Playoff expansion is the wrong way to go

#1
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VolJarhead

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#1
This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I miss the conference ties to particular bowls and the disputed split national championships. Every bowl mattered. I can't count how many times this bowl season that I read about how such and such bowl was pointless and there was no reason for players to risk injury. Bowls mattered more before the BCS and I hate what the playoffs are turning bowl games into. I am a fan that would like to dissolve the playoff. Is college football profiting more from the playoffs? That is the only way it would go back.
 
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#2
#2
VolJarhead said:
This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I miss the conference ties to particular bowls and the disputed split national championships. Every bowl mattered. I can't count how many times this bowl season that I read about how such and such bowl was pointless and there was no reason for players to risk injury. Bowls mattered more before the BCS and I hate what the playoffs are turning bowl games into. I am a fan that would like to dissolve the playoff. Is college football profiting more from the playoffs? That is the only way it would go back.
Click to expand...

You want to leave it up to the polls to determine the championship game?
 
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#3
#3
That ship sailed. I also have fond memories of waking up on New Years day and the bowls were played one after another.. the big ones, Cotton, Sugar, Orange, Gator, Rose and I might be missing one. With that few bowl games, it really was something to make a bowl, and when you woke up on Jan 2, it was officially the off season.
 
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#4
#4
How would an expanded playoff system made a difference this year or last ? Putting in more teams is just a waste of time. It's a feel good for another team to say they made the playoffs even if there is no chance for them to win. More games is just a money grab for the schools and the gambling services.
 
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#5
#5
Volhoops said:
How would an expanded playoff system made a difference this year or last ? Putting in more teams is just a waste of time. It's a feel good for another team to say they made the playoffs even if there is no chance for them to win. More games is just a money grab for the schools and the gambling services.
Click to expand...

The bigger picture is at play.

If we ever want to have a chance to compete again the expanded playoff is the answer.

Right now 4 slots are rotated basically amongst 6-8 teams. They continue to destroy everyone else in recruiting, because they are always the only teams with a chance at the prize.

Figure 12 slots to open up 25 teams or so with a “chance”. We are much more likely to fall in to this pool. Lots of eyes, and attention on playoff games. Joe 4 and 5 star isn’t paying any attention to the Mayonnaise Bowl.

The idea being…..spread the wealth, eyeballs, and attention —and the talent pool is likely to spread out as well, creating some semblance of parity.
 
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#6
#6
More teams in the playoffs mean more games matter.

Before BCS if a team wasn’t playing in either the Sugar, Rose, Orange or Cotton they probably not in the running for the NC.

Does the Championship Game still rotate around?
 
#7
#7
Volhoops said:
How would an expanded playoff system made a difference this year or last ? Putting in more teams is just a waste of time. It's a feel good for another team to say they made the playoffs even if there is no chance for them to win. More games is just a money grab for the schools and the gambling services.
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying, but it will take several years for the expanded playoffs to spread out the talent, right now the talent is concentrated in just a few teams and for the most part those teams have been in the playoffs much more than not since this 4 team concept stated.

I would say 16 and yes, I know 8-16 don't really have a chance, but they could use the existing bowl games to do the playoffs as I really can't say that watching a bunch of 6-6 teams is very exciting.

The last thing you want is to go back to the old bowl style alone to decide the national championship as that would leave it up to the Sports Writers to make the decision and more often than not it was a Midwest team or Big 10 team that won as that is where most of the sports writers went to school and they were very biased on who they voted for.

I can't tell you how many games I went to in the 80's and watched Tennessee play another SEC team and then I would watch the game of the week being played on TV by two top rated teams and neither would hold a candle to either of the SEC teams that I had just watched.
 
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#9
#9
Why do we need the playoffs if it’s just gonna be a repeat of the SEC championship? Just scrap the whole system and give the title to the sec champ
 
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#10
#10
The playoffs must be expanded or I may never watch a bowl game other than those that include the Volunteers. For the first time I can ever remember I did not watch a New Years day bowl game.
 
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#11
#11
We need an expanded play offs because the SEC are so much stronger than the rest. Just look how outclassed CIN and MICH were in the semis, aTm and and others would have put up a better fight, even the Vols pushed both ALA & GEO harder and we are stronger now than when we played them. And dont forget the SEC are about to get OKL & TEX.

If you want competitive matches you need at least 4 SEC teams in the play offs.
 
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#12
#12
I've started to think the opposite

We want to knock off Bama and UGA right?

The playoffs are expanding to 12 teams

We can conceivably finish second in the east next year, which means we could very well be competing for one of those 12 playoff spots.

We make a playoff and we are on the same stage as a bammer or pup and we can just say hey yall, come on down and you can help us dethrone the kings because we're right there with them, we just need you!
 
