There are many things I do not like about suggested expansions of the football playoff to 8 teams, but giving automatic bids to the "Power 5" conference champions is maybe the worst. It would have to be conditional or conference teams could effectively treat non-conference games as exhibitions, as scrimmages, as opportunities to rest players.... Would it not be better to award an automatic bid to an undefeated or 1-loss P5 conference champion and in the event a P5 conference champion has 2 or more losses that conference's wouldbe automatic bid would transfer to the at-large pool?
The idea of the original BCS game, as I understand it, was to establish a consensus "National Champion" by having the two teams with the most legitimate claims to being the best "decide it on the field," which itself is nothing but an ideological construct in a sport with 100+ teams each playing only a dozen games. But two wasn't enough, so it was thought, because more than two teams could make a legitimate claim. So now we have four and already it seems dubious that all four can legitimately claim based on their seasons that they are the best team and the rationale that justified the BCS game and the playoff is being lost. With eight it will be lost and we are facing the NCAA basketball situation where the tournament is not about establishing which is the best team in the nation -- other than tautologically identifying the winner of the tournament as such -- because inevitably a team which clearly is not the best will win as in the basketball tournament and in professional playoffs. We often hear of teams in college basketball (e.g., Michigan State) and professional sports that use the regular season to prepare for the tournament/playoff. Unconditional automatic bids will facilitate this in college football and further diminish the regular season and finally dispense with the questionable rationale that started this whole thing with the BCS.
If the conf champ doesn't have 10+ wins, that conf auto bid transfers to at large for that year and the conf champ has to compete in the at large pool.
Otherwise it would allow too much wiggle room for someone like, say the SEC, to game the system and get 3 teams into the playoff. Just imagine a year where Bama is 12-0, LSU is 11-1 with only loss close to Bama and the SEC East rep is an 8-4 Kentucky. Bama throws the championship game (or even has a legitimate down day while resting some key players). 9-4 Kentucky gets auto bid and 11-1 Bama and 11-1 LSU snag two at large, UCF qualifies for a mandatory at large by being unbeaten while playing no one and cracking top 12 or whatever and 11-1 or 12-0 Notre Dame is left out.
The auto bid for conf champs is a very bad idea, unless there are some additional qualifications that must be met (ei conf champ and 10+ wins). If you leave room to game the system, someone WILL take advantage of it and with five auto bids and only three at large, the chance of lesser teams getting in over more deserving teams is too great.
It makes every conference game critical.
It means if you aren't going to win the conference you need to schedule-up outside of conference to have a decent resume to be considered for an at-large bid.
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have 1 loss or less, then and only then maybe. Pick the 8 most deserving teams, which would probably include the 5 power conference champions.
The best way into the playoff will be as conf champ, and there will be little desire to schedule non conf games that are difficult.
Also, it might isolate the conferences from each other as well for the same reason.
Depending on how they expand it matters too. If they simply guarantee the best non Power 5 a spot in the field of 8, that just leaves 2 spots left for ND, and most conferences will still have a one loss non champion given the cupcake scheduling....in which case, ND will still be on dicey ground with one loss.
There are many high quality teams that have little chance to win their conferences that will need to beef up there schedules to get the 3 open spots. And a team that loses in their conference championships (whether we still have those games or not) could get a 2nd shot at the big prize by having at least one quality game against a non conference team.
If they keep the conference divisions, for example, any team in the SEC West, any team in the Big 10 West, any team in the ACC Coastal, all potential losers to the "powerhouse" teams in their conference would be in prime position to get one of the three open spots assuming a decent OOC schedule. Iowa State, Okla State, West Virginia's of the Big 12 are always going to be pissing into the Texas/ Oklahoma monoliths in conference would benefit from a high quality OOC game. You don't think Stanford and USC would still like to keep ND on their schedules.
And any team that wants to get attention, ala UCF, Houston and the like, would be prime targets for ND to get a quality game in.
I also think they could build in simple hurdles to prevent bad conference champions from getting auto berths. For example, make being rated in the Top 12 (or Top 10/Top 15) as a minimum to get an auto berth. In addition, you would still need some kind of seeding process with a 1st round being played at the top 4 teams' home field, their would be plenty of incentive to play quality OOC game to get home field in that 1st round.
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Schedule tougher non-conference games to get you ready for the conference.
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That would be a good thing. I don’t see how there is any advantage in teams playing a tough out of conference schedule now (see Alabama). You simply place a restriction on the 3 at large teams needing to be ranked in say the Top 12 or so. It would be a rare occurrence that a conference champion would not end the season in at least the Top 10. I think the door should be opened for an at large team from a non power 5 conference like UCF. Plus with 3 at large bids, ND would stand a much better chance of getting in with a loss.
are not. I still would like to see an 8 team playoff but not necessarily by making each of the Power 5 conference champion an entry unless they really deserve iit by sayi maybe having only one loss or less, or possibly 2 close losses to other good teams.
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Of course they would. The only way they go away is if the NCAA mandates elimination.
Exactly. In my opinion there is no reason to have them.
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More money from 8 team playoff . . . great! Add that to the money from the championship game. The idea that conferences would voluntarily eliminate conference championship games if the playoffs expand doesn't add up from a financial perspective.
the CFP (and receive more $) in exchange for giving up the conference championship games, the choice is easy.
You’ve pitched this idea before. Your preference of ditching conference championship games in exchange for expanded playoffs won’t make it so. Elimination of conference championship games is not a necessary consequence of a six or eight team playoff. I don’t see them going away. Not unless there is conference contraction and reorganization. I don’t see that happening either.
Having the appetite to keep conference championship games as well. Obviously I could be dead wrong though.
Only reason is so that each conference can be represented each year, almost like a damn participation trophy mentality. Let’s face it from here on out the only way ND gets in is to be perfect (and for some in the media this year, that wasn’t enough) and maybe the conferences and other teams should start holding themselves to the same standard. Hell 90% of the schools have already given up on the STUDENT athlete concept, how much harder does ND want to make it for itself.
1. Each of the Power 5 conferences should have a representative so that the entire country is presented a chance for the NC. This idea of 2 teams from same conference with only 4 teams in playoffs is stupid.
2. One spot should be reserved for the most worthy non-Power 5 team. This year it would be UCF. In years past, Boise State. ND would also qualify.
3. Two spots would be at-large, open to any deserving team including us.
4. The Power 5 conference should work out a scheme where a multi-loss winner of it's championship game does not necessarily get the bid. For example, what if OSU's only loss was to PSU, not Purdue, but PSU had lost to Iowa. Northwestern with 4 losses and PSU with 3 would be in Big 10 championship game. League has to figure how to send OSU in this example.
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I think you are right. Maybe guarantee the conference champ if they have one or fewer losses, otherwise the top ranked team in the conference. Then one for the non-power conference which would include ND. Two at large would be the highest ranked remaining teams regardless of conference affiliation or lack thereof. Best teams get in, all the conferences represented and conference teams still encouraged to have strong schedule in case they lose conference championship game. So this year that would work out to:
Alabama
Clemson
Notre Dame
Oklahoma
Ohio State
Washington
Georgia
either Michigan or UCF since ND would have filled the requirement non-power conference/independent slot.
In this case, the top teams all get in and the only inequity is Washington getting in over Michigan or UCF and even that is only by a slot. It seems at least this year to cover all the teams with a legitimate shot and would be pretty fair while still servicing the power 5 conferences. It would also encourage the non-power 5 conference teams looking for a shot to schedule strong non conference games since they need to be the highest ranked to get an automatic bid.