This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Playoff Plans
Dec
27
2011
Now that the bowl games have started, it’s time for the annual discussion of playoffs for college football.
Plus I know my youngest brother thinks there aren’t enough playoff proposals, so I’m adding mine to the mix. I’m sure he will appreciate it.
Introducing:
Some Plan for College Football Playoffs
- Step 1: Combine some conferences so that there will be 8 conferences.
This step is slightly muddy, because I’m arranging the current conferences without taking this year’s planned changes into account.
But the overall goal should be achievable.- ACC – currently 12 teams. Adds 4 teams to become a 16-team conference. The 4 teams come from half the Big East.
- Big 12 – currently 10 teams. Adds 6 teams to become a 16-team conference (yet keeps its name). The 6 teams come from the entire West division of Conference USA
- Big Ten – currently 12 teams. Adds 2 teams to become a 14-team conference (yet keeps its name). The 2 teams come from the Big East (Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, in case you’re wondering).
- MAC – currently 13 teams. Adds 1 team to become a 14-team conference. The 1 team comes from the East division of Conference USA.
- MWAC – currently 16 teams. This new conference just combines the 8-team Mountain West Conference with the 8-team Western Athletic Conference.
- PAC 12 – currently 12 teams. Not scheduled to get any new teams. Maybe it could take 2 teams from the MWAC.
- SEC – currently 12 teams. Adds 4 teams to become a 16-team conference. The 4 teams come from East division of Conference USA (3 of them) and the Big East (1 of them).
- Sun Belt – currently 9 teams. Adds 3 teams to become a 12-team conference. The 3 teams come from East division of Conference USA (2 of them) and the Big East (1 of them). May need to rename this one to something ending in ‘C’. I’ll propose GSC for Gulf-South Conference.
Of course, the 16-team conferences might to share with the other conferences so that everyone has 14 or 15 teams. Or maybe not.
- Step 2: Every conference must have a championship game.
The championship game becomes the first round of playoffs, so there are 16 teams right there. One of them has to be the best in the country. If they aren’t the best in their conference, they can’t be the best in the country.
- Step 3: Change the major bowl games to quarter-final playoff games.
This would maintain the importance and tradition of the bowl games.
- Rose Bowl – Currently PAC12 vs. Big Ten. Stays that way. Everyone is happy.
- Fiesta Bowl – Currently BIG12 vs. ???. Adds the MWAC.
- Sugar Bowl – Currently SEC vs. ???. Adds the MAC.
- Orange Bowl – Currently ACC vs. ???. Adds the GSC.
- Step 4: Change other bowl games to semi-final playoff games.
This would maintain the importance of the bowl games.
- Cotton Bowl – Currently BIG12 vs. SEC. Stays that way. Everyone is happy. Would need to add MWAC and MAC into the mix, in case BIG12 or SEC lost.
- Citrus Bowl – Currently Big Ten vs. SEC. Can’t stay that way. Too bad. Changing to Big Ten or PAC12 vs. ACC or GSC.
- Step 5: Keep the championship game rotating among the 4 major bowl games.
This would placate the people who like the current BCS format. All 3 of them.
And it would be the concession they want in order to agree to be the quarterfinal round instead of the semifinal round.
There.
That wasn’t so hard, right?
I’m looking at you, NCAA.
Oh, right…the schedule.
- Conference championship games are the first weekend in December.
- Quarterfinals are the second weekend in December.
- Semifinals are the fourth weekend in December.
- The championship game is the Saturday after New Year’s Day.
I don’t care as much about the schedule. They can keep the games on separate nights like they do today.
The main thing I care about it that the contract does not go to ESPN. It must remain with the over-the-air broadcasters so that regular Americans can watch.
I don’t have fancy-schmancy satellite TV or cable or streaming internet, and I would like to watch the bowl games.
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1 Corinthians 1:10
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 1:21 pm and has been carefully placed in the Sports category.
December 27th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Nope. I won’t support anything that involves conference championship games. I do not support conference championship games. Ever. At best they tell you what you already know (superior team is superior to inferior team) and at worst they contradict what is obvious (superior team is superior to inferior team but loses the game) and send lesser teams to major bowl games. They aren’t good for anybody but the accountants.
December 27th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
Why does college football have such a problem with this? College basketball handles it fine with March Madness. Just copy that format. Sheesh.
December 28th, 2011 at 1:17 am
Burrill, don’t think of them as conference championship games, think of them as the Sweet-16 round of the playoffs. It’s the playoffs – if a superior team loses then they’re out.
December 28th, 2011 at 10:33 am
But in reality they aren’t a playoff game; they’re still conference championship games, and they still have the strong likelihood of producing an unnecessary matchup. If you want to make this better, SHRINK the conferences so a team can win the conference without needing a separate championship game — so the teams can all play each other during the regular season. That’s how you determine the conference’s superior team. A championship game is a cheap gimmick — much like a single-elimination playoff.
You know what playoff I actually like? The Stanley Cup Playoffs. Get rid of the single-elimination aspect and I might start to think about supporting a college football playoff system. (Yes, I know that’s not a possibility. That’s what I’m saying.) Otherwise, I have to keep returning to that phrase in the last paragraph: cheap gimmick.
December 29th, 2011 at 1:02 am
You can’t have 120 teams play 12 – 14 games each and end up with a meaningful “champion”. The old system created a lot of arguments by not guaranteeing one team would be authoritatively anointed #1 at the end, but on the other hand, the old system didn’t pretend it could authoritatively anoint a team #1 at the end. Like Gouda said, the inherent flaw in any playoff system is that at the end, someone is dressed up as #1, and we’re not supposed to argue about it.