What the CFP has shown us is the BCS was all we needed.

[Dawgzilla]

You'll see less semi-final blowouts with an expanded playoff.

By going to 12 & giving the top 4 byes, the Cincinnatis & Michigan's would've been weeded out in the quarterfinals.

Who are these better teams? Michigan beat the snot out of OSU and Iowa to end the season. I still think they are the third best team in the country. I think they had a better chance of beating Bama than UGA, because UGA's defense is so much better..

But your point is taken....if there is a better team than Michigan out there, I wouldn't mind giving them the chance to prove it.

 

[Dawgzilla]

All the BCS proved to me was that we needed a playoff system. Several years, the BCS came down to 3 potential teams, and there was much controversy over who got left out. We would have had the same situation this year, with controversy over Michigan and UGA, and Chik Fil A crying they weren't given a chance.

I'm a traditionalist, and I always preferred the old subjective bowl system. It was dumb, but I enjoyed every game being meaningful, and I even enjoyed the controversy over who should be called the champion. Bowl season was much more fun, since strength of schedule got tested.

The BCS destroyed most of that and made the bowl games meaningless. There was still controversy, but the controversy ended once the games were played.

We need a meaningful playoff. It will water down the regular season, and it might further harm attendance for teams out of contention. But the game is on a collision course anyway, so lelet'just just squeeze as much money out of it as we can.

 

[BigDawg0074]

I’m not sure what can be done at this point. It’s hard to pick top four when there are a bunch of one loss teams. Adding another game seems like a stretch to me. Top eight will probably result in better playoff games but I doubt it will change the balance of NCAA football or change the few who win every year.

 

[paindonthurt]

So money?

 

[paindonthurt]

So you think only humans who have bias, emotions, etc are better than the bcs?

The bcs was a good system. Could have easily improved the formulas.

 

[Go Budaw]

the regular season with almost no stakes beyond in or out of the tournament that no one cares about is the problem.

College football had by far the most meaningful regular season of any sport. It’s already been diluted in the playoff. And apparently a majority of people wish to dilute it further. I guess in their ideal world they can tune in Nov1 and start caring about games, similar to the college basketball season for the vast majority of the people watching the tourney.

Please explain how more teams being in contention for longer dilutes the regular season. In the current format you have maybe 6-7 serious contenders by the time mid- November rolls around. Every game not involving one or both teams being from that group of 6-7 is meaningless. In a 12-team format, you have 15-20 in contention. Every game still matters….you won’t have 9-3 teams making a 12 team playoff unless they have a really strong strength of schedule.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

So money?

$ure. It's funny how sports turns conservatives into socialists and liberals into hardcore capitalists.

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

College football had by far the most meaningful regular season of any sport. It’s already been diluted in the playoff. And apparently a majority of people wish to dilute it further. I guess in their ideal world they can tune in Nov1 and start caring about games, similar to the college basketball season for the vast majority of the people watching the tourney.

BCS to 4-team CFP didn't dilute college football's regular season. There are more meaningful games in October/November now because fewer teams are eliminated in the first month of the season. The inevitable expansion to 8 to 12 teams will provide even more meaningful games in the regular season as even more teams are competing for a spot in the CFP (and seeding).

 

[QuaoarsKing]

the regular season with almost no stakes beyond in or out of the tournament that no one cares about is the problem.

College football had by far the most meaningful regular season of any sport. It’s already been diluted in the playoff. And apparently a majority of people wish to dilute it further. I guess in their ideal world they can tune in Nov1 and start caring about games, similar to the college basketball season for the vast majority of the people watching the tourney.

A larger playoff makes the regular season MORE meaningful, for a lot more teams, for a lot longer.

2015 - We're lined up to go to the 24-team playoff, but we lose the Egg Bowl so we miss it.
2017 - We're lined up to go to the 24-team playoff, but we lose the Egg Bowl so we miss it.
2021 - We're lined up to go to the 24-team playoff, but we lose the Egg Bowl so we miss it.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

So you think only humans who have bias, emotions, etc are better than the bcs?

The bcs was a good system. Could have easily improved the formulas.

I didn't say that at all.

Fair mathematically valid computer polls >>>>>>>>>>>> humans >>>>>>>>>> the secret, corrupt BCS formula that was mathematically invalid on purpose

Bring on the computers. Just not the BCS formula.

