Did the 12 team playoff achieve it's goal?

[dtgold88]

The only team that got a bye, who looked like they deserved a bye, was Arizona State, and before the games were played they were probably thought the least deserving of one.

I get what you say about the blowouts, I can imagine most years that the 1-16 game is not going to be close, and probably the next three matchups as well.

13-0 Oregon didn't deserve a bye?

 

[foster4prez]

13-0 Oregon didn't deserve a bye?

"who looked like they deserved a bye"

 

[dtgold88]

"who looked like they deserved a bye"

Yeah after seeing this again I get what you mean.

But this happens in MLB or NFL when teams with byes lose. Ignored when they win. I think any coach offered the chance at a bye is taking it.

Likely other than Oregon the teams given byes just were not that good (backup QB might have made UGA that way).

 

[TheLonestarDUCK]

3 1/2 week bye is too long. Either go to 16 or 8. I preferred the 4 teams it kept the regular season meaningful. I look at it this way, the regular season is a glorified 1st round that determines the final four.

 

[Ron G]

They should probably move it to 16 teams. I feel like the wait screwed over the top seeds.

Ok, here is a question for you or anyone else. Next year you are the coach of a conference champion and have one of the byes. But because of the thought that the bye hurt teams this year, you (by virtue of your great season and Conference championship) are given the options of giving up your bye and taking the 5 seed instead. What would you do? What do you think any coach would do?

 

[Ron G]

For all the complaints about the bye layoff and non-deserving teams getting the bye, here is what the playoffs would have looked like with "the best teams" getting the bye:

1 thru 4 Oregon, Georgia, Texas and Penn State (Oregon #1, pick the rest of the order)
5 thru 8 ND, Ohio State, Tenn, Arizona or Boise State pick the order
9-thru12 Indiana, Arizona State or Boise St, SMU and Clemson pick the order.

The first round would have gone to ND, Ohio State, Tenn and either Arizona St or Boise State if they played each other. In this likely set up, the only team that would advance but did not is Tenn.

So depending on the seeding, what makes anybody think that results would have been any different unless ND and Ohio State met in the second or third game. ND could be against Georgia----Ohio State against Tenn----Texas against Arizona State -----------and Penn State against Oregon. Penn St vs Oregon would be the outlier and neither was able to win against ones who were left.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

Ok, here is a question for you or anyone else. Next year you are the coach of a conference champion and have one of the byes. But because of the thought that the bye hurt teams this year, you (by virtue of your great season and Conference championship) are given the options of giving up your bye and taking the 5 seed instead. What would you do? What do you think any coach would do?

I think everyone would take the free win.

 

[belcherboy]

It doesn't appear that the final four was a ratings boom. Although, they did add several games for additional ratings.

Why do you think the ratings were down? All four teams are traditional blue blood programs with a BIG following.

 

[Mebert]

I hate that games are deciding things now, let's go back to letting flawed algorithms decide it.

 

[belcherboy]

I hate that games are deciding things now, let's go back to letting flawed algorithms decide it.

I understand both sides of this argument. The regular season used to feel like a playoff system on its own. If you lost a game—especially late in the season—you were likely out of contention. But on the other hand, one bad game shouldn’t automatically disqualify a team from being considered one of the best in the country.

I know the playoffs will only expand from here, and there’s no chance of reducing the number of teams. That said, I feel like having 6–8 teams would have been the perfect balance. Most the playoff games so far haven’t been that exciting (most weren't exciting in the 4 team format too), and the long gap between the end of the regular season and the conclusion of the playoffs makes it even worse in keeping casual fans connected.

Since the 12-team (or more) playoff system is here to stay, I think there are some changes that could improve it:

• Eliminate conference championship games (or at least make the rest of the conference play an extra game to balance the schedule).
• Adjust how rankings are decided. They shouldn’t rely solely on conference champions; a committee should evaluate teams more comprehensively.
• Shorten the playoff timeline. Start the playoffs in early to mid-December and aim to finish around January 1st. Skipping conference championship games could allow the playoffs to start in early December, making the season flow better.

 

[foster4prez]

It doesn't appear that the final four was a ratings boom. Although, they did add several games for additional ratings.

Why do you think the ratings were down? All four teams are traditional blue blood programs with a BIG following.

Games were played on Thursday vs middle of the day on a holiday.

