[Warning: Long... Really Long] Ok, I am sure most of you are tired of hearing about this topic, but today has been a pretty boring day for me. I decided to sit down and logistically try to plan out how a playoff system could work. I apologize for the length, but this is something I feel strongly about, and I figure deserves a lengthy analysis. Thanks to anyone who reads all of it and I would love to hear feedback, Step 1: How many teams? I have seen internet brackets ranging from 4-32 teams, but the one I like the most is the 16 team bracket. One might initially say that is too many teams, but hear me out. We put the 11 conference champions in automatically, plus 5 at large teams. By including every champion, we avoid a Utah scenario from this year. No matter what conference you are in, you will have a shot. This also accounts for changes in conference strength year after year. No more "Why does the Big East get an automatic bid, when the Mountain West was better?" controversies. I might be reaching here, but I really think that the playoff could have a pretty big effect on recruiting. Now a team like Buffalo could potentially lure bench-bound recruits away from bigger schools with a promise of playing time, and a shot at a nationally televised December game against a national power (if they win the conference.) Now I know some people will say that an upset or two by these low teams would be detrimental to the playoff system, and teams like do not deserve a shot at the national title. As you will see in the bracket below, for a team like Buffalo to win the title, they would have to potentially beat Oklahoma, Penn St., USC, and Florida in four straight games. Show me another team with that resume. Also, if you think back a few years to March Madness, I do not remember a single person crying out that George Mason was ruining the credibility of the NCAA. Everyone was just so excited that they were still in. Now for the 5 at-large teams. We keep the BCS system in tact, and use the 5 highest teams who have not already qualified by conference championships. I believe this aspect of the bracket is the key to countering the "It will diminish the importance of the regular season" argument. For this season, the lowest BCS ranking of an at-large team would be #11 TCU. Show me anyone who says that a team who finishes the regular season ranked #11 did not take the regular season seriously, and I will show you a liar. So here is how the bracket would look. (I don't take credit for this, I found it online, but it encompasses the ideas that I like.) Step 2: Logistics of First Round I haven't really seen anyone take a look at how the tournament would logistically work, so that is what I focused on. If we were to use this season, I think this would be the best case scenario. The conference championship games ended on December 6th. I say give everyone a week off and make Friday December 19th, and Saturday December 20th the big first round days. The higher seeds get the home game. I know alot of people who are against this idea, but I have yet to see a logical argument against it. I can guaran-damn-tee you that if Texas can sell out a game vs. Baylor late in the season, then they could sell out a playoff game against East Carolina. It also eliminates a travel nightmare, and rewards the top 8 seeds with another home game and the revenue that goes with it. (Tell me again why the regular season wouldn't matter...) So here goes: Friday December 19th (all times Central) (15) Troy vs (2) Florida 11am Gainesville, Florida ESPN (13) Virginia Tech vs (4) Alabama 2:30 pm Tuscaloosa, Alabama ESPN (10) Ohio State vs (7) Texas Tech 6pm Lubbock, Texas ESPN (12) Cincinnati vs (5) USC 9:30 pm (7:30 pacific) Los Angeles, California ESPN Saturday December 20th (9) Boise State vs. (8) Penn State 11am University Park, Penn. ESPN (16) Buffalo vs. (1) Oklahoma 2:30 pm Norman, Oklahoma ESPN (14) East Carolina vs. (3) Texas 6pm Austin, Texas ESPN (11) TCU vs. (6) Utah 9:30 Salt Lake City, Utah ESPN So, there you have it. Tell me with a straight face that you wouldn't be glued to the TV for those two days. The Friday games may raise an eyebrow, but the fact that the games will be played at a home team's stadium eliminates the travel nightmare. For people complaining about the late start times, what do you do when your team has a 10:00 game during March Madness? You stay up and watch it, and I know the exact same thing would happen with these games. ESPN also gets to broadcast all these games, since they broadcast all of the early bowl games anyway. Step 3: Logistics of Second Round and beyond I stumbled across this Playoff Simulator a few days ago, which probably started my intense thought process on this. We will use their simulation tools to see who advances to the next round. Ironically, Utah was the only higher seed to lose in the first round. So where do we play these games. I say we add two bowls to the big four, and have these rotate between the four games in the second round and the two in the third. The championship game would also rotate between the six. The next two highest payoff bowls would be the Cotton and Capital One, so they would get the nod in my mind. I say we give the teams nearly two weeks to rest up for the schedule ahead, be with their families for Christmas, and then we restore the New Year's Day football tradition. Make it an annual event that the 2nd round is played on New Years. I randomly picked which bowls get what days (besides keeping the championship at the Orange) but kept their TV affiliation. Thursday January 1st (3) Texas vs (11) TCU 11am Capital One Bowl ABC (2) Florida vs (7) Texas Tech 2 pm Orange Bowl FOX (1) Oklahoma vs (8) Penn State 5pm Rose Bowl ABC (4) Alabama vs (5) USC 8pm Cotton Bowl FOX The Rose Bowl keeps its New Years tradition, and travel for fans is again aided by the fact that many people are already off on New Years. No TV contracts would have to be restructured, and New Years would be a kickass day for college football. So, thanks to whatifsports, we move on. Winners: Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, USC. I next propose that the semifinal round is played one