College Football Playoff Looking At Expanded Field Options

[LBird33]

If you open up the playoffs. Recruiting will change over time. The talent will spread beyond the top 5 teams as players will have more options to make the playoffs. It will take time but it could happen. This will allow for more competition. Vs one or three teams stacking all the talent.

 

[UCFBfan]

If you want to place emphasis on the regular season...you emphasize the body of work during the season....a 7 win team that upsets a 12 win team in the CCG, doesn't really have the body of work.

Example,,,When 8 win FSU upset 11 win VT in the CCG...FSU was champ, but VT was the better team, had the better season, and the better body of work....

You're correct that the best teams deserve to play for the championship. The problem is that the best teams are the same ones year in and year out and due to only having 4 teams who are selected based on loose guidelines, allows this to become stagnant. Look at the NFL. Every division champion gets into the playoff and two wild card teams. Two years ago you had the Titans knock off the Ravens and Patriots, two better record teams. Had you only had the best teams, you'd never have that.

They need to have conference champions at least. I know it will only be P5 champions because it's all about money, but I'm sure they could make it be a spot for highest G5 champion.

 

[UCFBfan]

If you open up the playoffs. Recruiting will change over time. The talent will spread beyond the top 5 teams as players will have more options to make the playoffs. It will take time but it could happen. This will allow for more competition. Vs one or three teams stacking all the talent.

This actually might not take as much time as you think with the new transfer rule. I agree 100% with your post.

 

[billybud]

The best teams are the best teams year in and out because they run the best programs and attract top athletes....Alabama is like the UConn Women...and Saban is like Auriemma.


But programs cycle...Miami won three NC's in seven years...Nebraska was a power in the 90's, FSU as well.

Can Ball State win it all ?...

Ball State would have to have a miraculous rise...they did finally win a bowl last year against San Jose State (before, they were one of eight FBS teams that had not won a bowl).

Diversity, diversity....Oh. I get the trend to want different faces...so did the Oscars...but I still like football championships to be decided by merit...the best should play the best.

 

[LBird33]

If they are......they will

 

[freescooter]

It’s not like the top 4 have resulted in many great semi final games. Most have been unwatchable blowouts. And you guys want to tell me Cincinatti couldn’t have put up a better fight than the teams in there this season? Nonsense. This is a made for TV movie that has run its course. Some changes need to be made before it becomes a nothing burger.

 

[freescooter]

Really...an Alabama, who you blithely say ""didn't win their league"...although it had a one loss record in the SEC, wasn't one of the top teams? They were selected because they were good...and beat two of the other top four to solidify that thought and win the NC....good grief.

8 team playoff they would be in no question. But 4? I don’t really remember who was #5 that year but hey the Tide lost a critical game. It wouldn’t have mattered though. ESPN wanted them they were going even if they lost the championship game had they made it.

 

[billybud]

Scooter...the Final CFP Rankings...were:

1..Clemson
2..Oklahoma
3..Georgia
4..Alabama

5..Ohio State

Ohio State was a conference champ...but had a beat down, 24-55, against Iowa and lost 16-31 at home to Oklahoma...

Alabama lost to Auburn....but went on to beat Georgia and Clemson in the CFP playoff....

 

[uconntailgater]

I think an eight team playoff would be best. First round games on campus then rotate the semi final and championship games among the existing bowl games utilized now. It would reward teams willing to take a chance and play marquee match-ups during the regular season as they would still have a chance at the playoffs with one or two losses depending on their schedules. It would give a reasonable shot to a G5 program that's having a great season. The on-site campus quarterfinal games would add to the college football pageantry. Northern teams hosting teams from down south in mid-December could have an impact weather wise? It would be great if the quarterfinal games were on network television.

 

[Hogoff]

The best teams are the best teams year in and out because they run the best programs and attract top athletes....Alabama is like the UConn Women...and Saban is like Auriemma.


But programs cycle...Miami won three NC's in seven years...Nebraska was a power in the 90's, FSU as well.

Can Ball State win it all ?...

Ball State would have to have a miraculous rise...they did finally win a bowl last year against San Jose State (before, they were one of eight FBS teams that had not won a bowl).

Diversity, diversity....Oh. I get the trend to want different faces...so did the Oscars...but I still like football championships to be decided by merit...the best should play the best.

Are you in love with Ball State? If you are using them as a representative of all G5 programs, they are a bad one. Cincinnati last year deserved a playoff. UCF two years ago deserved a playoff. People would have watched those games. 2015 Houston if they had won out would have deserved a playoff. If the same 4 teams compete year in and year out for a national championship it will water down the rest of college football. Just my opinion.

