You know I am all for a playoff system for college football and there are a million different versions out there but I have always wondered if we could get it done and please everyone. So my idea would be to keep the BCS system in place to select the top eight teams. This keeps all of the "every game during the regular season is like a playoff game" people happy because the importance of those games would remain although I think this argument is stupid. Then you have the argument about fans being able to travel to several locations on such a short notice. This is a legitimate concern. I would have the top 4 teams host the first round games as a reward for being in the top four. I would then schedule the second round games (or final four) at neutral sites but two weeks after the first round. It give fans more time to make arrangements and it gives players an extra week to rest and heal. If everyone finishes the regular season around December 7th you could have the first round of games around December 21st. The round of four would be around January 4th. I would then take another two weeks to play the national championship game which would be around the 18th. This does not make the season that much longer than it already is. It gives fans time to make plans and travel and most importantly it gives players time to rest between what will be like our 4 game stretch this year of OU, Missouri, OSU and Tech on steroids. This seems like it might take the best of both worlds and combine them into something everyone can live with. Oh and this does not affect the current bowl games as they could continue to exist. They just would remain an exhibition game as they are now except without the top 8 teams. I think I will send this to Obama and see what he thinks.
I think all of that would work great. It would definitely dispel any argument about student athletes missing classes. Classes usually end around the middle of Dec and begin again around the middle of Jan. Looks good to me, lets do it.
I have always thought that it needs to be the top 6 teams so that we keep the riffraff out. Under an 8 team here is the at home schedule. Penn State @ Alabama Utah @ Texas Tech USC @Texas Oklahoma @ Florida The 6 team tournament would look as follows: The top 2 are automatically in so being top two remains very important. This keeps the regular season almost as critical as it is today. Then you have the other 4 teams square of for the final two spots at home venues. Alabama, TT are in and go to the final four. USC @ Texas Oklahoma @ Florida Note: No more conference championship games. Play the play off games first weekend in December. This maintains the bowl games as you say.
Why even have conferences then? The only way a playoff idea would ever see the light of day is if the champions (however they are determined) of the Major Conferences get automatic bids.
Playoff: 8 teams with quarterfinals and semis hosted by top seeded teams and quarterfinal winners with highest seed. Have them happen in consecutive weeks at the end of the season. All losers still bowl eligible with the championship final to occur weeks later after the bowls in Jan. All teams, including BCS conference champions, qualify for the playoff based solely on a top 8 BCS rank. BCS conference champs automatically qualify for a BCS bowl whether they qualify for the playoff or not. If they qualify for the playoff and lose , they still retain their BCS bowl appearance as a conference champion. .
When it comes to D-I football the universities don't really care about the students or athletes.....much less the student athletes. What we need is an institution of some sort to put up 1 billion for a 16 team playoff and all will be solved. Hell, in about '98 I read about a German entity that offered a plan that included 500 million to start a playoff and it was nixed. I think some of these people are brain dead.