week later (ie, what would have been yesterday and tonight). It would be nice to have it on a weekend, but this couldn't happen because of NFL playoffs. Yes, it would be games on a weeknight, but with games of this importance, I feel that the fans would travel. Thursday January 8th (1) Oklahoma vs (5) USC 7pm Fiesta Bowl FOX Friday January 9th (2) Florida vs (3) Texas 7pm Sugar Bowl FOX So here we are. We are in real time now, with one game to be played in my scenario. Would you say you are college footballed out right now? Or would you still love to see a championship game in a week, especially one that is the result of a playoff and you have been following for almost a month. I thought so. From simulations: USC and Texas win. The championship would be played on Saturday, January 17th. There are no NFL games that week (all on Sunday) and a Saturday night championship would be a monster for ratings. Saturday January 17th (5) USC vs (3) Texas 7pm Orange Bowl FOX And there you have it. A College Football Playoff. I say that we can keep the other smaller bowls for midweek fodder between playoff games. I'm sure there are holes in my analysis, and I will not claim it to be near perfect. The point is that in one day I feel that I have come up with reasonable solution to many of the playoff criticisms. Will drag the season too long: It will last one week longer. Not bad at all. And this is without any talk of eliminating games in the regular season (which could happen too.) People cannot take off that much work to watch their team: Only one round will require most to miss work, which is no different than playing, say, the Fiesta Bowl on a Monday night as we do now. Too much money for fans: I would bet that all of these games would sell out very quickly with outside people who are looking to make a profit with whichever teams become involved. Even if no one will buy those tickets, the NCAA will still get their money, and that's all that matters right? TV Contracts: FOX, ESPN, and ABC broadcast all of the games that would have normally, so nothing really changes. With ESPN set to take over all of the BCS games here in the near future, it makes sense that they get all of the early playoff rounds. I am sure that if the high ups with the NCAA were to put together a playoff task force of some sort they could eliminate most of the playoff criticisms rather easily, if I was able to think of these things in one day. Thanks to anyone who read this, and let's hope that one day we have a system that produces one clear team deserving of a National title... not four.
I seen the same potential bracket...its awesome indeed... Only issue i could see is the fact that some teams would rest starters late in the season to prep for the conf. title games...but then again...no one is gonna screw up vs. a rival for the sake of resting a starter or two... It would work, no doubt, but it makes too much sense, so it won't ever happen. Could yall imagine this...omg @ the ratings for the title game....the MASH finale would be dwarfed...lol.
Me and some friends played that bracket in NCAA the video game. Cinncy made it to the finals, Texas lost to ECU. Anyways. Y'all don't care but good times...
The problem here is I think it does give credence to the argument that the regular season is devalued. Going into the season, teams like Florida, Texas, USC, and OU (the big "name" schools) know they can lose 1 and probably 2 games and still be in the playoff. And you have a lot of 9-4 type schools in there. My ideal playoff would be 8 or 12 teams. Here's what I would do: 8-team playoff: Include the 6 highest ranked conference champions. That means no guaranteed bids for any conference. This year, that would mean Utah and Boise are in, and VaTech and Cinci are out. Then take the two highest rated at-large teams - this year, that would be Texas and Alabama. So your teams would be: OU, Florida, USC, Penn State, Utah, Boise State, Texas, Alabama The benefit is this eliminates any official distinction between the BCS and non-BCS conferences. The Mountain West is technically on a level playing field as the B12. If they are good, they have the same opportunities. The downside is that the BCS conferences will throw a fit losing their guarantee. If that couldn't work, I would a 12-team playoff, with the following teams: * The champions of the Big 6 conferences * Any other conference champion ranked in the top 20 of the country (this year, that would have included Utah and Boise, along with Ball State had they not lost their conference championship game) * The top remaining at-larges. I don't think an 8-5 Buffalo or 9-4 East Carolina should be in over an 11-1 Tech or 10-2 Ohio State, for example. This year, that would have given us: Big 6: OU, Florida, USC, Penn State, Cinci, VaTech Other Champs: Utah, Boise State At-Larges: Texas, Alabama, Tech, Ohio State The top 4 conference champs would get a bye. This creates a huge incentive to not lose a game and to win your conference. Having the number of other champions vary means that may only be a few at-large spots, again keeping a strong value to the regular season. If Ball State hadn't lost, that kicks Ohio State out - so you can't just go into knowing you can lose a few games and still be in.
I know it's not your image, but... Oklahoma... I can haz a loss and steel bee 12-0? " Just an itsy bitsy detail, is all. Doesn't change too much.
Major, I like it. Regarding the original post, I'd add in the FCS rule where teams from the same conference can't play each other in the first round. So no Utah/TCU first round game.
My problem here is you have given too many bids to weak conferences relative to at-large teams--puts a major disadvantage to belonging to the SEC, Big 12, and ACC (if it rebounds like it should). If you allow all conference champions, I would have many of them enter qualifiers, like the pre-round of the NCAA. This is an excellent proposal. One other wrinkle is I think you can use the current BCS sites for the semis (jan 1) and the finals 1 week later at a BCS site. So if you wrap the earlier rounds say by Dec 15, you can still use the traditional bowls for everyone but the 8 involved.
