Started By
Message

My Solution For a Fair Play-off

Posted on 12/3/23 at 5:45 pm
Posted by AUstar
Member since Dec 2012
17052 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 5:45 pm
I posted this on the Rant, but no one read it other than one bammer who thought it somehow had something to do with them (it doesn't). I've thought we need a system like the following for years:

There's currently 69 Power 5 programs with more coming in next year. They should try to make it 72 teams.

Dissolve all conferences except SEC and B1G. (We're headed that way anyway). Basically what I propose is to copy the NFL's NFC/AFC model. That means each conference would have 36 teams and 4 divisions with 9 teams each. Basically each division would be a mini-conference.

Each team is allowed to have a rent-a-win to start the season. These can be G5 schools who want the payday. The other 11 games will consist of 8 division games and 3 spots for teams to schedule teams from other divisions.

Next:

1) Division champ is based on record (just like SEC used to do prior to 1992). There are tie-breakers than can be fairly employed if 2 or more teams tie with the same record. If it's a 2 way tie, that's simple - the team that won head-to-head is the champ. For 3 way ties, there are solutions as well.

2) Put the 4 division champs in a play-off within the conference. Winner of this play-off is the conference champ.

3) Put the 2 conference champs in a one game play-off to determine national champion. This game can be rotated at the major bowls every season (Rose, Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, etc.)

Result: No committees, no "eye tests" and no bullshite. Everything is won on the field. There is no better way to do it, period.

Now will it happen? Probably not since the conferences act independently of the NCAA. There is no single governing body that has control of CFB. We'd need everyone to agree to make 2 super-conferences and that will be hard. Why? Because money is the first consideration of the schools, of ESPN, and of the NCAA. Money comes first and integrity and fairness second.

If anyone has a more fair way to do it, I'd love to hear it.
Posted by LanierSpots
Sarasota, Florida
Member since Sep 2010
61726 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 5:50 pm to
BCS system was the best system so far. Personally, I think the 12 team playoff will just be boring and it will change things even more.
Posted by makersmark1
earth
Member since Oct 2011
15921 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 5:50 pm to
Just go back to a 10 team SEC and a mythical NC.

Posted by AUstar
Member since Dec 2012
17052 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 5:52 pm to
quote:

BCS system was the best system so far.


Were you saying that in 2004?
Posted by Warfarer
Dothan, AL
Member since May 2010
12130 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 5:54 pm to
quote:

BCS system was the best system so far. Personally, I think the 12 team playoff will just be boring and it will change things even more.



I have said that the whole time, BCS was the best system. Even if they wanted to go to playoffs, use the BCS to pick the four and get rid of human bias. Use the numbers to judge.
Posted by DyeHardDylan
Member since Nov 2011
7741 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 6:26 pm to
The problem with the playoff committee is that the criteria is subjective and apparently optional, since they disregarded head to head matchups (Texas vs. Alabama) and comparative outcomes (Florida State vs. LSU and LSU vs. Alabama). There is too much power among the Committee and not enough of a system of checks and balances on that power. It’s wild to me that Condi Rice has a say in who ends up getting to be a college football champion.
Posted by GoCrazyAuburn
Member since Feb 2010
34891 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 6:33 pm to
Yep. They are applying rules when it is convenient and ignoring it when it is not. If they were consistent, there is no way they should have FSU at 5. They should be below UGA, Oregon, and OSU.

Instead, what they did was say we will put the best 4 teams in the playoff, then after that, we will value winning your conference or division above being the best team. It’s laughably inconsistent
This post was edited on 12/3/23 at 6:47 pm
Posted by Aubie Spr96
lolwut?
Member since Dec 2009
41170 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 6:53 pm to
Every other collegiate sport has a fricking playoff. There’s no need to complicate this.
Posted by LanierSpots
Sarasota, Florida
Member since Sep 2010
61726 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 6:59 pm to
quote:

Were you saying that in 2004?



Maybe not but looking back, it is no different than what happened today, we were just the ones on the out.

For the majority of the time, the BCS fitted the best two teams against each other. But people complained so we went to 4. Now people are still complaining so we will go to 12. I promise you, people will still complain so it will probably be expanded again

It is going to be tough for teams to make 16-17 games. That is a lot of football. I think last night, we saw what some of the playoff games will be like with Iowa and Louisville. Bad football. Sure there will be a few good games but there will be more bad ones


BCS was a good system. Maybe the system needed to be updated to include a bigger matrix but for the most part, it got it right

Posted by LanierSpots
Sarasota, Florida
Member since Sep 2010
61726 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 7:00 pm to
quote:

The problem with the playoff committee is that the criteria is subjective and apparently optional, since they disregarded head to head matchups (Texas vs. Alabama) and comparative outcomes (Florida State vs. LSU and LSU vs. Alabama). There is too much power among the Committee and not enough of a system of checks and balances on that power. It’s wild to me that Condi Rice has a say in who ends up getting to be a college football champion.




