Top Four

[whaler11]

If I was the on the selection committee those 4 would absolutely be my top 4 right now.

That's fine but Auburn for example has a better resume than TCU or Oregon to date...

 

[DoctorWho85]

That's fine but Auburn for example has a better resume than TCU or Oregon to date...

True, but Auburn needs Miss. St. lose in order to win their division and has yet to play Bama or Georgia. Oregon is at least in first place of their division and conference and TCU looks like they can score on anyone (I know no saying much in the defense is optional conference). For me if Auburn is going to get into the playoffs they need State to lose and probably lose big.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

My Top 4 would be:

1. Miss St. 2. FSU (until they lose), 3. Oregon (if they win the PAC 12) 4. TCU (if they win the Big 12)

Conference championships should absolutely hold more weight than SOS. If any other team out of the SEC is better than Miss. St. they'll beat them before the playoffs. I just don't want to see another Alabama in the playoffs when they didn't even win their own division.

That's fine but your end game is not about getting the best 4 teams in the playoffs if you're putting more weight on conf championships than SOS. I don't even think TCU is one of the best 8 teams in the country.

 

[DoctorWho85]

That's fine but your end game is not about getting the best 4 teams in the playoffs if you're putting more weight on conf championships than SOS. I don't even think TCU is one of the best 8 teams in the country.

There's definitely a case to be made for both sides of the argument. But for me if you're not good enough to win your own division within your conference then you're not good enough to be in the playoffs.

 

[Nostical]

Being a conference champion should have more value. It is ludicrous to put the Runner Up or Third Place SEC team in over the SEC Champion. Why play the Conference Championship? If you want to add the runner up (or other deserving teams) as a wild card entry, you'll need to expand the Playoff to 8 teams. I'd like to see the committee try and put a Miss St team that loses the SEC Championship to Georgia in over the Bulldogs (both with 1 loss) because Miss St was ranked higher before the game. Armageddon would be tame by comparison.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Being a conference champion should have more value. It is ludicrous to put the Runner Up or Third Place SEC team in over the SEC Champion. Why play the Conference Championship? If you want to add the runner up (or other deserving teams) as a wild card entry, you'll need to expand the Playoff to 8 teams. I'd like to see the committee try and put a Miss St team that loses the SEC Championship to Georgia in over the Bulldogs (both with 1 loss) because Miss St was ranked higher before the game. Armageddon would be tame by comparison.

You guys are creating scenarios that won't happen in a million years.

My opinion is that conference championships should matter little to none. There is no way you're getting the 4 best teams if that is part of your criteria.

This will all play itself out. Worry not SEC haters you will not get 3 SEC teams in the playoff and there's more than a good chance you only get the champion.

 

[SubbaBub]

You guys are creating scenarios that won't happen in a million years.

My opinion is that conference championships should matter little to none. There is no way you're getting the 4 best teams if that is part of your criteria.

This will all play itself out. Worry not SEC haters you will not get 3 SEC teams in the playoff and there's more than a good chance you only get the champion.

Not trying to find the 4 best teams. Trying to find one championship team. If you want to treat the CCG as any other game, that's good, I think it should be that way. But, in order to be the best team in the country you must first be the best team in your conference.

SEC is the best conference, if you are the best team in that you should be a lock for the playoff. Zero losses, one loss, two losses it doesn't matter. The SEC can decide how they want to anoint the best team.

In a closed system, it would take a pretty strong argument for me to say a third place team (that's what it would be if Auburn makes it along with 13-0 Miss St) deserves a spot over the other 4 conference champs, if I already know Miss State beat Auburn unless it's down to Auburn and KState as B12 Champ for the last spot.

 

[whaler11]

You pretty much can't set up a system to find the best team. There aren't enough games in the season.

All you can do is set up a system to name a champion. I don't mind the criteria they have chosen.

BTW, you can have the best team and not win your conference.

 

[bc puckett]

I don't even think TCU is one of the best 8 teams in the country.

I would agree. As a long time fan even if they win the Big XVII I'd have a hard time putting them in the Final Four unless all hell beaks loose everywhere else.

Since this is the first year of an 8 year deal I think everyone needs to take a deep breath, enjoy the games, and see how the whole thing plays out.

