Time for the BCS to be a Play off

[LunaTick 29]

The NCAA has a 12 week schedule, though some leagues are having "championship games" that add a 13th game. This in effect causes havoc with BCS being able to compute who should be in the "championship game".

 

Some have come up with a half solution, this is to add a semi final game. But even if this were done, there would be some contention. Could contention be avoided. Perhaps not as even with the Basketball Tournament where 65 teams get a chance, someone is always hyping how so and so should not be there while they believe another should.

 

What I propose is simple.

 

16 team 4 week playoff. This would give the 11 conferences and automatic in, give the independents a chance along with other outstandings.

 

To make this happen, the conferences, if they choose to hold one, would play this game the weekend before thanksgiving. The weekend after thanksgiving the playoff would begin.

 

The playoff schedule would go as follows If it took place this year.

Nov 25th - 8 games hosted at what is intended to be neutral sites (see below)

Dec 2nd - 4 games hosted at what is intended to be neutral sites (see below)

Then a break

Teams that lost, would be bowl eligible.

Dec 23rd - Semi Final games at BCS site

Jan 6 - Final Game at BCS site

 

 

As mentioned above, the 12 teams that lost in the first two rounds would become bowl eligible.

BCS sites for the series would not replace the bowl game, just be a site for a game

Only the Final Game would have pagentry: parades, half time spectacles, etc. The 4 schools to be represented in the pagentry (bands in parade and featured in floats.)

 

As for the game sites.

Each conference would have, in advance, awarded the neutral site and announced it to the BCS.

The BCS would rotate annually who hosts on what week. Likely influenced by size of stadium, etc.

Independents Schools will host (needing 12 sites) the BCS will also be included this list so that Notre Dame doesn't benefit too much or if Navy doesn't want to host. They will always host the weekend after Thanksgiving for this reason. (live the BBAll, to host doesn't mean in own stadium, Army play in Philadelphia, etc.).

 

The intent is the host schools teams will not play at home. But higher ranked teams would be the home teams. Theoritically host school may host own team.

 

BCS sites would host the last 3 games on a rotating basis.

Hosting these games would not displace their own bowl game.

 

Thusly, for purists like myself, the Rose Bowl returns to being a Pac 10 vs Big 10 game.

 

 

thoughts.

[dragon10 0]

College football is LAME.............

 

who the hell wants to watch Ohio State beat Austin pea 78-0 every week

 

 

 

 

sounds like a fun game!

[ILikeTacos 0]

I agree in theory to everything you said - however, you are completely wrong.

 

The thing that makes college football wonderful is the value associated with every regular season game (lose one and your season may be done). If you add in a playoff system, this devalues the regualr season bc a team such as TX, Mich., ND, etc will get in to every playoff bc they can lose a game or 2 and make the playoffs. Eventually, if you are a fan of a winning program, you just have to watch the playoffs bc the entire regular season is worthless. That just takes the beauty out of college football.

[MahSoonerz 0]

Your proposal is very similar to what has been posted here in past years, I rather like it. The 5 at-large bids go to the top 5 non-champs in the BCS and the seeding is in BCS order. Here's this year's playoff grid. Discuss.

 

1 Ohio St (12-0)

16 Middle Tenn St (7-5)

 

8 Boise St (12-0)

9 Auburn (10-2)

 

4 LSU (10-2)

13 BYU (10-2)

 

5 USC (10-2)

12 Wake Forest (11-2)

 

2 Florida (12-1)

15 C Michigan (9-4)

 

7 Wisconsin (11-1)

10 Oklahoma (11-2)

 

3 Michigan (11-1)

14 Houston (10-3)

 

6 Louisville (11-1)

11 Notre Dame (10-2)

[hornsinTempe03 0]

Two words:

 

Spon-sors.

 

They will never allow it.

 

And that is teh suck.

[MicktheGreat 1]

I like the idea of a 16-team playoff; however, I don't think it's likely to happen. Instead, I think an 8-team playoff or a 6-team playoff (with BYEs, similar to NFL's divisional playoffs) is more likely.

 

Here it goes:

1. Make the "championship game" of each division uniform. What I mean by that is: Make it where either EVERY division (SEC, Big 10, Big 12, ACC, etc.) has a championship game or NONE of them do. The fact that some teams play that 13th game messes up the rankings--not to mention that it makes absolutely zero sense that schools would play an uneven number of games (imagine an NFL season where some teams play 17 games during the REGULAR season while others play 16 games... ...bizarre...).

