game, or a rivalry game. And get rewarded for it…based on the current system.

I honestly don’t know why I put “good” in that sentence. Obviously it was nice to beat Clemson. But in the grand scheme of college football, the win meant nothing. We’re ranked in the final rankings in the exact spot we were before the game.

As I mentioned in the post, it felt good because we’re still used to the old way. Of course it’s always good to beat Clemson. But in this system, we’re only penalized by playing them. We gained nothing. That’s bizarre and was the fear for many entering the season. But it’s not just us. Michigan’s win didn’t mean much. Sure the fans loved it, but Ohio State simply loses a bye? Still gets a home playoff game?

It’s only a matter of time before a team decides to sit some key players in a conference championship game, or a rivalry game. And get rewarded for it…based on the current system.

SC wasnt penalized. But you don’t get a CFP bid for being hot at the end of the season and beating the rival. SC still had 3 losses. Yes Clem did too but they won the conference, SC did not.

 

[PrestonyteParrot]

Not sure what is so inconsistent. The selection process is clear. The top 5 Conference Champs get in + ND (if ranked in the top 12). That leaves 6 at-large bids to choose from Texas, Penn St, Ohio St, UT, Indiana, SMU, Bama, UM, SC, Ole Miss. You dont get an auto bid for beating Clemson.



SC wasnt penalized. But you don’t get a CFP bid for being hot at the end of the season and beating the rival. SC still had 3 losses. Yes Clem did too but they won the conference, SC did not.

I assume you are for Clem remaining in the ACC since being in the ACC is the only reason Clem is in the Playoff.

Friedlander: Being in the ACC was the only thing that got Clemson into the Playoff. So why is it still suing to leave?

Clemson might say it wants out of the ACC. But being in the ACC is the only reason the Tigers had a shot at getting into the Playoff this year.

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

 

[3USC1801]

SC wasnt penalized. But you don’t get a CFP bid for being hot at the end of the season and beating the rival. SC still had 3 losses. Yes Clem did too but they won the conference, SC did not.

It’s bad for the game when a team (Clemson) that has “just 1 victory against an opponent with a winning record“ is still gifted a playoff seating.

Face it, teams that play stronger opponents are penalized under the current setup.

 

[Gamecock72]

They are promoting P4 vs weak GO5 or FCS out-of-conference games with undervaluing SOS and SOR. I know many want to argue that it was not the OOC games that cost Bama and others, but that still does not change the fact that they are making it clear there is no reason to schedule any OOC games with P4 teams. It offers no benefit.

Alabama has future OOC games scheduled with FSU (2024, 2026), Wisconsin (2025), WVU (2026, 2027), Ohio State (2027, 2028), Oklahoma State (2028, 2029), Notre Dame (2029, 2030), Georgia Tech (2030, 2031), BC (2031, 2034), Arizona (2032, 2033), Va Tech (2034, 2035).

South Carolina has Va Tech (2025, 2034, 2035), Miami (2026, 2027), UNC (2028, 2029), NC State (2030, 2031) plus Clemson each year.

Clemson has LSU (2025, 2026), Georgia (2029, 2030, 2032, 2033) Oklahoma (2035, 2036) plus USC every year. They also have Notre Dame (2027, 2028, 2031, 2034, 2037) but I did not include those since it is part of the ACC contract.

But what is the benefit to those teams for playing those games? Unless something changes and they put more weight on SOS/SOR, I would not be shocked to see many of those games canceled.

And no I am not saying USC should have gotten in this year. I have no beef with USC being left out. And if they want to continue to not reward the SOS/SOR, that is just fine but be prepared for the consequences of losing future top-ranked OOC football games. They will become a thing of the past.

 

[atl-cock]

As of now it isn’t diminished. I covered that multiple times saying we still view these games the old way.

But College Football is becoming more like the NFL. Teams don’t get bragging rights in the NFL by beating someone but missing the playoff while the other team makes it. Over time, it’ll move towards that. Over time a team won’t have anything to play for / gain in the rivalry game and will rest starters. It will happen eventually. It may be 10 years from now. But it’ll happen. Because that’s where we’re headed…NFL version of a college football.

Srill, this is one aspect of the change hurting the regular season. The scheduling is absolutely going to happen. A lot of fun matchups will go away because there is no reason to play a tough out of conference schedule.

Hopefully, the committee which issues "at large" invitations to the dance will adjust the criteria to encourage tough OOC regular season games. This being the first year, I'll cut them some slack as a learning experience.

 

[PrestonyteParrot]

Hopefully, the committee which issues "at large" invitations to the dance will adjust the criteria to encourage tough OOC regular season games. This being the first year, I'll cut them some slack as a learning experience.

The question is, did they learn anything and will it matter. The deficiencies are staring them in the face but those who benefit do not want it to change.

 

[atl-cock]

Hopefully, the committee which issues "at large" invitations to the dance will adjust the criteria to encourage tough OOC regular season games. This being the first year, I'll cut them some slack as a learning experience.

The question is, did they learn anything and will it matter. The deficiencies are staring them in the face but those who benefit do not want it to change.

The contemporary beneficiaries would do well to understand that times change and schools/team evolve.

It may take a few years with more data to get it right. As the talk about expanding to 16 continues, that too will play into it.

Eventually, I want to see the entire FBS playoffs conducted completely independent of the bowls. Higher seed hosts until the championship game, which should be played on a neutral field,

 

[KingWard]

I warned y'all that expanding the playoff only benefitted pretenders. Well, you got it; I hope you like it.

 

[atl-cock]

I warned y'all that expanding the playoff only benefitted pretenders. Well, you got it; I hope you like it.