 

[Husky25]

You're never going to know the best team for sure in any year. It's the nature of a one and done format. That being saidany system employed should include at least the conference champion, as determined by the conferences themselves, of all eligible conferences. That means at least 5 teams. In order to give the competition some semblance of fairness (as opposed to only money), it should be an 8-12 team tournament (The more the better but I don't think 16 gives enough advantage to the top seeds).

Take a look at the history of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. During the UCLA dynasty, USC could actually lay claim to being the second best team in the country. However they never got a bid because they never won the PAC-#. As the field got bigger the tournament got better, which brings me to point #2. More teams = diverse field = better product. Refer back to the basketball tourney. There has only been one year (maybe two, but I think it's only one) since the tournament began seeding schools where all four of the top seeds made the Final 4. The best team is not always the national champs. Take Duke/Mercer from last year for instance. Duke probably wins that game 9 out of 10 times, but for whatever reason, they didn't bring its A game. Duke probably had a shot at the Final 4, but a Champion does not look past an inferior opponent.

12 teams (or even 10) in football allows room for the for the 5 5CSMA champions, more access for the non-5CSMA and two or three wild cards. Of course there will be arguments regarding bubble teams or that a 2-loss SEC team is better than a 1 Loss ECU, but that should 1) be proven on the field and 2) If the 5CSMA really are better than their redheaded step brethren, ECU won't advance in the tournament, as I envision it.

Here is my plan for a fair playoff. Poke holes 'til your hearts' content (P.S. I know it's a pipe dream).
First off, 11 game regular season schedule. Not 12.

Field: 12 teams
Contenders: 5 CSMA champions 3-4 highest ranked Non-CSMA, 3-4 Wild Card
Format: Single elimination.
Particulars:
-Top 4 teams get a 1st round bye. (If 10 teams then two play-in games between 7-10 and 8-9...and THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE CALLED).
-First round will be played on a 5/12, 6/11, 7/10, 8/9 basis at the home field of the lower seed.
-Teams are reseeded after each round. So if a 12 seed happens to beat a 5, they play the 1, not the 4 seed.
-Top two seeds before any round do not meet before the NCG.
-Second Round will be played at the field of lower seed.
-Third Round = 2 of 6 New Years Day Bowls.
-Final = NC Game one week later.

Who, besides the 5CSMA, is against this?

 

[Husky25]

I would agree. As a long time fan even if they win the Big XVII I'd have a hard time putting them in the Final Four unless all hell beaks loose everywhere else.

Since this is the first year of an 8 year deal I think everyone needs to take a deep breath, enjoy the games, and see how the whole thing plays out.

What's the Big Seventeen?

 

[bc puckett]

What's the Big Seventeen?

Another reason I always hated Roman Numerals.

 

[BlueDogs]

Who is your top 4?

I don't know. Any of the top 10 to 12 teams can beat the other on any particular day. Maybe not everyday, but on enough days. That's why a we need at least 8 and preferably 16 teams to play it out.

 

[whaler11]

I don't know. Any of the top 10 to 12 teams can beat the other on any particular day. Maybe not everyday, but on enough days. That's why a we need at least 8 and preferably 16 teams to play it out.

More teams in the playoffs doesn't solve that. You'd need a longer regular season or the elimination of games against road apples.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Every sport with a one-and-done championship format leaves room for the 'best team didn't win' argument. And that's not even accounting for discussions on whether 'best' needs to be measured over a season or at a specific place and time. The NCAA football playoff shouldn't be about finding a best team, it should be about crowning a champion. Teams compete to win - you win at one level you compete at the next -- div, conference, Nat'l. In the NCAA, the NFL, MLB, and the NHL there is a downside to playing in a tough league -- you don't get a pass to the next level. I'm not blind to the quality of the SEC, I just believe that to qualify for a tournament of champions you should win the championship you compete for. If you asked me today to name a best four, I'd say Miss St, Bama, Auburn, and Oregon; if you asked me seed the playoff, I' d say Miss St, Oregon, Kan St and Mich St...

 

[Dooley]

Every sport with a one-and-done championship format leaves room for the 'best team didn't win' argument. And that's not even accounting for discussions on whether 'best' needs to be measured over a season or at a specific place and time. The NCAA football playoff shouldn't be about finding a best team, it should be about crowning a champion. Teams compete to win - you win at one level you compete at the next -- div, conference, Nat'l. In the NCAA, the NFL, MLB, and the NHL there is a downside to playing in a tough league -- you don't get a pass to the next level. I'm not blind to the quality of the SEC, I just believe that to qualify for a tournament of champions you should win the championship you compete for.

