The expanded College Football Playoff off to a rough start

[Duncan Idaho]

Super Bowls, NFL playoffs since the 60s have been largely 2+ scores or more.

Another game, another mismatch.

Another Nelson post, another self-created opportunity to be right. Scoreboard!!!!

 

[SubbaBub]

Depends on how you define "work".

It's often been stated that the sole purpose of the CFP is to help ensure the "best" team succeeds and wins the crown. It's not to guarantee entertaining contests.

If one goes by that definition, then this year's CFP is the best way to do that that's been devised thus far. Although I still think they could've accomplished the same with just eight teams.

This is the paradox of CFB. How do you know the best teams until they play?

Winning a major conference championship is an actual thing. It's objective. So Boise and ASU get byes, big whoop. They have to still beat 3 too teams to win the title. If they were #5 and #6 we'd still have the same matchups. If they were #7 & #8, we'd still have similar matchups. It doesn't really matter.

All you'd he doing is saying the A team like Tennessee or SMU could beat them in the first round. While that's true, it doesn't affect the ultimate outcome

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Depends on how you define "work".

It's often been stated that the sole purpose of the CFP is to help ensure the "best" team succeeds and wins the crown. It's not to guarantee entertaining contests.

If one goes by that definition, then this year's CFP is the best way to do that that's been devised thus far. Although I still think they could've accomplished the same with just eight teams.

Did you really just post that college football is not about entertaining its viewers? You are aware that the players are not curing disease or inventing a new AI application, they are playing football. The reason there are billions of dollars to split among them is because people are entertained. If it stops being entertaining, a lot of people in the college football industry are going to make a lot less money.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

What is your solution?

OT: - NIL and the Transfer Portal...How do you fix it?

Maybe this is a topic that has been posted before, but what is the fix? I don't see NIL itself as the problem, but rather NIL coupled with the transfer portal, where everyone is a free agent all of the time, with no binding obligation to even play a full year. (Think the UNLV QB, which is the...

the-boneyard.com

If that is tl;dr, the answer is there is no answer. I think the sport is in deep trouble and is going to fail eventually.

 

[metsfan2323]

OT: - NIL and the Transfer Portal...How do you fix it?

Maybe this is a topic that has been posted before, but what is the fix? I don't see NIL itself as the problem, but rather NIL coupled with the transfer portal, where everyone is a free agent all of the time, with no binding obligation to even play a full year. (Think the UNLV QB, which is the...

the-boneyard.com

If that is tl;dr, the answer is there is no answer. I think the sport is in deep trouble and is going to fail eventually.

Personally I like the current "no rules" system. The old system was extremely corrupt and tilted toward certain power players, now the landscape has been flattened.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

OT: - NIL and the Transfer Portal...How do you fix it?

Maybe this is a topic that has been posted before, but what is the fix? I don't see NIL itself as the problem, but rather NIL coupled with the transfer portal, where everyone is a free agent all of the time, with no binding obligation to even play a full year. (Think the UNLV QB, which is the...

the-boneyard.com

If that is tl;dr, the answer is there is no answer. I think the sport is in deep trouble and is going to fail eventually.

That was far from being too long to read but there are flaws in your logic:

• Congressional interference isn't feasible. Beyond the point that our elected officials should have more important things to spend their time on, they haven't been effective in implimenting anything for longer than most can remember.
• Your contention of what "most fans" would be "interested in" would require fan investment throughout FBS football to be far more balanced than it currently is. The cartel of schools who are (and have been) receiving most of the spots that allow a chance to play for the title exceed home attendance numbers by mid-September that exceeds what more than half of FBS can claim for an entire season. brand names (Southern Cal, Notre Dame, etc.) land larger television audiences in down seasons than most non-P2 schools could ever land.

Your complaint currently is that most of these games are blowouts. I've been following this sport since Jim Plunkett and Archie Manning were playing for Stanford and Ole Miss respectively and in those five and a half decades there have been very few championships that were won with games like Miami-Nebraska in the 1/01/1984 Orange Bowl.

There are going t o be blowouts, it's part of the nature of sports. Hell, in the past two men's NCAA tournaments the eventual champion blew out every team they faced. Should congress have stepped in to make that more fair?