 

2. Keep the computer system and the coaches' polls to determine rankings throughout the season. HOWEVER, get rid of preseason rankings! As it is now, if you begin the season ranked in the mid-20s (or unranked), it's nearly impossible to get into the championship game, even if you go undefeated. Preseason polls serve only to give sports media (i.e. ESPN) something to discuss during the offseason and disadvantage some teams before the season even begins.

 

3. Either keep the big bowl games as they are and directly incorporate them into the playoff system (i.e. 6-team playoff where there are 5 games) OR elevate/invent a couple of additional bowl games and incorporate them into the playoff system (i.e. 8-team playoff where there are 7 games).

 

4. Use the season-ending compiled rankings to determine who gets in the playoff system. Of course, this will be a flawed point in the process (as certain people insist on voting for a team like ND over Wisconsin based solely on past deeds/prestige of the program). However, I'd prefer to argue over the last spot of an 8-team (or 6-team) playoff rather than about who should be playing in one game for the championship.

 

5. Allow the lesser bowls to exist, just outside the playoff picture. That allows the sponsors to still make money and for programs that miss out on the playoffs to still make some money (because that's what it all boils down to in the minds of sponsors and college presidents/ADs). So let Hawaii play in its Hawaii Bowl if it wants to make some cash...it won't affect the final playoff picture.

 

Six-Team Playoff:

(WEEK 1)

--Rose Bowl--

4 LSU vs. 5 USC

--Fiesta Bowl--

3 Michigan vs. 6 Louisville

--BYE--

1 Ohio State

2 Florida

 

(WEEK 2)

--Orange Bowl--

1 Ohio State vs. Winner of 4-vs-5 (LSU or USC)

--Sugar Bowl--

2 Florida vs. Winner of 3-vs-6 (Michigan or Louisville)

 

(Week 3)

--BCS Championship Bowl--

Winner of Week 2 (Ohio St. vs. LSU/USC) vs. Winner of Week 2 (Florida vs. Michigan/Louisville)

 

There you go...whew...

 

This will never happen...

[R8RMick 242]

We are all dreaming here, but what the hell...

 

First of all, with a 16 team playoff that makes eight games in the first round. Ideally, and this is all about $$$ anyhow, you don't want ANY of those games going up against each other on TV. To do that you'll need to play first round games on that first Thursday night, Friday night, and all day Saturday to make it work. The problem of course with ANY college playoff is that the NFL plays games on Saturday in December, and now on Thursdays as well.

 

I think a 16 team playoff can work. The idea would be to do away with conference champs, and let the BCS rankings determine the final seeds 1-16. Preseason polls or not, it doesn't matter. It's got to be 16 schools because it will eliminate the whining of schools who barely miss out. You take the top four seeds and give them first round home games against the bottom four seeds. This lends value to the regular season by giving schools incentive to not only finish in the top four, but out of the bottom four.

 

The lower tier bowls (Peach, Independence, Holiday, Cotton etc.) will serve as sites for the early round games, with the more prestiguous bowls getting the later round games. The major bowls (Rose, Fiesta, Orange, Sugar) can rotate the two semi-final games and the Championship Game yearly, with the losing bowls getting games in the previous earlier round.

 

All it would take is fifteen games, with eleven neutral sights needed. The student body and alums would definitely travel, and if not who thinks they would have trouble selling out anyhow? The only problem I'd see is with any short notice logistics in the bowl cities.

 

16 Team College Playoff > NFL

[Trojan35 0]

I like the idea of a 16-team playoff; however, I don't think it's likely to happen. Instead, I think an 8-team playoff or a 6-team playoff (with BYEs, similar to NFL's divisional playoffs) is more likely.

 

Here it goes:

1. Make the "championship game" of each division uniform. What I mean by that is: Make it where either EVERY division (SEC, Big 10, Big 12, ACC, etc.) has a championship game or NONE of them do. The fact that some teams play that 13th game messes up the rankings--not to mention that it makes absolutely zero sense that schools would play an uneven number of games (imagine an NFL season where some teams play 17 games during the REGULAR season while others play 16 games... ...bizarre...).

 

2. Keep the computer system and the coaches' polls to determine rankings throughout the season. HOWEVER, get rid of preseason rankings! As it is now, if you begin the season ranked in the mid-20s (or unranked), it's nearly impossible to get into the championship game, even if you go undefeated. Preseason polls serve only to give sports media (i.e. ESPN) something to discuss during the offseason and disadvantage some teams before the season even begins.