Also, bowls as a whole were WAY up in viewership this year.

ESPN's College Football Bowl Viewership Reaches Record Highs for 2024-25 Season

The 2024-25 college football bowl season on ESPN platforms saw remarkable growth, drawing significant increases in viewership across..

espnpressroom.com

 

[belcherboy]

Games were played on Thursday vs middle of the day on a holiday.

Also, bowls as a whole were WAY up in viewership this year.

ESPN's College Football Bowl Viewership Reaches Record Highs for 2024-25 Season

The 2024-25 college football bowl season on ESPN platforms saw remarkable growth, drawing significant increases in viewership across..

espnpressroom.com

The NFL seems to draw massive viewership no matter when or how the games are played—it’s a league that thrives in any broadcast format.

What were the ratings on those other bowl games? I imagine those aren't the money makers for the broadcasters, even if they got better ratings.

When your biggest games lose 10 million viewers year over year, that’s a major red flag. This drop is even more concerning when you consider how popular the teams involved are within the college football world. Something clearly isn’t clicking.

 

[IronJaw]

I preferred the traditional January 1st bowl games. The playoffs have destroyed New Years Day. Then, there's the transfer portal where some ditch their teams and don't play in the playoffs. They should dump the transfer portal. College kids with full-ride scholarships shouldn't get a salary either. Prior to the portal, anyone who transferred had to sit out a semester before joining the team.

 

[belcherboy]

I preferred the traditional January 1st bowl games. The playoffs have destroyed New Years Day. Then, there's the transfer portal where some ditch their teams and don't play in the playoffs. They should dump the transfer portal. College kids with full-ride scholarships shouldn't get a salary either. Prior to the portal, anyone who transferred had to sit out a semester before joining the team.

The NCAA tried to stop it, but they ultimately lost.

This is the new reality of college football, and I believe it will look dramatically different in the next five years. The current model, where players can earn millions with no salary cap and switch teams to the highest bidder every year, isn’t sustainable. I think the system will eventually shift toward a minor league-style structure, featuring the top 40 wealthiest college programs.

 

[QuestionSocratic]

I'm hoping to make it even better they go to 16 teams. No byes can be done in same time as the 12 teamer. Home games in round 1 don't even need to add any bowls to the mix. also with no byes the seeding will make more sense.

Almost too easy a switch.

The problem I see with 16 teams is how do you schedule 8 first round games. Given that one of the reasons for the expansion was to get more game revenue, unless you have two weekends for the first round, you can't schedule without overlapping games. The four first round games this year, used the four TV windows available.

 

[dtgold88]

Ok, here is a question for you or anyone else. Next year you are the coach of a conference champion and have one of the byes. But because of the thought that the bye hurt teams this year, you (by virtue of your great season and Conference championship) are given the options of giving up your bye and taking the 5 seed instead. What would you do? What do you think any coach would do?

I take the bye and think all coaches do the same.

 

[dtgold88]

The problem I see with 16 teams is how do you schedule 8 first round games. Given that one of the reasons for the expansion was to get more game revenue, unless you have two weekends for the first round, you can't schedule without overlapping games. The four first round games this year, used the four TV windows available.

That's a good question but with so much time in between rounds seems like they can figure something out. Sure, one team might get longer to prepare for round 2 but who cares? They would all get more than a week.

 

[Ron G]

I preferred the traditional January 1st bowl games. The playoffs have destroyed New Years Day. Then, there's the transfer portal where some ditch their teams and don't play in the playoffs. They should dump the transfer portal. College kids with full-ride scholarships shouldn't get a salary either. Prior to the portal, anyone who transferred had to sit out a semester before joining the team.

I was ok with the year wait. But the ability of a coach, to pull out of a contract and not have to wait a year always seemed unfair to the players.

 

[HuskerOC]

Still struggling with a team that can't win their won conference being crowned National Champ.

Still a fan of 4, but we'll never go back to that, but do think a retraction to 8 seems possible.

The ratings for the Penn State/Notre Dame game were almost half of what was expected. They have to seriously consider playoff fatigue in which college football is now delving deeply into the NFL playoff season.

 

[rmilia1]

Well we certainly ended up with better semis than we've ever had and i personally emboss seeing new and different teams get a shot even if we ended up with 2 blue bloids playing for the title