 

[kired]

It’s like I’ve always said. A playoff / tournament doesn’t prove who’s the best team - it crowns a champion out of a pool of great teams. College football was the only major sport in America without a legitimate way to crown a champion. Even freaking NASCAR began changing their format before college football.

Who cares what the score of semifinal games are? The playoff isn’t there to give us close games - it’s to crown a champion by proving it on the field against the best teams in the country. Just like we did in baseball this year.

 

[engie]

Please explain how more teams being in contention for longer dilutes the regular season. In the current format you have maybe 6-7 serious contenders by the time mid- November rolls around. Every game not involving one or both teams being from that group of 6-7 is meaningless. In a 12-team format, you have 15-20 in contention. Every game still matters….you won’t have 9-3 teams making a 12 team playoff unless they have a really strong strength of schedule.

You explained it to yourself well enough. How does 3 mulligans not marginalize the importance of every game to a tremendous extent?

 

[engie]

A larger playoff makes the regular season MORE meaningful, for a lot more teams, for a lot longer.

2015 - We're lined up to go to the 24-team playoff, but we lose the Egg Bowl so we miss it.
2017 - We're lined up to go to the 24-team playoff, but we lose the Egg Bowl so we miss it.
2021 - We're lined up to go to the 24-team playoff, but we lose the Egg Bowl so we miss it.

ah, so it’s really about getting MSU a participation trophy instead of what’s best for the game overall? Got it.

 

[engie]

Even freaking NASCAR began changing their format before college football

It seems to have really worked out great for them too**

Turns out a sizable contingent of people value being the best over the cumulative total of a season rather than just crowning who gets hot at the end…

 

[Go Budaw]

You explained it to yourself well enough. How does 3 mulligans not marginalize the importance of every game to a tremendous extent?

There aren’t 3 mulligans except for very exceptional circumstances. The only way a 3-loss team probably ever gets in would be something like a 3-loss SEC West team that also draws both UF and UGA in the East, or a team that is a Power 5 conference champion (like Utah this year).

Top 12 of the CFP this year only has one 3-loss team. And its already very possible for 2-loss teams to get in….that **** happened even with the old BCS.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

ah, so it’s really about getting MSU a participation trophy instead of what’s best for the game overall? Got it.

I think you know that that's not my point. I'm just using an example that we're all familiar with.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

It seems to have really worked out great for them too**

Turns out a sizable contingent of people value being the best over the cumulative total of a season rather than just crowning who gets hot at the end…

It would be pretty rare for a 24-team playoff champion not to have the best resume over the course of the season.

Like, yes, it would be possible a 9-3 SEC team sneaks in and takes down a 12-0 SEC team that already beat them in the CFP championship game, but something like that would happen very rarely, and the positives of the expanded playoff drastically outweigh the negatives.

Like is it possible that Kentucky would run all the way to the championship game and beat Georgia there to win the title? Yes. Would Georgia still have the better resume over the course of the season? Yes. Would it be kinda lame to call Kentucky the "national champions" over Georgia? Yes.

Is there any chance in hell that happens? Not really. Is the fear of that extremely far-fetched scenario a reasonable justification not to expand the playoff? Not at all.

 

[Go Budaw]

ah, so it’s really about getting MSU a participation trophy instead of what’s best for the game overall? Got it.

What’s best for the game overall is for more than 20% of Power 5 to have a chance to ever play for a national title. MSU along with the rest of the 80% will never, ever get into a 4-team CFP. That’s a far bigger actual problem for both MSU and college football as a whole than your concern about a diluted regular season.

How could it be any more diluted than knowing you have a 0% chance of playing for the title before the first game even kicks off? Even with a 12 team playoff, its only going to be a once every 10-15 year occurrence for us to get in, but at least its not 0%.

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

You explained it to yourself well enough. How does 3 mulligans not marginalize the importance of every game to a tremendous extent?

I haven't seen you address the main rebuttal to your claim that the CFP dilutes the regular season: CFP (and expanded CFP) makes the regular season more meaningful by increasing the number of teams in contention and therefore the number of meaningful games.

 

[mstateglfr]

But Bama already blew out Georgia. They should be the champs if they beat Michigan. Georgia shouldn’t get a second chance.

The situation you comain about happens all the time in sports. Playoffs are separate from regular season.

