Thinking about it overall, it really doesn't mean that much. Not to me anyway. If you think about it, two teams were going to be included at the end anyway. So, there's two that will obviously be in the mix under a new system. All that's happening now is adding two more. Emphasis on more. So it's really about the number 2, not the number 4, but the mind works in a way that the number 4 is in everybody's head. The ONLY way this new system will mean jack **** is if it's CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS only. Nothing at all to do with so-called "best teams." Screw that. That don't mean ****. The best teams don't necessarily get to the Final Four in basketball, or to the AFC or NFC title games. Or to the World Series. If we're going to have conferences, then conference champs is a line in the sand. Make that count. Here's why... listen carefully. With conference champs as part of the equation, the you can get that conference title anyway you can REGARDLESS of the season. Just win, baby. Win that 'major' conference and you're most likely in the top 4 at the end of the season. Highest ranked, rated, selected... CONFERENCE CHAMPS... that to me makes a helluva difference. You have to win the damn championship in order for your 'great' season to be validated to make something more of it. Lose in Sept, lose in Oct, lose in November. No matter. Win the conference. That matters. And have a good enough season overall to end up ranked highly. But I do not want to see two teams from the same conference in the final four. I don't care how good they are. Tough ****. Win the conference or go fishing. My 2 sense.
Hu The problem with only conference champions is that automatically excludes 7 conferences from having a run. If you are going to have that stipulation, then you must include every conference champion, imho. The key here will be to see how the teams will be ranked/selection by committee. I agree with your premise but overall if there is only going to be 4 teams, then you have to go with the 4 highest ranking regardless of conference champion status. The only workaround I can fathom is to have a selection criteria that starts with a ranking, then see if it is a conference champion and if not then the next highest seed. Then the four highest seeds that are champions of their conference go on to the playoffs.
I would favor conference champions if conference title games involved the top 2 teams from that league. However, with divisions an undeserving 8-4 team from weak division is 1 upset away from the final 4. Did the Texas team that upset Neb in 1st B12 game deserve to be in the 4 team playoff playoff. I'd prefer the 2 top rated teams in a committee poll locked in, also the top 2 conference champs are locked in, followed by next highest ranked team or teams (if needed) until the 4 spots are filled. Had Georgia upset LSU last yr, bama & LSU would have still been 1-2 in BCS and they would still be in. Georgia would still be left out as OkSt and Ore would have been the 2 highest rated conference champs. Georgia would have fit nicely in the Champions Bowl vs KSt.
Why do the BCS commissioners have anything to say about this? Shouldn't this be an NCAA decision? I mean if this 4 team playoff will replace the current BCS model then why are the BCS commissioners making this decision? I don't like the idea of a 12 team committee. Seems like going to stir up a ton of controversy when they end up leaving out a team from a non BCS conference b/c they don't think they played the same SOS.
This playoff may help the Cotton Bowl get into the BCS. The current system has ten teams playing in five games (Rose, Fiesta, Orange, Sugar, and the BCS Championship Game), but the new system means only eight teams will play in the five games because the BCS Championship matchup would come from the two BCS bowls used as semifinals. So, in order to stay at ten teams, the BCS will need to add a bowl, and the Cotton Bowl would be the most likely choice.
There's is no way there could be a playoff between four chosen conference winners, no way. It would eliminate all other teams before the season began, including Notre Dame. I suppose the result would be four giant unwieldy conferences, everyone else being in Division II.
this is the best solution when you take into consideration all the variables.first it preserves the venerable bowl season .allows for academic study and holiday season for athletes...and crowns a legitimate national champion .if you go back over the contentious history of determining the mythical national champion whether by human polls or or by computer algos,by and large the the argument has always been the team that got left out most recent and notably auburn usc and of course you know who I am stiil pissed.....allthough there could be one year in a generation we are arguing over the 5th team in the equation that got hosed this is the most practical and addresses all parties concerns..
They had a chance to rid college football of opinions and they are going to miss it. They lure of money will continue to tick fans off. Given time, this too will be insufficient for college football fans. If they would have worked to make 8 conferences and took those 8 champs in a playoff, the problems would be gone. This scenario gives everyone in every conference an equal chance to make the postseason playoff. Not one team is left out. At the beginning of your conference schedule, it begins. Your OOC wont matter so you can play the games that most people are afraid to play now. OU/LSU, texas/Wisc, USC/Bama type matchups. But, they will yet again put in the hands of people opinions but they want it to be transparent. They will make them accountable for their picks. They will explain their picks and then what? Fans will call BS and its the same thing we have now but with more teams. Money and opinions are killing the sport.
The problem is you have only 4 spots from 120 teams. (3.3%) Compare that to the NFL which has 12 spots make it from 32 teams. In baseball 8 spots make it from 30 teams. In the NBA you have 16 spots from 30 teams. We NEED more than 4 teams. But since this gets the ball rolling, i'm not gonna complain too loudly. My hope is that one regular season game gets shaved off so that eventually we go to 12 team playoff. 12/120 is still just 10% that make the playoffs. But for now 4 will have to do. The 4 cannot be conference champs for the reasons already outlined. Notre Dame would be left out. An 8-4 ACC champ would get in over 11-1 TX?. I think the next logical step is to go from 4 to 6 teams. 4 have to be conf. champs and 2 'wild-cards' so to speak. 1 and 2 get first round bye. 6 teams seeded by committee or some kind of ratings system. Seed 3 plays 6. Seed 4 plays 5. In an epic weekend of CFB. Next week Seed 1 plays winner of 4v5. Seed 2 plays winner of 3v6. Next week is championship game.. Right now just too many people wanting to sit at a very tiny table. Only way to make everyone happy is to keep making table bigger. I think this goes from 4 to 6 to 8 to 12. 12 teams is ideal as proven by NFL model. top 4 teams get a 'bye' and then get to host a playoff game. Regular season still matters. people vying for top 4 seeds... one loss and you could not only lose your 'bye' but also have to go on the road for a playoff game. Basically have 2 divisions of 6 seeds. same as before. Seed 6 TRAVELS to seed 3. Seed 5 TRAVELS to seed 4. So first week of playoffs have 4 games. Second week of playoffs have 4 games as well. Seed 3 TRAVELS to seed 2 Seed 4 TRAVELS to seed 1 . (both brackets) Third weekend incorporates bowl sites. Seed 1 vs seed 2 Seed 1 vs seed 2. 4th weekend also bowl site. Seed 1 vs Seed 1. Once we go to 4 teams and get this started... temptation will be too strong to keep it just at 4. The money plus the amount of folks 'screwed' and left out will put pressure to keep expanding.
You dont have to ask the SEC to change. You already have the B12, P12, B1G, SEC, ACC, BIGE. You have to convince the other conferences to combine in a way to get to only 8 conferences. They would do it too. Then, as I said before, play whatever OOC you wish and when conference play starts, the playoff starts. You win, youre in. But, too much greed now.
Making ooc games the equivalent of preseason games in all respects would not be a good solution, IMO. And the current system still falls short because twice in the last decade we've had 5 undefeated teams at the end of the regular season.
Dodds and Boren just released a joint statement that Texas and OU were joining the SEC West to make the SEC a 16 team conference beginning in 2014. TAMU is being shifted to the SEC East along with Auburn, Alabama and LSU to balance the divisions. Also, KY, Vandy and Missouri are being moved to SEC West for balance and rivalry reasons. LHN and SoonerNetwork will remain intact with all related revenues going solely to UT and OU. For the first 10 years, UT and OU will receive 50% more in conference TV revenues than Missouri and TAMU.
