Playoff Bracket

[Tenspro2002]

We are 1 weekend in and you’ve already decided this?

The rest of the CFP may be a rousing success, but the opening weekend was a total dud, and predictably so.

Doesn't mean that an 8-team playoff wouldn't have been compelling, but we can already conclude that 12 was pointless.

 

[ZooCougar]

FBS needs to either go to 16 or completely relook how the seeding happens.

Being a conf champ should get you in the door not a bye.

The next batch of games will be bad too.

 

[Jimdish255]

What was the point in going to 12 instead of 8? (This is rhetorical, I know it was money. But that was a horrible product this weekend.)

Year 1 is a pretty small sample size and the fact that the home teams won is a big surprise to no one. But I agree that it should be 8 or 16. I hate byes in any tournament but the physical demands of football with travel and potential injuries make it punitive.

 

[ZooCougar]

Year 1 is a pretty small sample size and the fact that the home teams won is a big surprise to no one. But I agree that it should be 8 or 16. I hate byes in any tournament but the physical demands of football with travel and potential injuries make it punitive.

Well. They are professionals and employees now. So they have to put out.

 

[NEforceUConn]

These games all suck.

Aint that the truth. Awful. I checked out after viewing the early scores.

 

[Vowelguy]

FBS needs to either go to 16 or completely relook how the seeding happens.

Going to 16 means the end of conference championship games.

 

[ZooCougar]

Going to 16 means the end of conference championship games.

Oh no

 

[Tenspro2002]

Year 1 is a pretty small sample size and the fact that the home teams won is a big surprise to no one. But I agree that it should be 8 or 16. I hate byes in any tournament but the physical demands of football with travel and potential injuries make it punitive.

Eh, I mean, this wasn't just "the home teams won." The home teams were over 90% to win for the vast majority of each game. There was never a realistic doubt about who would win.

They shouldn't have gotten greedy and should have just gone to 8 -- 5 or 6 auto-bids and 2 or 3 at-larges to account for conferences that were really strong and have multiple worthy teams. Did we need 2 ACC teams or the 3rd best SEC and Big Ten teams?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

^^^^
The right thing to do would have been expanding from four to eight, then, down the road expanding to twelve.

The thing is, to get the P2 to agree the expansion had to guarantee additional (more than two) bids, which, as the P2 had two bids in the past required expanding beyond eight.

 

[B1GEast]

What was the point in going to 12 instead of 8? (This is rhetorical, I know it was money. But that was a horrible product this weekend.)

The outcomes of the 12 team shouldn't matter. The SEC will complain that SMU should not have gotten a slot.

I think that none of the poor showings by Indiana or SMU will diminish this years championship.

But unfortunately next year the SEC will probably get it's way with similar scenarios if they arise.

 

[HCCForever]

The outcomes of the 12 team shouldn't matter. The SEC will complain that SMU should not have gotten a slot.

I think that none of the poor showings by Indiana or SMU will diminish this years championship.

But unfortunately next year the SEC will probably get it's way with similar scenarios if they arise.

The SEC should be more concerned about how bad TN looked.

 

[How Sway?!]

Eh, I mean, this wasn't just "the home teams won." The home teams were over 90% to win for the vast majority of each game. There was never a realistic doubt about who would win.

They shouldn't have gotten greedy and should have just gone to 8 -- 5 or 6 auto-bids and 2 or 3 at-larges to account for conferences that were really strong and have multiple worthy teams. Did we need 2 ACC teams or the 3rd best SEC and Big Ten teams?

Ohio State wouldnt have made it in an 8 teams playoff, unless you were to remove auto bids, which would only serve so solidly the P2. 12 is fine, there have always been blowouts in the playoffs and always will be. That is a small price to pay to ensure the post season isn't limited to the same 6 teams.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

The outcomes of the 12 team shouldn't matter. The SEC will complain that SMU should not have gotten a slot.

I think that none of the poor showings by Indiana or SMU will diminish this years championship.

But unfortunately next year the SEC will probably get it's way with similar scenarios if they arise.

The SEC should be more concerned about how bad TN looked.

Tennessee, looking every bit as overmatched as SMU & Indiana (while facing the lowest seeded home team) may be the one thing that saves this from being a five or six SEC school playoff in the near future.

Yes, a claim can be made that the fifth, sixth, seventh best SEC could beat the top G5 school or the second ACC or B12 school but the issue should be who is more deserving of the opportunity to have a chance at the playoffs. All Alabama needed to do was win one of their games against Tennessee, Vanderbilt or Oklahoma. Hell, they didn't even need to beat Tennessee as soundly as Ohio St did.

A massive part of the problem is the schools in that conference want the upside of the realignment moves they've made without having to face the downside that is inherent in adding name brand schools.

 

[B1GEast]

Tennessee, looking every bit as overmatched as SMU & Indiana (while facing the lowest seeded home team) may be the one thing that saves this from being a five or six SEC school playoff in the near future.

Yes, a claim can be made that the fifth, sixth, seventh best SEC could beat the top G5 school or the second ACC or B12 school but the issue should be who is more deserving of the opportunity to have a chance at the playoffs. All Alabama needed to do was win one of their games against Tennessee, Vanderbilt or Oklahoma. Hell, they didn't even need to beat Tennessee as soundly as Ohio St did.

A massive part of the problem is the schools in that conference want the upside of the realignment moves they've made without having to face the downside that is inherent in adding name brand schools.

I agree with everything you wrote. Right now, ESPN and the SEC are going to do everything they can to make sure this doesn't happen next year, which is unfortunate, because the purpose of expanding the playoffs was to give additional teams a shot which would minimize the argument over who really is the best college team.

The problem is that the team that wins isn't always the best team that year, but the team the played it's best football at the end of the season.

Expanding to 12 was also about more money for the SEC and Big 10.

I really hope that Boise State or Arizona St wins the championship. Notre Dame, the Big 10 and SEC game go screw themselves

 

[Vowelguy]

Tenn were 3rd best SEC and got stomped

 

[ScottVib]

Furthermore, Texas was the 2nd best SEC team, and played the closest game of the first round, at home against the bottom team in the bracket. What will save them, is Georgia can still win a rock-fight and Texas continues to face the easiest draw in the tournament, with the second lowest ranked team in the bracket.