In MLB, the NBA, the NFL, etc- teams meet for the championship having already played prior to the playoffs.
Do you really think that when that situation happens, the championship should just be cancelled and whoever won more games head to head prior to the playoffs is the champ?

 

[Go Budaw]

It seems to have really worked out great for them too**

Turns out a sizable contingent of people value being the best over the cumulative total of a season rather than just crowning who gets hot at the end…

OK. If that’s your way of thinking, there is no need to even have a postseason. Just vote who the best teams are in the second week of December and call it a day.

 

[BigDawg0074]

ah, so it’s really about getting MSU a participation trophy instead of what’s best for the game overall? Got it.

What would be best for the game overall is more playoff games. Playoffs themselves are additional games that directly lead to a championship. By your logic, any team in the BCS system or the current four team system that has two losses might as well quit because they can’t get in. No other game on their schedule matters. That means the vast majority of games for the vast majority of teams mean nothing. With more playoffs two loss teams still have a shot and therefore the rest of their games are still important. Hence there would be more important games on the schedule in addition to the added playoff games.

 

[BigDawg0074]

After today's performances, why should Michigan or Cincinnati get a chance?

After today’s performance they won’t. The ranking was based on prior performance against other teams.

 

[Smoked Toag]

But they’re not playing A&M again. They’re playing Georgia. Who they already blew out. And I hate Bama. But it’s true.

Those days are over. We screwed that up when we let Alabama get a second chance at LSU in 2011. But now that we have, the cat is out of the bag. Now we KNOW that the most deserving team isn't always 1 or 2. I mean in the very first year of the playoff, Ohio State blew out both rounds from the #4 spot.

It's over, man. No more BCS.

 

[engie]

I haven't seen you address the main rebuttal to your claim that the CFP dilutes the regular season: CFP (and expanded CFP) makes the regular season more meaningful by increasing the number of teams in contention and therefore the number of meaningful games.

Your logic failure is unworthy of rebuke. Looking at the yin, ignoring the yang

 

[Smoked Toag]

What’s best for the game overall is for more than 20% of Power 5 to have a chance to ever play for a national title. MSU along with the rest of the 80% will never, ever get into a 4-team CFP. That’s a far bigger actual problem for both MSU and college football as a whole than your concern about a diluted regular season.

How could it be any more diluted than knowing you have a 0% chance of playing for the title before the first game even kicks off? Even with a 12 team playoff, its only going to be a once every 10-15 year occurrence for us to get in, but at least its not 0%.

THIS. It's about everybody having HOPE, and staying engaged. They are going to lose the sport if the current status quo continues. Everything will change too, including recruiting. We'll have a better shot at better players because Alabama won't be the only team that can sell them on the playoff.

 

[Smoked Toag]

It’s like I’ve always said. A playoff / tournament doesn’t prove who’s the best team - it crowns a champion out of a pool of great teams. College football was the only major sport in America without a legitimate way to crown a champion. Even freaking NASCAR began changing their format before college football.

Who cares what the score of semifinal games are? The playoff isn’t there to give us close games - it’s to crown a champion by proving it on the field against the best teams in the country. Just like we did in baseball this year.

Thank you. Not sure why most people don't understand this. MSU wasn't the best baseball team last year, but we were the champion. THAT is what sports is all about. Football has been doing this political 'wHo Is ThE bEsT' nonsense for over 100 years, it's time to finally end the ******** and play it on the field.

 

[engie]

What would be best for the game overall is more playoff games. Playoffs themselves are additional games that directly lead to a championship. By your logic, any team in the BCS system or the current four team system that has two losses might as well quit because they can’t get in. No other game on their schedule matters. That means the vast majority of games for the vast majority of teams mean nothing. With more playoffs two loss teams still have a shot and therefore the rest of their games are still important. Hence there would be more important games on the schedule in addition to the added playoff games.

It’s really something the tunnel vision with which a whole bunch of you only see half the equation. The amount of heart that goes into each individual game declines as mulligans get added. Literally, where every moment was make or break before, now you can shrug your shoulders and move on. All these proposals give about 8 teams a two loss cushion to still have title chances.

 

[Smoked Toag]

Your logic failure is unworthy of rebuke. Looking at the yin, ignoring the yang

The top teams will still be playing for seeding. And is anybody really mad if Bama is 9-0 and overlooks some teams because they know they are already in the playoff?

