I expected Cincinnati to get rolled but man did Michigan not show up or is Georgia that much better? Georgia may have a shot in the SEC Champ game 2.0.
If Desmond Ridder had any shot of going in the first round before tonight's game... ...that shot is now a complete miss. Ridder played himself into the third round, at best.
My man Clay Travis asked a great question, if a 4 team playoff isn’t competitive, what makes you think a 12 team playoff will be? With the amount of time the favorite has to prepare plus the disparity between the haves and have nots, we could see more beat downs.
IMO the increase in opt outs is because there’s no financial penalty for athletes. There’s no going back…opt outs are going to deplete rosters and schools won’t be able to use COVID as an excuse to pull out of bowls to save face from being smashed. Yes coaches “opt out” and take new jobs before the season ends, but coaches or at least their new employers have to pay a buy out.
Buy outs are not universal nor are they equal in application. Players are going to start opting out of the playoff before too long, and that's fine by me.
Using this logic you might as well just roll it all back to naming a champion and not playing any games. The playoff semis have largely been a bloodbath, even when it's "have VS have". The final hasn't been much better. So, we either need to introduce more competition and equity or just admit this sport sucks and give up on a true post season.
Not every game would be competitive in an expanded playoff, but so what? What we should want is for the games to be meaningful, and for the best team to win a championship. Sometimes playoff worthy teams start out the season slow, but finish strong. Unfortunately the slow start doesn’t allow them to make the playoffs. Two losses early in the season pretty much eliminates a team from making the playoffs. A 12 or 16 team playoff would ensure that most if not all championship contenders are included in the playoffs. Furthermore, the expanded playoffs would require the ultimate champion to defeat multiple ranked teams to claim a title, leaving little doubt that the best team wins the crown. Expanded playoffs work very well in all other divisions of college football, and in almost every other sport. It would work well in FBS football as well.
12 teams does seem excessive to me, but while the games are often not competitive, its not always the favorites winning. So far, there have been 7 playoff champions and #4 seeds have won as many titles as #1 seeds: 2 #1 seeds 3 #2 seeds 0 #3 seeds 2 #4 seeds I would move the playoffs back a week - so the semis are around Christmas and the championship is on NYD. The length of time basically makes these first games like spring training games and likely contributes to the lack of competitiveness and lack of timing of the offenses/etc. If they add a 3rd round, push it back a week further into mid-December.
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The average point margin in all the college football playoff semifinals games ever played is 22. More than 3 TDs. Awful product.
It really has. I was glad about Houston beating Auburn even though it wasn't their best game. So many bowls were canceled and the semis were lop sided and not entertaining. I have been busy and haven't tuned in today but the Baylor game must be pretty wild looking at the score.
Well my worse fears came true - Kirby Smart stubbornly started Stetson Bennett, a former walk-on, over a 5 star recruit in JT Daniels. And to nobody's surprise (unless you are a Big 10 homer), Georgia handled Michigan with ease. Yes Stetson played well but now there is no way that we will see JT Daniels in the BCS Championship Game....even if Georgia falls behind, I wonder if Kirby Smart would do like Saban did in 2017 and bench Stetson for JT. I would just hate to know that Georgia's best chance of winning a NC rests in the hands of a kid that should be on the sidelines holding a clipboard. I hope I am wrong and that Stetson Bennett makes me eat my words but I don't have a lot of confidence in him. Also I am worried that Georgia won't get the necessary pressure on Bryce Young and he will carve them up again. I am so tired of seeing Alabama win year after year....
I pretty much saw this scenario play out - Alabama and Georgia both winning easily and playing each other again in the NC game. Obviously, I was hoping to see Kirby Smart go to JT Daniels over Stetson Bennett but I am not surprised that he is sticking with the walk-on. I still think that Alabama's offensive line played over their heads in the SEC Championship game and I expect to see more pressure applied on Bryce Young. Alabama has obviously played their 2 best games of the season and I wonder if they can play a 3rd straight great game.
Hating on greatness? I love seeing the best dynasty of my lifetime. I like seeing history and I'm not a Bama fan. I'm just impressed by the way Saban and Belichick are showing that a business 1st attitude can lead to greatness.