Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?

[slightly shotgunned]

after reading that article, the main issue is money. the schools want it, the tv stations want it. also, its a plus 1 system. i'm still not completely sure of what that means, but i think its a way for college football to keep its current (albeit amended) system. plus 1 is not a playoff system as far as i can tell, its just as subjective as ever only it gets to pretend to somehow be more objective.

contrary to previous posts, i'm not at all in favor of this plus 1 idea. i see it as a way for the bcs to say "see we could never have a playoff system that works" once the dust settles from the large amounts of controversy a plus 1 system would create. boise state last year was ranked 9th and wisconson and louisville (5 and 6 respectively) could conceivably make pretty good arguments for being ranked higher. the shouting would be louder because everyone would be trying to make the new system better and the whole idea would just be scrapped.

like epiphanic said, if you're going to do it, go all out. conference champs + 5 at-large. I don't see how it negates the regular season since you don't exactly cruise through an undefeated, 1, or 2 loss season I don't see how any game has any less meaning since you still have to win to get in. I also agree with xyzzyva, as long as schools are allowed to make their own schedules, a playoff system could never work, teams would load up on cupcakes...i'm still working on that part of it.

[infrared41]

Call me crazy but I think when the dust settled last year the best team in College Football ended up being National Champions. Who was better than Florida?

This system, while hardly perfect, seems to get it right more often than not. I'm not saying there aren't some seasons that are a total cluster but those seasons are not as common as the advocates of a playoff would have you believe. There have been four "co-champions" in 16 years and not all of them were a result of the BCS.

Leave it the way it is. We aren't "owed" a National Championship playoff.

[philly soulfan04]

Call me crazy but I think when the dust settled last year the best team in College Football ended up being National Champions. Who was better than Florida?

no one, but there were still boise fans crying about not getting a chance to play in the NC game because they were undefeated with their ridiculously easy schedule

[Island_Style]

Call me crazy but I think when the dust settled last year the best team in College Football ended up being National Champions. Who was better than Florida?

Auburn may beg to differ.

[tulanebc]

......and again....you take the 1998 Tulane Green Wave team and put them against ANY team that year, I can honestly say it would have been one HELL of a championship game....I've heard from guys who went to BCS schools then and they say they wanted NO part of that team for fear of losing to a C-USA team in a major bowl game....

So before you think the current structure is kosher....ask Shawn King, Jamaican Dartez, JaJuan Dawson, Bernard Robertson and Michael Jordan (the DB, not the Legend....lol)

[HedleyLamarr]

Call me crazy but I think when the dust settled last year the best team in College Football ended up being National Champions. Who was better than Florida?

Auburn may beg to differ.

Auburn also got stomped at home by UGA. What was that score, Fiji? Auburn lost 2 home games last year, so they eliminated themselves.....

[Island_Style]

Call me crazy but I think when the dust settled last year the best team in College Football ended up being National Champions. Who was better than Florida?

Auburn may beg to differ.

Auburn also got stomped at home by UGA. What was that score, Fiji? Auburn lost 2 home games last year, so they eliminated themselves.....

My point is Florida was far from unbeatable. Hell, they got beat. Even though they had only one loss, I feel there were a few multiple loss teams that were better and could beat them. They barley beat South Carolina at home and a poor FSU team gave them a game.

[WJMorris3]

Again I note. When one team finishes the season unbeaten (after bowls) and they are not national champions, there's a problem.

[AndrewG70]

How about this for a playoff scenario:

An eight-team tournament. Fill out the field via automatic bids and at-large selections. A team earns an automatic bid if one of the following two criteria are met:

1. A conference champion (any conference) in the top eight of the BCS rankings, or

2. A non-champion in the top four of the BCS rankings

Include a "Notre Dame Clause" -- if Notre Dame (or whichever the top-ranked independent team may be) racks up ten wins over Division I-A opponents, it will be considered a conference champion and will earn an automatic bid if ranked in the top eight.

Assemble a committee which will select the remaining teams to fill out the eight-team field. Place those eight teams in the four BCS Bowls based on conference affiliation -- this way, you maintain the traditional Pac-10/Big-10 matchup for the Rose Bowl. If a conference with a BCS Bowl tie-in does not have a qualifying team, make that slot an at-large selection. Ensure that #1 and #2 will not meet until the third and final round, should each advance that far.

Play the BCS bowls on their traditional date of January 1. One week later, when the "BCS Championship Game" is currently played, play a semifinal round, and have the title game one week later.

What are the advantages of this system?

Very simple -- it keeps the field down to teams with a legitimate stake at the national title. While it would be nice to include all 11 conference champions, I'm not sure how much room for argument the 6-5 Sun Belt champion has to be included in any national championship tournament. Same with the 7-4 ACC champion, especially if it has the power of kleeping the 11-0 WAC champion out of the picture. While this system may not be 100% perfect, it would have the power to end most of the debate as to who should have a shot at the national title.

[Rocky Mts]

There are some years, like last season, when there isn't much dispute about who is number one. But there are other years, like 2003 for instance (when USC and LSU "shared" a national championship), that screams for a play-off of some kind. A four-team field may not be ideal, but it's a start.