I agree with this, but I think the playoff should be expanded to 8. All 5 "Power" conference champions get in. Then 3 at-large spots (with 1 spot open to a G5 school...if he11 ever froze over and the panel voted them in).

 

[Husky25]

I agree with this, but I think the playoff should be expanded to 8. All 5 "Power" conference champions get in. Then 3 at-large spots (with 1 spot open to a G5 school...if he11 ever froze over and the panel voted them in).

The more teams the better. I say expand to at least 10 and give at least the top two seed a bye. My plan is laid out on page 2.

 

[Bonehead]

8 is the right number in my head but willing to see how this plays out this year.
below is the final 2013 regular season poll prior to bowl games
http://www.hustlebelt.com/2013/12/8...ball-rankings-final-2013-regular-season-polls

off record only the top 6 are easy - the next two cause some controversy - but so does teams 68 and up in the BB tourney.
C fla and Louisville both 11-1 and outside top 10.

 

[Husky25]

8 is the right number in my head but willing to see how this plays out this year.
below is the final 2013 regular season poll prior to bowl games
http://www.hustlebelt.com/2013/12/8...ball-rankings-final-2013-regular-season-polls

off record only the top 6 are easy - the next two cause some controversy - but so does teams 68 and up in the BB tourney.
C fla and Louisville both 11-1 and outside top 10.

Teams 64-68 will never win the National Basketball Title...EVER.

There is an outside chance that an 8 seed may knock off the 1 on the road. That is why I think giving the top teams a bye, playing the first two rounds at the higher seed, and reseeding are key.

A 10 seed may beat the 3 at a neutral site, but there is a significantly high probability they won't beat the 3 on the road, a fresh 1 seed on the road, and 2 seed in three successive weeks to even get a chance at the championship game..

 

[BlueDogs]

8 is the right number in my head but willing to see how this plays out this year.
below is the final 2013 regular season poll prior to bowl games
http://www.hustlebelt.com/2013/12/8...ball-rankings-final-2013-regular-season-polls

off record only the top 6 are easy - the next two cause some controversy - but so does teams 68 and up in the BB tourney.
C fla and Louisville both 11-1 and outside top 10.

Yes, I'd think 8 is infinitely better than 4. But. I still think 16 is a good number. If my math is right, that's a max of 5 weeks of games. Cut the regular season to a max of 11 games . Get rid of patsy games and require at least two OC games. You could fit 2 weeks of playoffs in December and 3 weeks in January. The rest go to bowls.

If they did this , they would be printing money hand over fist, and also some of that money could go to player stipends which is coming one way or another.

 

[mauconnfan]

Best 4 teams - Miss St, FSU, Oregon and Alabama.............

 

[whaler11]

So for all the different scenarios kicked around. Any of them consider what happens if Missouri wins the SEC? They could win the SEC with 3 losses.

 

[RedStickHusky]

I hope it happens. An sec lock out hasten playoff expansion. Whatever happens with the rest of the season, that old miss almost td was as epic a play as I can remember. The injury sucked but there was so much drama packed into that play it was ridiculous. I dislike the Sec attitude towards all things non sec but there are some great games happening there. Big12 too, to a slightly lesser degree.

 

[SAMCRO]

The SEC west is going to take care of itself once all the games are played, but still have a strong chance to end up with 2 teams (I'm predicting only 1 though). Also, how much is Mizzou kicking themselves over that early season loss to a very weak Indiana team?
- MSU still has games @ Bama and the Egg Bowl @ Ole Miss.
- Bama still has @ LSU, MSU and Iron Bowl when they host Auburn.
- Auburn is still @ UGa and @ Bama, two tough places to go get a win.
- Ole Miss just dropped 2 straight, so they have the role of spoiler left to play when they host MSU
Lot's of losses looming for the Wesst, and the survivor most likely gets a 2 loss Mizzou team in the SECCG

My predicted top 4: FSU, Alabama, Oregon, and Michigan St. This will leave out a likely 1 loss BXII champion (KSU, TCU, or Baylor) who did not get the benefit of a CG ratings bump. Cue the cry for CR and a BXII CG... our WV freinds who can not be named on this site are licking their tooth in anticipation.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Lol @their tooth... I think k state with a close lose to auburn is the 12's best bet. Hadn't considered those implications, though. This playoff could cause some big ripples.