Terrible.
The odds of the eight best teams in the country all being in different conferences is infinitesimal. And what good is having a playoff if you're not going to let the best teams in?
Conference Realignment
- Thread starter BIG ERN
- Start date
The odds of the eight best teams in the country all being in different conferences is infinitesimal. And what good is having a playoff if you're not going to let the best teams in?
RedRedJarvisRedwine
All-American
BAD BIG ERN, BAD!!!!
MichiganDad3
All-American
There is no way to know what the best eight teams are, there are not enough inter-conference games. It only seems fair that if you want to be national champion, you must win your conference. I also think it would be a big advantage to get into the playoffs without winning your conference. Imagine finishing 2nd your division, and not playing a conference championship game. One less game, more time for players to heal, and all other playoff teams are playing the toughest team in their conference and getting beat up. And the biggest advantage to eight conference champions in the playoffs, is the pools become meaningless.
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That may be fair on one level but not in the bigger picture.
For example, it's quite possible that Michigan could go 11-1 - losing only to an undefeated Ohio State. But you think it would be more "fair" to take - say - an 10-3 West Virginia team just because they won the "Northeast Conference" against the likes of Maryland, Rutgers, Syracuse, UConn, Temple, Pitt and Boston College.
I don't buy it.
MichiganDad3
All-American
IMO, that is preferable to an 11-1 Michigan team that couldn't win its division or conference becoming national champion. The worst MNC game in history was the LSU-Alabama game. Nothing will be fair when pollsters are picking the participants.
Hayseed
All-American
I'd go for that if each of those were 8 team conferences that played every team in the conference every year. I even go for randomly generated OC games with some formula for SOS or something determining the opponents and home field. Ain't gonna happen, but since we're just messing around with it.
I guess we'll disagree on this.
I'd rather have the eight best teams. I don't want to be forced to take the 20th best team just because they happened to be the best of the worst.
Muck
Special Teams Player
How do you propose to determine who the eight best teams are? Opinion polls by sportswriters & coaches (*cough* graduate assistants *cough*). Computer rankings that are unable to predict the outcome of past games? Magic?
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I rather like the committee approach that is now in place. Give them access to whatever data they want and let them decide. There are too many teams to have any perfect system but that's a pretty good one.
Though most of this discussion is pretty pointless because there isn't any way to get back to eight conferences unless you're including the AA, MW and WAC or something like that. My personal preference - given the current conference setup - is the five Power 5 champions are in (with some caveat that the have to be in the Top 15 or so for the same reason mentioned above) and then the committee selects three teams at large, no more than two per conference.
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Redux
Assistant Coach
If we had 8 equal conferences (listed in OP) and an 8 team playoff, it would be beyond stupid to select more than one from any conference over an actual conference champion.
Even with the way things are set up right now I think it's total BS a non champion can get in. "Hey great job going 12-1 and winning your league, buuuuuuuuut ya see Auburn played a bunch of tough games we deemed tough in July and they only lost to Alabama by 25 points who won the SEC, so we're choosing them over you. Sowwy!"
(Edit: It's just an example, don't read too much into it. I'm just in the win your league to earn your spot camp.)
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84HuskerLaw
All-Conference
You have way too many 'insignificants' (shall we call the historically less than powerful programs) obviously.
The solution is really simple in my view (although many would scream bloody murder) I know.
You have four (4 only) sixteen team conferences for a total of 64 member teams in the new Division I (the top/premiere) league of college football prime time programs being: North, South, East and West of course. Those would be assembled from the Pac 10, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. Each of the existing conferences can take turns 'selecting' additional members from the current schools not already within those conferences until the 64 team total has been achieved, using a lottery method to arrange the order of selection and so on. (like a draft you might say).
The many schools selecting and being considered for selection would be free to evaluate and choose based on any criteria they deem appropriate (money, status, location, size, reputation, etc, etc). Once the conferences are filled to the limit, the remaining schools not chosen will be free to form their own new 'league' or division 2 or whatever they decide. They may want to form their own second league of 64 teams and perhaps someday find themselves ready to challenge for supremacy (lol).
The new College Football League (perhaps we might call it that) can dump the NCAA and adopt its own governing rules, regs, etc. They may decide to pay their players, and whatever other arrangements they decide are appropriate. Presumably the new league would apply to all sports but certainly football and basketball would reign supreme.
The playoffs would most likely be arranged following a regular season with all conferences having two divisions of 8 teams that play each other annually. There should be on a two year rotating basis inter-divisional games with 2 other teams in the conference and 2 non conference games also on a rotating basis using a lottery method of selection and each school would be free to arrange one non-conference (pre-season) game with any other willing opponent within the league. The game would NOT count in the won/loss record nor would it be considered in the determination of playoffs or other standings nationally.
The playoffs should involve the conference champs and the runner ups in each plugged into an eight team single elimination playoff with 'seeding' by lottery selection of the runners ups vs. the champs. Winner is the National Champions. Games would be played in neutral sites with NO 'home' teams.
The solution is really simple in my view (although many would scream bloody murder) I know.
You have four (4 only) sixteen team conferences for a total of 64 member teams in the new Division I (the top/premiere) league of college football prime time programs being: North, South, East and West of course. Those would be assembled from the Pac 10, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. Each of the existing conferences can take turns 'selecting' additional members from the current schools not already within those conferences until the 64 team total has been achieved, using a lottery method to arrange the order of selection and so on. (like a draft you might say).
The many schools selecting and being considered for selection would be free to evaluate and choose based on any criteria they deem appropriate (money, status, location, size, reputation, etc, etc). Once the conferences are filled to the limit, the remaining schools not chosen will be free to form their own new 'league' or division 2 or whatever they decide. They may want to form their own second league of 64 teams and perhaps someday find themselves ready to challenge for supremacy (lol).
The new College Football League (perhaps we might call it that) can dump the NCAA and adopt its own governing rules, regs, etc. They may decide to pay their players, and whatever other arrangements they decide are appropriate. Presumably the new league would apply to all sports but certainly football and basketball would reign supreme.
The playoffs would most likely be arranged following a regular season with all conferences having two divisions of 8 teams that play each other annually. There should be on a two year rotating basis inter-divisional games with 2 other teams in the conference and 2 non conference games also on a rotating basis using a lottery method of selection and each school would be free to arrange one non-conference (pre-season) game with any other willing opponent within the league. The game would NOT count in the won/loss record nor would it be considered in the determination of playoffs or other standings nationally.
The playoffs should involve the conference champs and the runner ups in each plugged into an eight team single elimination playoff with 'seeding' by lottery selection of the runners ups vs. the champs. Winner is the National Champions. Games would be played in neutral sites with NO 'home' teams.
So you think it would be "beyond stupid" to select a 11-1 team over an 8-5 team because the 8-5 team "deserved" to be there because they won a poor conference?
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AFhusker
Banned
If Mechicken does go 11-1 then who have they beaten to deserve to go to the playoffs over a conference champion? It's likely that Wisky is going to be beat the hell up by the end of the year and they look like a 3-4 loss team due to their schedule. MSU isn't a quality win anymore, so at the end of the year they will have played one top 10 team and lost that game (pretty badly I am guessing too, much like last years debacle) and they deserve to go to the playoffs because they only lost to one team who will likely be the only elite team on their schedule. I don't buy it.
Kiyoat Husker
All-Conference
I agree with Mav. 5 conference champs plus 3 wild cards is essentially the "best of both worlds" and a compromise between the two opposing views presented here.