 

[billybud]

Are you in love with Ball State? If you are using them as a representative of all G5 programs, they are a bad one. Cincinnati last year deserved a playoff. UCF two years ago deserved a playoff. People would have watched those games. 2015 Houston if they had won out would have deserved a playoff. If the same 4 teams compete year in and year out for a national championship it will water down the rest of college football. Just my opinion.

Nope...I didn't bring Ball State up...that was the example of a playoff posted on page one....I think Ball State is Ball State.

6. Oklahoma v 11. Ball State (Norman, OK) —> winner to play 3. Ohio State in Columbus, OH

 

[Hogoff]

Nope...I didn't bring Ball State up...that was the example of a playoff posted on page one....I think Ball State is Ball State.

6. Oklahoma v 11. Ball State (Norman, OK) —> winner to play 3. Ohio State in Columbus, OH

I stand corrected.

 

[billybud]

If Cincinnati deserved to be in the playoff....than certainly Georgia, who beat them in the bowl, deserved to be in...

I would be more convinced about a UCF or Cincinnati if they would have won their bowl games against their opponent those years.

Cincinnati was a Top 25 team...who played a good game....and yeah, were undefeated against a schedule ranked # 82.

In a 8 team format, Cincinnati would have been last team in at #8.....and Georgia was #9....so Cincinnati did get their chance against #9.

Against the 10 and 11 game winners that were in, one could quibble over the inclusion of 6-0 Ohio State.

 

[UCFBfan]

If Cincinnati deserved to be in the playoff....than certainly Georgia, who beat them in the bowl, deserved to be in...

I would be more convinced about a UCF or Cincinnati if they would have won their bowl games against their opponent those years.

Cincinnati was a Top 25 team...who played a good game....and yeah, were undefeated against a schedule ranked # 82.

In a 8 team format, Cincinnati would have been last team in at #8.....and Georgia was #9....so Cincinnati did get their chance against #9.

Against the 10 and 11 game winners that were in, one could quibble over the inclusion of 6-0 Ohio State.

This I agree with. I think UCF deserved a shot because of who they beat that year but Cincy I was ok with being left out. I did have an issue with Ohio State being included over some other teams.

 

[DoctorWho85]

If Cincinnati deserved to be in the playoff....than certainly Georgia, who beat them in the bowl, deserved to be in...

I would be more convinced about a UCF or Cincinnati if they would have won their bowl games against their opponent those years.

Cincinnati was a Top 25 team...who played a good game....and yeah, were undefeated against a schedule ranked # 82.

In a 8 team format, Cincinnati would have been last team in at #8.....and Georgia was #9....so Cincinnati did get their chance against #9.

Against the 10 and 11 game winners that were in, one could quibble over the inclusion of 6-0 Ohio State.

UCF did win their bowl game against Auburn in the Peach bowl though.

 

[Exit 4]

The format I still would like to see is:
5 P5 conf champions and the conf can decide if they want their champ to be the winner in a champ game or highest in the poll if for some reason the champ game isn't played.
3 At large with a bunch of stipulations:
A) must include at least one non P5 program
B) for P5 and independent at large bids which are not conf champs, the selection committee may only consider teams ranked inside the top 12 (see C below for why this is top 12 and not top 8).
C) no more than two schools per conf in the eight team playoff.

G5/Independent auto bid rules:
least two non P5 programs if) one auto bid for any G5 or Independent that is undefeated with at least 11 FBS wins including at least 2 P5 win regardless of ranking; ii) a second auto bid for the G5 for any school ranked in the top 12 with no more than 1 loss with at least 2 P5 wins and at least 10 FBS wins and iii) the selection committee must take a second G5 if two finish inside the top 10 in the rankings regardless of the number of losses.

As for the bowls, assign the major bowls to each of these playoff games. Have it rotate on a fixed schedule.

As for the lesser bowls, game on - business as usual.

Timeline,
Round 1 - maybe one game New Years eve and three games New Year day.
Round 2 - two games the following saturday / saturday evening, min 7 days between Round 1 and 2.
Champ Game - the following saturday night.

Will an expanded playoff happen? Yeah, I think so.
Will it include anything to help the G5/independents? No - it wont because ESPN and the P5 are not going to give the G5 anything at all. Nothing. The G5 will only get in if they are undefeated and inside the top 8. Yes, I tried to codify some scenarios to help the G5 above, but it wont happen - its fantasy.

 

[billybud]

UCF did win their bowl game against Auburn in the Peach bowl though.

True...but Clemson had already beaten Auburn....as had Georgia and LSU....

