8 is the right number... numbers 9 10 and 11 might bitch but who cares
Expansion is inevitable because as you said, $$. I believe it will ultimately be a to drive towards 32, which is essentially the top 25 and "others receiving votes". But it is going to take a long, long time to get there.From that standpoint, 32 is the right number for basketball. But the first round is the best of the Dance.
I think 12 is the right number for football with full expansion of this, but there's more money in 16 if you're playing games that week anyway. There's a big market for games involving the Top 4 teams.
4 team playoff = 3 games (2+1)
8 team playoff = 7 games (4+2+1)
12 team playoff = 11 games (4+4+2+1)
16 team playoff = 15 games (8+4+2+1)
They'll play as many as they can while keeping the sport in 1 semester to finish before the start of the spring. New Year's Day championship game, if possible.
From that standpoint, 32 is the right number for basketball. But the first round is the best of the Dance.
I think 12 is the right number for football with full expansion of this, but there's more money in 16 if you're playing games that week anyway. There's a big market for games involving the Top 4 teams.
4 team playoff = 3 games (2+1)
8 team playoff = 7 games (4+2+1)
12 team playoff = 11 games (4+4+2+1)
16 team playoff = 15 games (8+4+2+1)
They'll play as many as they can while keeping the sport in 1 semester to finish before the start of the spring. New Year's Day championship game, if possible.
Bah - expand it to 8, and people will having pissing contests about who should be 6, 7, or 8 and bitching that it should go to 12 or 16.
Hell, people bitch like crazy about who should be the 64th team into the NCAA tournament.
wouldn't even bitch about 16, let the champ earn it.
I would bitch, cry, yell, piss, moan, wail and gnash teeth.
In my mind, that championship would be even more "mythical" than the champ determined by the BCS system. Being a "national champion" in college football used to mean that you had the best season. With a 16 team playoff, the 5th place team from the SEC gets in with three losses, and assuming they got hot at season's end, walk away with the MNC.
And I think it's a likely scenario: consider who's in the top 16 right now-- your system would be allowing three different 3-loss teams in. If 3-loss UCLA got hot during those final 4 games (playoffs), would you honestly feel good crowning them national champs ("hey, they only needed TWO overtimes to beat CU")? What about an Ohio State team who lost at home to Virginia Tech ("hey, they're playing much better ball now...")?
I know there are people who feel that the title of "national champion" doesn't have to go to either the best team or the team with the best season, rather are satisfied with a system that crowns a good team that got hot at season's end. Single-elimination, short-series playoffs can be exciting. Single-elimination, short-series playoffs can produce some very good games. Single-elimination, short-series playoffs do a very poor job of selecting the best team, and do a horrible job of selecting the team with the best season, IMO. But, fucjk it, at least we KNOW who is the national champion.
I would bitch, cry, yell, piss, moan, wail and gnash teeth.
In my mind, that championship would be even more "mythical" than the champ determined by the BCS system. Being a "national champion" in college football used to mean that you had the best season. With a 16 team playoff, the 5th place team from the SEC gets in with three losses, and assuming they got hot at season's end, walk away with the MNC.
And I think it's a likely scenario: consider who's in the top 16 right now-- your system would be allowing three different 3-loss teams in. If 3-loss UCLA got hot during those final 4 games (playoffs), would you honestly feel good crowning them national champs ("hey, they only needed TWO overtimes to beat CU")? What about an Ohio State team who lost at home to Virginia Tech ("hey, they're playing much better ball now...")?
I know there are people who feel that the title of "national champion" doesn't have to go to either the best team or the team with the best season, rather are satisfied with a system that crowns a good team that got hot at season's end. Single-elimination, short-series playoffs can be exciting. Single-elimination, short-series playoffs can produce some very good games. Single-elimination, short-series playoffs do a very poor job of selecting the best team, and do a horrible job of selecting the team with the best season, IMO. But, fucjk it, at least we KNOW who is the national champion.