This is all correct.

It made the system more complicated and subjective
Posted by SECdragonmaster
Order of the Dragons
Member since Dec 2013
16235 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 7:02 pm to
Every level of football has a real playoff.

Except this one.

It’s different. Trust us.

Signed, the SEC and bammer.
Posted by Beachbum87
Las Vegas
Member since Oct 2022
1974 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 7:03 pm to
They also list one of the primary criteria for selection is player availability. So having Travis out of the game heavily weighed in their decision to not select FSU.
Posted by Weagle25
THE Football State.
Member since Oct 2011
46197 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 7:10 pm to
The worst thing about a 12 team is you have the potential to play someone three times.

So for example, Washington is 2-0 against Oregon (despite the eye test btw). If it was 12 teams this year, Oregon was in. So Oregon could beat Washington, win the national championship despite only going 1-2 against Washington.
Posted by LanierSpots
Sarasota, Florida
Member since Sep 2010
61726 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 7:20 pm to
You have to feel like the conference championship games could be eliminated in the near future. That is one game that will add to the carnage. Just pick the highest ranked team in the conference to be the champion. Then go to the playoffs.

From what I read, the highest 4 ranked conference champs will be in and get the first round bye. Then the next 8 teams will be selected by how they are ranked. Those 8 will play 4 games then the winners will face off with the 4 teams that got a bye. And so on


Rankings will still be a huge part of this. Im not sure how those rankings will be determined. Will it still be a combination of the AP and coaches polls or will there be a committee? Either way, people will still determine who is in

The playoff winner could play 4 games in the playoffs. Add that to the 12 game regular season and a conference championship, you play 17 games


Attrition could be a big deal then.
Posted by AUTubaHerd
Member since Nov 2012
1345 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 7:24 pm to
quote:

If they were consistent, there is no way they should have FSU at 5.


Yeah, they did the “eye test” to get them out of the top four but record/conference championship to keep them at 5.

And it was “name test” for Bama to get in because this was one of their sloppiest teams in recent memory.
Posted by DyeHardDylan
Member since Nov 2011
7741 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 7:29 pm to
quote:

They also list one of the primary criteria for selection is player availability. So having Travis out of the game heavily weighed in their decision to not select FSU.


That’s a fair point, but does that one factor outweigh the other factors in the criteria like Head to Head Matchups and Comparative Outcomes? Because Alabama lost to Texas in a head to head matchup at home, and FSU beat LSU by more than Alabama did.

Even with losing Travis, there are dozens of other players that make up the team. And they have stepped up when they had to in order to finish a perfect season. That’s what great teams do, and it’s unfair to punish every player on the team because the QB gets hurt.

I’d love for the SEC to always be in the playoffs, but let’s be real. This was a way down season for the conference, and we got smoked in head to head matchups vs. the ACC. I want the SEC in the playoffs, but not when it’s in this way. This feels icky and politically motivated.
This post was edited on 12/3/23 at 7:31 pm
Posted by Aubie Spr96
lolwut?
Member since Dec 2009
41170 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 7:35 pm to
quote:

The playoff winner could play 4 games in the playoffs. Add that to the 12 game regular season and a conference championship, you play 17 games


You’re overthinking this. D2 and D3 already do this along with every high school in America.

The BCS system was designed to favor a certain group of teams. How we have allowed it to exist this long is mind boggling. For as many times as Auburn has been screwed by these clowns, I can’t believe any Auburn fan would be in favor of keeping the current system.
Posted by Broadside Bob
Atlanta, GA
Member since Dec 2012
1086 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 7:50 pm to
quote:

BCS system was the best system so far. Personally, I think the 12 team playoff will just be boring and it will change things even more.


Times have changed, and the problem is we want one national champion from 120+ programs while playing a reasonable amount of football.

Generally, in the BCS era, there was a significant drop-off after the best 2 to 3 teams. Largely thanks to the transfer portal, probably any of the best 6 or 7 teams could beat in of the other best 6 or 7 teams on a given day. There were four slots so, chaos.
Posted by LanierSpots
Sarasota, Florida
Member since Sep 2010
61726 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 7:56 pm to
quote:

Auburn has been screwed by these clowns, I can’t believe any Auburn fan would be in favor of keeping the current system.


Other than 2004, I can’t possibly think of a situation where Auburn was screwed by the playoff situation.

And I am not necessarily in favor of either system. But I am able to take my blue and orange goggles off in order to look at what has happened.

Posted by HonorThyWarEagle
#Auburn2FinalFour
Member since Sep 2022
2959 posts
Posted on 12/3/23 at 7:58 pm to
FCS has a better system than the FBS
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 3Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow SECRant for SEC Football News
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest updates on SEC Football and Recruiting.

FacebookTwitter