What would a college football playoff look like this year?
Last year, I proposed an eight-team playoff system for college football that would take the place of the BCS. Here are my assumptions:
1. The six BCS-conference champs get an automatic bid unless they are ranked outside the top 15. There would need to be some sort of ranking system used. For now, we will use the BCS.
2. If a conference champ is ranked lower than #15 in the rankings, they give up their automatic bid and it becomes an at-large bid. (This rule is to ensure that the regular season keeps its meaning and only the elite teams make the playoffs.)
3. Seeds and at-large bids are distributed based on the current BCS standings. Certainly, these rankings need to be tweaked to place more of an emphasis on head-to-head matchups, but they are fine for now. If an at-large team has a better BCS ranking than a conference champion, they will get a higher seed.
4. There will be three rounds of playoffs. The first round will be held at the home stadium of the higher-seeded team. The semifinals and the final will rotate amongst the four BCS cities (Miami, Pasadena, Tempe and New Orleans), so that those cities don’t lose the revenue from the bowl games.
So, at this point in the season, what would a playoff look like?
#8 Oregon @ #1 Florida/Alabama
I’m assuming everyone wins out, so since the Gators and Tide are ranked 1/2 in the BCS, the winner would be the #1 seed. Oregon is currently ranked #13, but still face two ranked teams (#17 Arizona and #23 Oregon State), so they would definitely finish in the top 15 if they win out.
#5 TCU @ #4 Cincinnati
The Horned Frogs have been destroying teams of late and another win next week against #16 Utah would help convince the voters that TCU belongs. If Cincy wins out (including wins over Virginia Tech and Pitt), then they’ll likely leapfrog the Frogs and get a home game in the first round.
#6 Georgia Tech @ #3 Florida/Alabama
Tech has to beat Duke next week before their regular season closer with in-state rival Georgia. They will likely face Clemson in the ACC championship game, which will mean that if they win out, they’ll have three wins over ranked opponents. They’d likely travel to the SEC runner-up for the first round of this playoff.
#7 Iowa @ #2 Texas
Texas is a good bet to win out and would move up to #2 since Florida and Alabama will still have to play each other in the SEC championship. Iowa is currently ranked #10, but a win next week against Ohio State would put them in position to clinch the Big Ten title. If the Buckeyes win out, they’d likely get this playoff spot.
Who gets screwed?
Boise State. They haven’t lost a game this season and have a head-to-head win over Oregon, who is in position to make the playoffs. At this point, the Broncos have to hope that the voters recognize this and rank them ahead of TCU. But then TCU would be screwed. A couple of things could be done to prevent this: 1) expand the playoff to 12 teams, or 2) if a non-BCS school has a head-to-head win over a BCS team and is ahead of that team in the rankings, then they get the bid. In this case, Boise State would replace Oregon, because the Broncos are ranked ahead of the Ducks and have a head-to-head win this season.
Please discuss.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Posted in: College Football
Tags: 12-team playoff, 2009 college football playoff, 8-team college football playoff, 8-team playoff, BCS apologists, BCS debate, BCS Mess, BCS system, college football playoff, college football playoff system, eight-team college football playoff, eight-team playoff, Headlines
Cool – I am in favor of a playoff – something like this or similar.
testing
To have 8 game playoff, why not have all teams play 11 game schedule with 12th game open. The 8 teams picked for the playoffs would play the first round as their 12th game while the other 114 teams could finish their regular season.
Then the bowl season starts as usual with the remaining 4 teams playing each other.
With season over, there would only be one game left for the national championship.
The 8 team playoff is the right idea. But the normal bowl system must remain as close to the current setup as possible to obtain buy-in. I suggest the top 8 play in the four major bowls, with two more games, the final being the weekend before the Super Bowl, which is normally dead. Only 4 teams are challenged by an additional game, and only two must play a second. No big deal.
My proposal has the semifinals and the final rotate amongst the four BCS bowl cities. I’d rather see the first round played at the home stadiums of the higher seeds, with that revenue being shared amongst the teams in the conference (to get conference buy in).
There’s no need to drag this out until late January, IMO.
I love the home stadium idea. Let’s see if the Southern teams or the Pac-10 teams could win on the road in a cold weather city.
I would just go with the top 8 teams in the BCS rankings – keep it simple.
All I can say is what a stupid playoff system this is whae an UNDEFETED team doesn’t get a shot at the title.
Like I said, Boise State gets screwed under this format, assuming TCU wins out. But something like this — automatic bids for the BCS conference champs — is necessary to get buy in. It may not be ideal, but it’s realistic.
John
Just like last year, I am leaning towards 12 teams. Things may sort out this year though.
If an 8 team playoff is ideal, how about the 8 highest rated conference champs?
In this scenario, Bama would have the biggest gripe but if they lose to Florida in the SEC championship, they aren’t the best team.
As of right now, the 8 highest conf. champs would be: Florida, Texas, Cincy, TCU, Boise, Ga Tech, Iowa and Oregon.
The only 1 loss teams left out as of now would be Bama and Pitt who both would have opportunities to get in if they would win over Florida or Cincy respectively.
That is not a bad playoff…and I am a PSU guy, not a Pitt guy!!
That’s not a bad idea, though it’s tough to leave out a top 3 or 4 team. The fact that the SEC plays their championship on a neutral field, but what about the Pac-10 or Big Ten where the conference champion could be decided on the road? It seems like a really good team should get another shot if they are considered to be an elite team and didn’t win their conference because they had to play the eventual champion on the road.
My plan for a college football championship. All 120 colleges are ranked
by 132 formulae, which are averaged. The top eight colleges get home games,
and are bracketed by geography. The next eight colleges get away games, and
are also bracketed by geography. As of 2009 November 7:
Left Bracket: 16 Penn State 8-2 at 2 Alabama 9-0,
: 11 LSU 7-2 at 3 Texas 9-0,
: 12 Pittsburgh 8-1 at 1 Florida 9-0,
: 13 Iowa 9-1 at 6 Boise State 9-0.
Right Bracket: 15 Virginia Tech 6-3 at 5 Cincinnati 9-0,
: 9 Ohio State 8-2 at 7 Oregon 7-2,
: 10 USC 7-2 at 4 TCU 9-0,
: 14 Miami 7-2 at 8 Georgia Tech 9-1.
Likely semi-final games:
: Alabama 9-0 (north) vs Florida 9-0 (south),
: TCU 9-0 (west) vs Cincinnati 9-0 (east).
Colleges are limited to 10 games played in September, October and November.
Conference championship games are eliminated, since first round games may
match up the same two colleges. Playoff dates are December 5, 12, 19 and
January 2. Bowls can bid for games (except first round).
Alt Left Bracket: 12 Pittsburgh 8-1 at 2 Alabama 9-0,
: 11 LSU 7-2 at 4 TCU 9-0,
: 15 Virginia Tech 6-3 at 3 Texas 9-0,
: 9 Ohio State 8-2 at 5 Cincinnati 9-0.
Alt Right Bracket: 16 Penn State 8-2 at 1 Florida 9-0,
: 10 USC 7-2 at 7 Oregon 7-2,
: 13 Iowa 9-1 at 6 Boise State 9-0,
: 14 Miami 7-2 at 8 Georgia Tech 9-1.
..which leads me back to 12 teams. I think that the top 8 conf. champs and the next 4 highest teams would be fair to everyone. As of now, I guess, the next 4 teams (aside from conference champions) would be Alabama, USC, Pitt and LSU.
i think that you should keep the bowl games and there selections so for example the fiesta bowl winner would play rose bowl winner and orange and suger
winner of the second round would go to BCS national title game