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#15
#15
give_him 6 said:
I miss 1990s college football. This current version is a speeding train without a conductor.
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Will it crash into oblivion, or will it just survive, or will it survive and thrive ? Im leaning toward one of the first two options for me....others might like the new game.
 
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#17
#17
Every year people freak out mid-season and by the end of the year things sort themselves out and we still get someone getting blown out in the playoffs that people complain didn't deserve to be there. More than 4 is a waste of time.
 
#18
#18
VolJarhead said:
This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I miss the conference ties to particular bowls and the disputed split national championships. Every bowl mattered. I can't count how many times this bowl season that I read about how such and such bowl was pointless and there was no reason for players to risk injury. Bowls mattered more before the BCS and I hate what the playoffs are turning bowl games into. I am a fan that would like to dissolve the playoff. Is college football profiting more from the playoffs? That is the only way it would go back.
Click to expand...
Well, here is one fella who agrees with you!:cool:
 
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#19
#19
I agree partly with the OP but the genie is out of the box. Another problem is the number of bowls and the primary goal goal for many teams is to make it to 6-6 and anything better than that is just gravy on top. The only bowl game I watch is UT. Since the same teams are always in the playoffs I sometimes don’t watch them anymore. I may or may not watch Alabama/Georgia.
 
#20
#20
Doberman said:
The bigger picture is at play.

If we ever want to have a chance to compete again the expanded playoff is the answer.

Right now 4 slots are rotated basically amongst 6-8 teams. They continue to destroy everyone else in recruiting, because they are always the only teams with a chance at the prize.

Figure 12 slots to open up 25 teams or so with a “chance”. We are much more likely to fall in to this pool. Lots of eyes, and attention on playoff games. Joe 4 and 5 star isn’t paying any attention to the Mayonnaise Bowl.

The idea being…..spread the wealth, eyeballs, and attention —and the talent pool is likely to spread out as well, creating some semblance of parity.
Click to expand...
I agree with this as well. Only I would expand it to 16 teams. Automatic bids for the five power 5 conference winners and 11 at larges based on ranking. This gives more meaning back to winning your conference and the remaining slots will guarantee that you would capture the remaining best teams in the country.
 
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#22
#22
I can talk out of both sides of my mouth on this one. Better matchups in the 4 or 12 earlier bowls sounds good, but logistics could create some bad stories too. In a 16 team deal a more randomized first round selection process with ping pong balls for 8 sites, the top 8 and bottom 8 teams could prove interesting and eliminate most of the voter posturing we have today. Still have a fight over 8 vs 9 I guess. Do they have rematch or same conference avoidance rules or not? This would pull some of the better bowl sites back in time a bit, and intersperse the others, good or bad? Gotta believe some of these sponsors would love a shot at two playoff teams instead of a directional school. Even those bowls not in an expanded playoff would get better matchups. They might be more regionally selective to increase attendance?

Maybe have the second round games also randomly preset since the first round is totally randomized already. Could make for some fun story lines not driven by talking heads and gerrymandering back room deals. Ping pong ball manipulation theories would soon follow though.

Regardless I want them to just have post season practice, bowl or not for all teams as expanding to 16 teams would eliminate 24 teams from bowl participation. Why not? Who needs it more than those that did not earn a bowl shot? This could gain favor from the not so blessed. Revenue distribution from the playoffs could be a factor as well.

I can live with what we got, just don't watch many. I do find myself watching a good bit of the FCS playoff games. Significance is what it is, even with bad odds. Not sure how much of the March Madness feel would be involved. If I was, I would be more decisive on the subject.

I can see UT getting into the top 16 way before the top 4. Rocket science I know.
 
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#23
#23
8 team playoff just seems to make sense to me. 5 conference champs and 3 at large bids. I think the players should get paid by their conference for bowl games. Also no more bowls for 6-6 teams. Jmo
 
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#24
#24
It's very simple. If you don't win your conference, you don't go to playoff. That's right, this would mean Georgia's road ended in SEC champ game in ATL.

To me, if you don't win your conference, you have no business playing for all the marbles.

Expand the playoff and only have conference champions duke it out for the title.

Yes, there will be very lopsided and unfair matchups. But it expands the field and it honors conference title winners and it shuts everybody up. No more crying and complaining your team didn't get "picked"....because no team is picked, it's literally played out on the field.

This also gives a lesser opponent a chance. A snowballs chance in hell, but a chance nevertheless.

I for one, have little interest in watching Bama play Marshall. But, you know what? We don't have to watch Bama and Georgia twice in one month.....

***there could be a "wildcard system" put in place or play in games, but now we are back to....."our team didn't get picked for this" scenario.....

The current system is as corrupt as college football has ever been. Why? Because, you still have the human element of picking who gets in.....
 
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