You're flat out wrong on this one. Thankfully your 2004 thinking is going the way of the VCR.

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

Looking at the yin, ignoring the yang

Yes, but why are you ignoring it?

 

[Smoked Toag]

It’s really something the tunnel vision with which a whole bunch of you only see half the equation. The amount of heart that goes into each individual game declines as mulligans get added. Literally, where every moment was make or break before, now you can shrug your shoulders and move on. All these proposals give about 8 teams a two loss cushion to still have title chances.

They damn near get that anyway, based on the name on their jersey. Auburn was going to the playoff in 2017 if, get this, they hadn't played in the SEC championship. And because they did, freaking Alabama got in, who Auburn beat (and Auburn had scheduled harder). Listen to how ridiculous that sounds. It's time for these dumb politics to go away.

None of this should matter. Play it on the field. Shorten the regular season. It will still be huge.

 

[engie]

The top teams will still be playing for seeding. And is anybody really mad if Bama is 9-0 and overlooks some teams because they know they are already in the playoff?

You're flat out wrong on this one. Thankfully your 2004 thinking is going the way of the VCR.

I’m glad you are looking forward to the future where you start paying attention to what’s going on in the landscape around the country about the time conference tournaments kick off. Just like college basketball. Forgive me if that isn’t the path I prefer.

 

[BulldogLegacy]

So let me ask your feelings on the NCAAB tourney then? Is it flawed?

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

It’s really something the tunnel vision with which a whole bunch of you only see half the equation. The amount of heart that goes into each individual game declines as mulligans get added. Literally, where every moment was make or break before, now you can shrug your shoulders and move on. All these proposals give about 8 teams a two loss cushion to still have title chances.

You seem to be conflating the importance of a small number of games for a meaningful regular season.

 

[Go Budaw]

It’s really something the tunnel vision with which a whole bunch of you only see half the equation. The amount of heart that goes into each individual game declines as mulligans get added. Literally, where every moment was make or break before, now you can shrug your shoulders and move on. All these proposals give about 8 teams a two loss cushion to still have title chances.

Ahh yes. The good ole days. I remember when Auburn in 2004 and Boise State in 2006 came out on top of every single one of those make or break moments. Conquered every challenge…which made it all the more meaningful when they were each handsomely rewarded with….oh wait, never mind.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

It’s really something the tunnel vision with which a whole bunch of you only see half the equation. The amount of heart that goes into each individual game declines as mulligans get added. Literally, where every moment was make or break before, now you can shrug your shoulders and move on. All these proposals give about 8 teams a two loss cushion to still have title chances.

Good. One fluke loss shouldn't ruin your season. It doesn't in any other sport.

Just like losing to Texas A&M didn't and shouldn't've ruin Alabama's season.

 

[8dog]

It also just shifts which games matter.

 

[paindonthurt]

I have no problem with them doing it for money if that’s what they choose to do.

I have a problem with people saying the number 7 undefeated team from the nwpc (made up conference) deserves a shot so expand.

No one deserves ****.

 

[BigDawg0074]

It’s really something the tunnel vision with which a whole bunch of you only see half the equation. The amount of heart that goes into each individual game declines as mulligans get added. Literally, where every moment was make or break before, now you can shrug your shoulders and move on. All these proposals give about 8 teams a two loss cushion to still have title chances.

Your tunnel vision is limited to the five or six teams that can consistently get through with only one loss or less. It’s a guarantee that everyone else will have, by your definition, meaningless games for the rest of time. It’s a bad system which is why everyone hated it and it’s why no other sport does it that way.

 

[Smoked Toag]

I’m glad you are looking forward to the future where you start paying attention to what’s going on in the landscape around the country about the time conference tournaments kick off. Just like college basketball. Forgive me if that isn’t the path I prefer.

What's the difference? Most people are all into football in September, and once they figure out which teams have a shot by mid-October, at least 3/4's of the fanbases are totally checked out. Under the old system, people still played for bowl placement, but I think we can all agree that means next to nothing nowadays. The 'regular season' only means something to a handful of teams.

And do you think a typical early November college football Saturday will lose its luster under the new system? I don't. I think it will be enhanced greatly. Admit it or not, but there is a huge amount of stagnation right now in college football.