 

3. Either keep the big bowl games as they are and directly incorporate them into the playoff system (i.e. 6-team playoff where there are 5 games) OR elevate/invent a couple of additional bowl games and incorporate them into the playoff system (i.e. 8-team playoff where there are 7 games).

 

4. Use the season-ending compiled rankings to determine who gets in the playoff system. Of course, this will be a flawed point in the process (as certain people insist on voting for a team like ND over Wisconsin based solely on past deeds/prestige of the program). However, I'd prefer to argue over the last spot of an 8-team (or 6-team) playoff rather than about who should be playing in one game for the championship.

 

5. Allow the lesser bowls to exist, just outside the playoff picture. That allows the sponsors to still make money and for programs that miss out on the playoffs to still make some money (because that's what it all boils down to in the minds of sponsors and college presidents/ADs). So let Hawaii play in its Hawaii Bowl if it wants to make some cash...it won't affect the final playoff picture.

 

Six-Team Playoff:

(WEEK 1)

--Rose Bowl--

4 LSU vs. 5 USC

--Fiesta Bowl--

3 Michigan vs. 6 Louisville

--BYE--

1 Ohio State

2 Florida

 

(WEEK 2)

--Orange Bowl--

1 Ohio State vs. Winner of 4-vs-5 (LSU or USC)

--Sugar Bowl--

2 Florida vs. Winner of 3-vs-6 (Michigan or Louisville)

 

(Week 3)

--BCS Championship Bowl--

Winner of Week 2 (Ohio St. vs. LSU/USC) vs. Winner of Week 2 (Florida vs. Michigan/Louisville)

 

There you go...whew...

 

This will never happen...

 

 

The biggest problem is what bowls get what. The Rose is the "grandaddy". You think they're going to settle for a non-big10/pac10 matchup AND just a wildcard game?

 

8 teams. 6 conference winners + 2 at large. We can all complaina bout the at-large ones that way.

 

Bowls by location and rotate.

Example:

Year 1)

Week 1:

Rose gets 1 game saturday, 1 game sunday. (rose gets priority to big10/pac10 conference winners)

Orange gets 1 game saturday, 1 game sunday.

Week 2:

Fiesta gets 1 game saturday, 1 game sunday (semifinals)

Week 3:

Sugar gets championship game.

 

Boom. double the revenue for the bowls and rotate each year on who gets the championship game.

Disadvantages: No more "one rose bowl winner per year"... but really, the bowl system is dying.

Advantages: duh.

[Ambroc 0]

I agree in theory to everything you said - however, you are completely wrong.

 

The thing that makes college football wonderful is the value associated with every regular season game (lose one and your season may be done). If you add in a playoff system, this devalues the regualr season bc a team such as TX, Mich., ND, etc will get in to every playoff bc they can lose a game or 2 and make the playoffs. Eventually, if you are a fan of a winning program, you just have to watch the playoffs bc the entire regular season is worthless. That just takes the beauty out of college football.

 

I'm not sure this argument holds any water.

 

Tell me which national program automatically wins all but two games every year? (Talk to a Miami fan or an Alabama fan or a Nebraska fan) Tell me how Wisconsin, Rutgers, ... (fill in the blank) seasons are devalued now that they will be fighting and clawing TO MAKE IT TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!?

 

There are a few radio talking heads out there who are trying to convince us that the Bowl system makes football more interesting -- primarily using arguments like yours. Let me ask you this: Do you think College Basketball should go to a bowl system? Should the NFL? "No!" You say, "College Football is special."

 

How much more special would football be if (in December) you could watch the best sixteen teams fight it out for the championship? Don't fire back a response until you fully imagine watching four glorious weekends in a row of the best college football in the land.

 

Ask those who follow Division IAA, II and III football. Play-offs work.

 

"Pie in the sky", you say. Sure, but only if we accept it.

 

GABO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living in Wisconsin, I get to watch the Badgers play a nursery school schedule. There is no excitment, nothing to look forward to but another SEC Bowl. We have no idea how good Wisconsin is; no idea if they could compete with the big boys.