In a four team format, UCF was handicapped by not playing a P5 during the season so comparisons were difficult to make.

 

[billybud]

You really should have shown a "body of work" among the best in the country to play for a national championship...

And that is difficult for a G5....for instance, last season, Cincinnati's big win was against Tulsa.

Undefeated UCF in 2017 did not play a P5 team in regular season and that hurt them...

It is like when teams only play within conference...it becomes difficult to tell how good a team is just from the record.

Like Fairfield right now in baseball....superlative record...but are they better than Texas, Tennessee, Vandy, etc.? Because of baseball's larger playoff format, we may get to find out.

 

[huskysupporter]

Forget 8 teams -should be 16. That will ensure 1 or 2 non P5 teams get in and makes it more exciting.

Reduce number of non-conference games played.

 

[DoctorWho85]

Forget 8 teams -should be 16. That will ensure 1 or 2 non P5 teams get in and makes it more exciting.

Reduce number of non-conference games played.

Like I said before 16 teams, conference champs are auto bid, then the 6 highest ranked non conference chanmps gets in. This appeases the SEC's greed by getting at least 2 (probably more like 4) into the playoffs and appeases the G5/independants as they all have an equal chance to get in.

 

[huskymedic]

->Concerned that their four-team product has been harmed by the dominance of a select few teams from the same region, FBS commissioners are seriously considering expanding the College Football Playoff. And while it’s long been assumed that any change to the format would be modest, several influential decision-makers are suddenly open to a playoff system that skips past eight teams and into the double digits. “I sense 12 teams is building support,” one Power 5 athletic director said. <-

-> “There are two unintended consequences people didn’t see when they created the Playoff,” said a college administrator familiar with the discussions. “One, seeing the same teams over and over from one part of the country. It’s impairing the product, because there’s boredom. … There’s risk to not enough (geographic) spread. Secondly, the brand damage to a conference that doesn’t get in it.” <-

-> Of the 28 available spots in the Playoff so far, Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma have filled 20. The fear of fatigue from a significant portion of the college-football watching public is real. With no salary cap and no draft to even out the talent levels among the teams, college football can’t rely on rapid changes in teams’ fortunes to keep things fresh. That means there is no telling when a new set of teams might cycle up to take the place of some of the current dominant teams. <-

-> Another major factor is that interest in the bowls beneath the Playoff has waned for fans and for players. Opt-outs have become more common as draft-eligible players choose not to risk injury in games that have no stakes attached. For example, the Florida team that lost by six points to eventual national champ Alabama in the SEC Championship played in the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma without its best player (tight end Kyle Pitts) and three other starters. The result was a lopsided Oklahoma win in a matchup that didn’t resemble what organizers hoped they’d get when the game was set. One reason commissioners opted for a four-team Playoff after scrapping the BCS was in an effort to protect the bowl system. Multiple sources indicated they don’t expect the commissioners to fight so hard for the bowls this time. <-

-> Another key factor is whether ESPN would be willing to rip up the current deal and pay more for an expanded playoff. A former television network executive believes ESPN would be willing to play ball: “There are only so many platinum properties.” In the last non-pandemic season, the CFP semifinal games averaged 17.2 million and 21.2 million viewers, respectively. The national title game between LSU and Clemson averaged 25.6 million viewers. All those games aired on ESPN. The last non-pandemic NBA Finals — which aired on free-over-the-air ABC — averaged 15.1 million viewers per game. <-

->Renegotiating the deal now also provides another advantage to ESPN — keeping the Playoff from hitting the open market. If the leagues want to expand the Playoff before 2026, they have to do it with ESPN. <-

 

[Drew]

This is really trending towards happening. I can’t believe it.

 

[CL82]

The best teams are the best teams year in and out because they run the best programs and attract top athletes....Alabama is like the UConn Women...and Saban is like Auriemma

But football isn’t like basketball, or is it? So confusing.

 

[huskysupporter]

love it. 16 is ideal but 12 is a great start.

 

[billybud]

But football isn’t like basketball, or is it? So confusing.

No...football isn't basketball....in basketball, if you catch a couple of elite players and have serviceable support...you can be a NC contender....

Not so in football.......

And, in football, with only 12 games in regular season...the regular season is part of the playoff....

And, in the basketball tourney, fully half of the seeds have never, ever, won an NC...seeds 9-16 are just there to cheer Cinderella's but have no chance to win the tournament...and they have not.

We don't whine that seeds #1-3 have won 87% of the tournaments...because we actually think that seeds #9-16 could...despite the history...magical thinking at its best.