Lots of pretenders have danced in football in every other collegiate division as well as in all divisions for every other sport.

Who knows, the Clemron at Texas game might even be entertaning.

 

[lexgamecock]

I think after this year there will be changes to the selection process. When the teams that have not played anyone get massacred. Do you want the teams with the most wins or the best wins?

 

[KingWard]

Lots of pretenders have danced in football in every other collegiate division as well as in all divisions for every other sport.

Who knows, the Clemron at Texas game might even be entertaning.

In the four-team playoff, all they had to do is make sure that, whatever team won it, that team deserved to be there. As far as I can see, it worked EVERY time. Even if a team got upset in the final game, the team that won deserved the championship. EVERY time.

 

[atl-cock]

In the four-team playoff, all they had to do is make sure that, whatever team won it, that team deserved to be there. As far as I can see, it worked EVERY time. Even if a team got upset in the final game, the team that won deserved the championship. EVERY time.

I doubt that will change at all.

 

[atl-cock]

I think after this year there will be changes to the selection process. When the teams that have not played anyone get massacred. Do you want the teams with the most wins or the best wins?

Exactly. A work in progress.

 

[KingWard]

I doubt that will change at all.

If that's the case, there's no need to change anything. But regardless, for certain, there is more opportunity for attrition in this system. That alone will change outcomes.

 

[DarkCock]

When the new format was announced, many felt like it would ruin the excitement around the regular season. But as the season unfolded, we heard sports media talk about this being the most exciting college football season in recent memory. But the reality is it was all manufactured by hypothetical polls and speculation. There was an excitement due to the unknown of the playoff. How would it work? How would the committee choose? Games down the stretch were billed as “win and you’re in” matchups.

But the reality is it’s doing exactly what fans were concerned about and it only took 1 year to do it. Rivalry games were still big, because fans are used to that. In our minds and hearts, we’re still stuck in the old way. But the fact is the biggest Palmetto Bowl perhaps in the history of the series meant nothing good. The major upset by Michigan over Ohio State that would’ve ended their hopes…meant nothing. As soon as we beat Clemson, I was almost as happy about beating them as I was about the fact we knocked them out of the playoff…like we did 2 years ago. But nope.

After one year teams are already re-evaluating how they will schedule going forward. Instead of good OOC matchups we’ll see more boring games from week to week. This will be felt more than it was in the past as we now have a 12 game schedule…33% of games will be against cupcakes for many teams. Carolina and Clemson really should consider whether or not playing each other benefits them. Based on the new playoff format, the answer is no. Let’s be clear, that game wasn’t meaningless. It was far worse than meaningless. It was only possible to hurt ourselves in it. Clemson would’ve been in top 12 and probably had a bye had they just played SC State. I don’t ever want that game to go away. But we’re only hurting ourselves by playing it. We won and moved up one spot, which we eventually lost when we didn’t play this week. What would’ve happened had we lost? There was nothing to gain by playing a Top 12 team on the road the final week of the season? Make it make sense….

In year 1 this admittedly felt exciting. But when you step back and look at what just happened the final week of the year, it’s going to prompt major changes. And I’m not just talking about the format of the playoff which will change too. I’m talking about the regular season. This pretty much ended any chance of the SEC going to a 9-game conference schedule as well. Why would they? The next 2-3 years are going to be interesting. We’ll enjoy the playoffs each year. But the college football experience just shifted dramatically. The SC and Michigan wins 2 weeks ago are proof of that.

Agreed. Complete train wreck.

 

[atl-cock]

Agreed. Complete train wreck.

Too early to tell. Adjustments are certainly needed in the criteria for selecting at-large dancers.

 

[KingWard]

Too early to tell. Adjustments are certainly needed in the criteria for selecting at-large dancers.

It's needed all the way around. NO automatic bids.

 

[Piscis]

It's needed all the way around. NO automatic bids.

I think it should be the other way, all teams in the playoff should be automatic bids because they are all conference champions. If a team doesn't win its conference, it certainly shouldn't be able to be national champion.

Expanding the playoff is nothing more than creating more ad dollars for Disney/ESPN. The expansion had nothing to do with finding a true national champion.

 

[KingWard]

I think it should be the other way, all teams in the playoff should be automatic bids because they are all conference champions. If a team doesn't win its conference, it certainly shouldn't be able to be national champion.

Expanding the playoff is nothing more than creating more ad dollars for Disney/ESPN. The expansion had nothing to do with finding a true national champion.

That assumes equality among conferences, which is errant right out of the gate. Load the strength requisites in the computer and let the computer churn out the 12 best, or however many best.

 

[Yard_Pimps]

I think after this year there will be changes to the selection process. When the teams that have not played anyone get massacred. Do you want the teams with the most wins or the best wins?

There is a contract.

 

[Psycock]

Go to 16 teams, get rid of the stupid automatic byes. I say forget the conference champion automatic berths. If you aren`t one of the best 16 teams you don`t deserve it. It should be really simple - have the format like it is now but just take 1-16 in the final poll. Sure 17 & 18 will be pissed but Clemson came very close to being #4 and getting an automatic bye which would have made a true mockery( almost one anyway) of the playoff system.

 

[atl-cock]

I think it should be the other way, all teams in the playoff should be automatic bids because they are all conference champions. If a team doesn't win its conference, it certainly shouldn't be able to be national champion.

Expanding the playoff is nothing more than creating more ad dollars for Disney/ESPN. The expansion had nothing to do with finding a true national champion.

Correct - it's all about entertainment and $$$.