[TheEaglesFan 0]

keep the system as bad it is and believe me it is bad. we could change it any number of ways and there would still be contreversy. how many total teams are in the normal bcs (Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl)? 8 the solution is simple have the four BCS bowl games on the first sat sun and mon in january. have 2 bowl games on a date. The winners of the two games play in BCS Semis and then the two winners play for the BCS Championship the folowing week. This system would work, 3 extra games and more money. BCS could decide if they want rotating neutral sites for the BCS Playoff(Semis and Finals) or if they want 2 sites or 3 sites. Could you imagine the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Fiesta Bowl being playoff games with the excitement that already exists. The down side is 2 teams get dropped from the BCS, the upside is the championship will create a clearer winner. It wont be perfect but the arguing would be less.

sry to say notre dame but irish would get dropped and LSU would get dropped(neither won their conferences) also im guessing you could fiddle with what bowl winners would face each other, that also could go on a rotating system.

The playoff probably would go like this, this year

Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs USC

Fiesta Bowl: Boise State vs Oklahoma

-----------------------------------------------

Sugar Bowl: Florida vs Wake Forest

Orange Bowl: Michigan vs Louisville

The +2 system

switch them around the way you like but the winners of the 4 bowl games go into a four team BCS playoff to determine a champion

Imagine OSU vs Oklahoma and Florida vs Michigan

it would be a good system with some yrs where it works and some where there is more then enough contreversy

[MicktheGreat 1]

The biggest problem is what bowls get what. The Rose is the "grandaddy". You think they're going to settle for a non-big10/pac10 matchup AND just a wildcard game?

 

8 teams. 6 conference winners + 2 at large. We can all complaina bout the at-large ones that way.

 

Bowls by location and rotate.

Example:

Year 1)

Week 1:

Rose gets 1 game saturday, 1 game sunday. (rose gets priority to big10/pac10 conference winners)

Orange gets 1 game saturday, 1 game sunday.

Week 2:

Fiesta gets 1 game saturday, 1 game sunday (semifinals)

Week 3:

Sugar gets championship game.

 

Boom. double the revenue for the bowls and rotate each year on who gets the championship game.

Disadvantages: No more "one rose bowl winner per year"... but really, the bowl system is dying.

Advantages: duh.

 

Sure...I think rotating the bowls is the right idea. Let the Rose Bowl (for example) be a "wild card" game one year and a "divisional game" the next (if that makes sense...). Under the system I suggest, it's no longer about which regions play in the bowl (i.e Pac-10 vs. Big-10; ACC vs. Big East; etc.). It's about what round of the playoffs they represent (like NFL). And rotating which bowls got to associate their name/location with what round could be determined on rotation from year-to-year (so that no bowl gets screwed financially).

 

I think its counter-productive to advocate a playoff system and THEN (on top of that) regulate that certain bowls get priority on certain regions in the midst of the playoff bracketing. In a playoff system, the Rose Bowl could play two teams (regardless of whether or not they belonged to the Big-10 or Pac-10) and STILL make mucho $$$...

 

Just my opinion...

[Laurence Maroney's Nuts 2]

16 teams!

 

So what 4 teams get in the tournament after the SEC is seeded 1-12???

[Gepetto 989]

Narrow Division 1 down to 64 teams.

 

Create 4 16-team conferences.

 

Every team plays 8 teams within their division. All non-conference games can only be with a school within this new 64 team division. Every team plays a total of 11 games prior to conference championship/playoffs.

 

Each conference has a conference championship with winners advancing to playoffs.

 

4 wild card teams make the playoffs.

 

8 teams in the playoffs.

 

3 weeks and 7 games to decide the National Championship.

 

That, or something close to that, is the solution.

 

 

OR, 8 8-team conferences. All division winners advance to playoffs. 8 teams still in playoffs.

[johnnyfb 0]

16 teams is too many. That would take 15 games, destroying the bowl season and hurting all the have-not programs that need that revenue in late December. Plus, you couldn't get league or sponsor support.

 

I like the 8 team league (with one play-in game - think March's 65th team). BCS ranks the teams, no more than two teams per conference, big 6 conferences get auto berths. Here's how it would play out:

 

(1) Ohio State

(10) Oklahoma/ (14) Wake Forest

 

(4) LSU

(5) USC

 

(3) Michigan

(6) Louisville

 

(2) Florida

(8) Boise State

 

Dec. 18: Oklahoma beats Wake Forest

 

Dec. 24: OSU over Oklahoma, Florida over Boise State

Dec. 25: LSU over USC, Louisville over Michigan

 

Jan. 1: Florida over Louisville

Jan. 2: OSU over LSU

 

Jan. 8: OSU over Florida

 

You get 8 "BCS Bowls" instead of 5, giving more sponsorship opportunities but allowing for a true playoff.

