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- #221
WNY_FOOTBALL_DUDE
Well-Known Member
His 'point' was to avoid the question in the first place and ignore throwing out 1/4 - 1/3 of every schedule and still claiming we are deciding a champion based on play when in fact we are deciding it on MUCH less play.
For the record, I am not for automatic playoff bids. I think you need to take the top 6 highest ranked/rated conference champions in the 12-20 ranking range.
BUT, I don't agree with your point about the OCC games at all.
Nobody is throwing out the 3-4 OCC games. Here's what you need to understand/comprehend:
1. Under an 8 team, at least the first round would take place on campus sites. If you're a team that decided to rest your players for the OCC games and magically end up winning your conference, you would be playing on the road. Seeding is important. NFL teams do not rest their players until they have secured the highest playoff spot available. Also, giving players too much rest, builds up rust and loses team chemistry and momentum. Look what happened to the Steelers, when they "rested" their players against the Brownies. In college, you still have to win your conference championship game. If you decide to take off games, then you risk both losing your conference championship game and the ability to get a wildcard spot.
2. Most out of conference games are pretty soft, and includes an FCS program. Teams usually schedule "light" in the beginning in order to get the team warmed up and build chemistry. Alabama likes to schedule an FCS program before the Auburn game in order to rest up their players and give the backups rep. Nothing wrong with this.
3. So what? Lets say that Clemson after going 10-1 on the season, decides to rest Kelly Bryant against South Carolina or Bryce Love for Stanford against Notre Dame. What is the big deal? If Clemson gets that 2nd loss against South Carolina, then they have to win against Miami in order to get in. If they don't, then they are out of the playoffs.
4. SOS is still extremely important. Teams will schedule against tough teams for money purposes (playing Ohio State, brings in more money than Jackson State), to boost up SOS numbers, and to see how well a team can measure up against a college football heavy weight.
5. The problem with being so loss sensitive is that it discourages risk taking. If USC decided to play Baylor or Kansas instead of Notre Dame, they would be 12-1 and would win that 4th playoff spot over Bama. But instead they were 8th in the polls and looking in. You favor CCs, then teams are more willing to challenge themselves in the OCC, knowing that losing to Oklahoma or Alabama will not eliminate them from the playoff and would only help them in the overall SOS numbers.
So if anything, it would actually ENHANCE the regular season.