 

[storrsroars]

Did you really just post that college football is not about entertaining its viewers? You are aware that the players are not curing disease or inventing a new AI application, they are playing football. The reason there are billions of dollars to split among them is because people are entertained. If it stops being entertaining, a lot of people in the college football industry are going to make a lot less money.

You highly underestimate the appetite for crappy football of the general public.

If you disagree, please elaborate on the ratings success of Thursday Night Football compared to other televised/streamed entertainment in the same time period. TNF is well-known

 

[Vowelguy]

Whoever invented the sky cast so I don’t have to listen to tessitore deserves a nobel.

 

[maple]

Another lackluster game right now. Arizona St just being absolutely dominated. I wish we just went back to a 4 team CFP; felt like the games were usually more competitive/interesting overall.

Edit: I come on here to complain and then suddenly Arizona St decides to make things interesting.

 

[DoctorWho85]

Texas ASU is coming down to the wire in the 4th. Turning out to be the best game in the playoffs so far

 

[DoctorWho85]

Another lackluster game right now. Arizona St just being absolutely dominated. I wish we just went back to a 4 team CFP; felt like the games were usually more competitive/interesting overall.

Edit: I come on here to complain and then suddenly Arizona St decides to make things interesting.

Two blatant PI on Texas and ASU can tie

 

[storrsroars]

Texas ASU is coming down to the wire in the 4th. Turning out to be the best game in the playoffs so far

all tied!

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Another lackluster game right now. Arizona St just being absolutely dominated. I wish we just went back to a 4 team CFP; felt like the games were usually more competitive/interesting overall.

Edit: I come on here to complain and then suddenly Arizona St decides to make things interesting.

That was one hell of a post. It turned the game completely around.

 

[DoctorWho85]

all tied!

ASU making a good case why they should be included this game has really gotten exciting

 

[Scoe]

Skattebo don’t why he just feels like the football version of Cam Spencer, come on get a stop now.

 

[Bomber36]

This has turned into quite a game. Gotta love the heart the Sun Devils have shown. They looked like they were going to get blown out early on. Go ASU!

 

[storrsroars]

ASU making a good case why they should be included this game has really gotten exciting

Skattebo is fun to watch.

 

[maple]

Skattebo with that crazy TD pass was easily one of the best plays of the CFP so far.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

That was far from being too long to read but there are flaws in your logic:

• Congressional interference isn't feasible. Beyond the point that our elected officials should have more important things to spend their time on, they haven't been effective in implimenting anything for longer than most can remember.
• Your contention of what "most fans" would be "interested in" would require fan investment throughout FBS football to be far more balanced than it currently is. The cartel of schools who are (and have been) receiving most of the spots that allow a chance to play for the title exceed home attendance numbers by mid-September that exceeds what more than half of FBS can claim for an entire season. brand names (Southern Cal, Notre Dame, etc.) land larger television audiences in down seasons than most non-P2 schools could ever land.

Your complaint currently is that most of these games are blowouts. I've been following this sport since Jim Plunkett and Archie Manning were playing for Stanford and Ole Miss respectively and in those five and a half decades there have been very few championships that were won with games like Miami-Nebraska in the 1/01/1984 Orange Bowl.

There are going t o be blowouts, it's part of the nature of sports. Hell, in the past two men's NCAA tournaments the eventual champion blew out every team they faced. Should congress have stepped in to make that more fair?

All the major sports leagues operate under a legal umbrella protecting them from antitrust claims. College sports needs something similar.

I do not have a rebuttal for the argument by you and @storrsroars that college football can have an unwatchably terrible product and its current fan base will stay with it and even grow. You might be right, and we will probably find out soon.

 

[storrsroars]

Announcers gave Auburn a helluva buildup as a clutch kicker before he pushed that wide.

 

[Bomber36]

Buckle up baby. Let’s go ASU!

 

[Bomber36]

That was targeting. Can’t call it anything else. Edit…I guess you can. Bad review.

 

[UCFBfan]

This game is insane and there is no way that's not targeting. You know the WR is defenseless. You need to go low

 

[BugsyCT]

Helmet to helmet. Absolutely targeting. But we all know why they didn't call it.

 

[storrsroars]

That was targeting. Can’t call it anything else.

Apparently you can.

That was one of the hardest helmet on helmet hits I've seen this year.