[t.j 35]

8 teams. BCS 1-8. No automatic bids.

 

Quarterfinals:

Rose Bowl - #1 Ohio St v #8 Boise St

Sugar Bowl - #2 Florida v #7 Wisconsin

Orange Bowl - #3 Michigan v #6 Louisville

Fiesta Bowl - #4 LSU v #5 USC

 

Semifinals: (no need to name these games, same as the current BCS National Championship doesn't have a name)

1/8 winner v 4/5 winner

2/7 winner v 3/6 winner

 

Championship:

semifinal winner v other semifinal winner

 

16 teams!

 

So what 4 teams get in the tournament after the SEC is seeded 1-12???

 

As professional haters go, you're pretty funny.

[jpcdds 21]

16 teams is too many. That would take 15 games, destroying the bowl season and hurting all the have-not programs that need that revenue in late December. Plus, you couldn't get league or sponsor support.

 

I like the 8 team league (with one play-in game - think March's 65th team). BCS ranks the teams, no more than two teams per conference, big 6 conferences get auto berths. Here's how it would play out:

 

(1) Ohio State

(10) Oklahoma/ (14) Wake Forest

 

(4) LSU

(5) USC

 

(3) Michigan

(6) Louisville

 

(2) Florida

(8) Boise State

 

Dec. 18: Oklahoma beats Wake Forest

 

Dec. 24: OSU over Oklahoma, Florida over Boise State

Dec. 25: LSU over USC, Louisville over Michigan

 

Jan. 1: Florida over Louisville

Jan. 2: OSU over LSU

 

Jan. 8: OSU over Florida

 

You get 8 "BCS Bowls" instead of 5, giving more sponsorship opportunities but allowing for a true playoff.

 

 

Louisville over UM.....

 

Anyways...the system sucks...a playoff is needed...having people vote based on not wanting a rematch despite the fact that many of them thought UM was the 2nd best team is a farse....period...it's lame and wrong...

 

When Fla gets a #1 vote in the Harris poll, UM gets 4....yes 4 #4 votes it that same poll....One pollster does not even vote...and Louisville and Boise St. both get #2 votes...it's sick and it's wrong...IT"S SICK AND WRONG!!!!

[Laurence Maroney's Nuts 2]

As professional haters go, you're pretty funny.

 

All in good fun. I clearly don't agree with UF being in the big game, but as I've said -- It's Florida's turn, let's see what they've got. I strongly disagree with the chain of events that led to the current state of affairs, but, yup -- until there is a playoff system, someone will always be unhappy. And even if a PO system happens, someone will be crying that they were left out. Such is life.

[Gepetto 989]

Narrow Division 1 down to 64 teams.

 

Create 4 16-team conferences.

 

Every team plays 8 teams within their division. All non-conference games can only be with a school within this new 64 team division. Every team plays a total of 11 games prior to conference championship/playoffs.

 

Each conference has a conference championship with winners advancing to playoffs.

 

4 wild card teams make the playoffs.

 

8 teams in the playoffs.

 

3 weeks and 7 games to decide the National Championship.

 

That, or something close to that, is the solution.

OR, 8 8-team conferences. All division winners advance to playoffs. 8 teams still in playoffs.

 

Wow! This is the greatest idea ever. Polls are rendered meaningless and all results are determined on the field. Genius!

 

(Yes, I know I quoted my own idea.)

 

Discuss...

[t.j 35]

Wow! This is the greatest idea ever. Polls are rendered meaningless and all results are determined on the field. Genius!

 

(Yes, I know I quoted my own idea.)

 

Discuss...

 

Cutting down Division I-A to 64 teams would be the biggest hurdle.

Humoring the idea... 8 conferences of 8 teams with conference winners in the playoffs I could buy. 4 conferences of 16 teams with conference winners plus 4 wild cards, with teams not even necessarily facing all teams in their conference, doesn't sound any better than what we have now.

[Gepetto 989]

Cutting down Division I-A to 64 teams would be the biggest hurdle.

Humoring the idea... 8 conferences of 8 teams with conference winners in the playoffs I could buy. 4 conferences of 16 teams with conference winners plus 4 wild cards, with teams not even necessarily facing all teams in their conference, doesn't sound any better than what we have now.

 

Good point.