What you describe IS the nature of organized sports. Should we crown the NFL, NBA, NHL, etc. champion based upon regular season records only? Were the Ravens not worthy of their SB win a couple of years ago because they were wildcards? I do not understand what makes CFB so unique that a playoff might not crown the true champion :huh:
What you describe IS the nature of organized sports. Should we crown the NFL, NBA, NHL, etc. champion based upon regular season records only? Were the Ravens not worthy of their SB win a couple of years ago because they were wildcards? I do not understand what makes CFB so unique that a playoff might not crown the true champion :huh:
Yeah. It's not like I feel the Dance (or the regular season) is diminished because all the #1 seeds don't make the Final Four.
Sounds like you are a very frustrated sports fan.The Raven's were worthy of their SuperBowl -- the won the single-elimination, short-series playoffs that the NFL has determined they will use to crown their champions. They weren't the team with the best season (my opinion, IIRC, the Packers, Pats and Broncos were better teams with better seasons).
The NHL and NBA playoffs are far more legit than the college or NFL playoffs, IMO, because they use longer series in each round, although it's still single elimination. MLB I give slightly less credit to (a 7 game series is still damn short in context of a 162 game season) and again, I don't feel they consistently selects the team with the best season.
I love the Dance too. I think it's an awesome sporting event. I watch as much of it as I can every year. And, I don't believe it consistently selects the best team as it's champion (nor the team with the best season).
I guess it all comes to, why do you want a playoff? Is it because you want more games? is it because every other sport seems to have one so college football should too? is it because we need an unambiguous system, that even if it's not the best team, at least gives a consensus champ? IMO, none of those reasons are compelling enough to go towards a system that historically has done a poor job of selecting the team with the best season.
On another note, I think the Chase has about killed NASCAR by pushing a playoff system on a sport that didn't need it -- probably not an indicator for college football, but a warning sign nevertheless.
Sounds like you are a very frustrated sports fan.
Sounds like you are a very frustrated sports fan.
What you describe IS the nature of organized sports. Should we crown the NFL, NBA, NHL, etc. champion based upon regular season records only? Were the Ravens not worthy of their SB win a couple of years ago because they were wildcards? I do not understand what makes CFB so unique that a playoff might not crown the true champion :huh:
That's what I was thinking. Until I got to the end of his post and he stopped talking about sports and started talking about NASCAR.
P.S. College football has never rewarded the best season by choosing a champion. It's always subjective. I don't like subjective. Playoffs make you win the title on the field.
And the nature of college athletics is that players gain experience and improve as the year goes on. I think being hot at the end of the year could be a great element of college football.
I always look back at 2001 when we lost to Fresno St in the first game. No way we'd lose to them later on, and it singlehandedly left us out of the National Championship game.
the playoffs should start this week. 16 teams. 2 from each of the P5 Conferences play each other (10) and serves a conference championship game also; plus 6 at large teams go head to head this week. Big12 would need to tweek their scheduling since this week is not a conference championship week. Provides a path for at-large teams (with 16 total) and doesn't extend the season past New Years.
bless everyone for having different opinions. we're all fucjking right.
............
one of the biggest reasons I hate the playoffs is that it takes the emphasis off of conference championships and puts it on the playoffs. no longer is the success of a team's season primarily dependent on how the school performs in conference against other schools with comparable academic standards, recruiting budgets and territories, stadium sizes, etc... With the playoffs, the emphasis shifts to "how deep in the bracket did the team go against schools from conferences that may not be playing by the same rules".
Nebraska got to play for the national championship.
And promptly got destroyed. I was pissed at the time, and it's the biggest reason why I think anyone who can't win their division is automatically disqualified from a national title discussion, but in retrospect, I'm not all that bummed we missed the chance to get spanked on national tv.
hokie, you absolutely cannot bring that argument to a CU board. Look back at the 2001 season.
Opened the season by losing to the David Carr Fresno State team which also took down ranked Oregon State and Wisconsin squads & finished #20 that year. (22-24 score)
Took a 2nd loss at #9 Texas by a score of 7-41.
Along the way, beat #24 CSU, @ #12 KSU, #25 Texas A&M... and then destroyed #2 Nebraska by 62-36.
In the Big 12 Championship game, CU avenged the loss to Texas (now #3 ranked) in a close 39-37 win.
CU finished 10-2.
Nebraska got to play for the national championship.