Playoff Expansion Discussion

[ericd7633]

I can agree on the realignment. Big conferences and unbalanced schedules make it difficult to pin down the best few teams. With talent spread out expanding the playoffs was necessary and may still be necessary moving forward.

Agreed. Conferences are so bloated, even going to 9 games still doesn't do much. And now we're seeing teams cancel OOC games, which were always more fun, at least for me anyway.

 

[Da_Bull]

I just don't know how they go to auto qualifiers without championship games. Who would have been the B1G qualifier last year between IU and OSU? Feel like you'll see the top rated G5 team and the rest at large.

 

[dtgold88]

Agreed. Conferences are so bloated, even going to 9 games still doesn't do much. And now we're seeing teams cancel OOC games, which were always more fun, at least for me anyway.

Realize your game with USC was cancelled (though heard it might come back) but have that many been shut down? Did hear at least for now the OSU-Bama and OSU-UGA home and homes still on.

 

[ericd7633]

Yeah as I said earlier 24 did seem like a lot. Letting nearly an entire top 25 in seems like a little much. Think if I got to choose the formula solely based on what I'd want to see (and not caring about their finances, bowl groups, etc) I'd go with 16 teams NFL style with all rounds on college campus of higher seed until a title game at a neutral site. Realize that's not going to happen. 2 rounds on campus with rotating P6 for semis and title game OK, too, I guess.

I think the problem with 16, and we saw this last year, is that it would have given 2 extra spots to the SEC, one to ND and one to the B12. I think because of that, its why 24 is being pushed hard by the ACC, B12, ND and B1G. I get it won't be like that every year, but I think that's a big reason why.

 

[Da_Bull]

I'd like to see either stay at 9 conf games and mandate a P4 OOC and two other OOC games or 10 conference games and two OOC games. Maybe even knock it down to 11 regular season games if they go to 24.

 

[dtgold88]

I think the problem with 16, and we saw this last year, is that it would have given 2 extra spots to the SEC, one to ND and one to the B12. I think because of that, its why 24 is being pushed hard by the ACC, B12, ND and B1G. I get it won't be like that every year, but I think that's a big reason why.

Guess could guarantee 4 each to SEC and BIG. 2 to ACC and B12. One to ND (if they meet certain parameters) and 3 AL? seems gonna be up to SEC and BIG whatever happens.

 

[Hitman Hart]

agree with a good portion of that other than the awesome part at beginning. Just as "clear and obvious" who 2 best teams are in other sport at end of some regular seasons. Doubt many want those 2 to play in a game or series and call it a season.

it was awesome in the sense that we got to see the two best teams play each other. from a general sense, it was still a bad way to decide a championship game even if the final outcome was ideal.

 

[ericd7633]

Realize your game with USC was cancelled (though heard it might come back) but have that many been shut down? Did hear at least for now the OSU-Bama and OSU-UGA home and homes still on.

Alot of the SEC and ACC teams have cancelled OOC games, because most of them had 2 P4 games scheduled. Bama vs Oklahoma State, Bama vs WVU, Texas Tech vs. NC State, UGA vs. FSU, Texas vs ASU, Florida vs. ASU. I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting as well.

 

[dtgold88]

Alot of the SEC and ACC teams have cancelled OOC games, because most of them had 2 P4 games scheduled. Bama vs Oklahoma State, Bama vs WVU, Texas Tech vs. NC State, UGA vs. FSU, Texas vs ASU, Florida vs. ASU. I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting as well.

I guess I get not having 2 P4s but agree to be considered for CFP moving forward need to have at least 1 (cannot do much about current games already scheduled, I guess).

 

[ericd7633]

I guess I get not having 2 P4s but agree to be considered for CFP moving forward need to have at least 1 (cannot do much about current games already scheduled, I guess).

Yeah, I'm hoping that B1G mandates at least 1 P4 OOC game.

 

[dtgold88]

Yeah, I'm hoping that B1G mandates at least 1 P4 OOC game.

I do, too.....but needs to be uniform among all P4 conferences. Meaning all play 9 conference games and at least one P4 OOC.

 

[ericd7633]

I do, too.....but needs to be uniform among all P4 conferences. Meaning all play 9 conference games and at least one P4 OOC.

SEC and ACC already require it. I don't think that B12 does though.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

I posted this on a few sites, but this is how I'd go about things (in a perfect world, super conferences are dead and there are smaller, and more, regional-based conferences because that is the rational thing anyone with a functioning human brain would do, or would have stuck with..........). This is what my 24-team CFP from 2023 would look like:

2023 CFP bracket:

(Team listed first is host)
First Round-
16 Notre Dame (9-3) vs 17 Iowa (10-3)
9 Missouri (10-2) vs 24 Boise State (8-5, MWC)
12 Oklahoma (10-2) vs 21 SMU (11-2, AAC)
13 LSU (9-3) vs 20 Oregon State (8-4)

11 Mississippi (10-2) vs 22 Troy (11-2, Sun Belt)
14 Arizona (9-3) vs 19 North Carolina State (9-3)
10 Penn State (10-2) vs 23 Miami, OH (11-2, MAC)
15 Louisville (10-3) vs 18 Liberty (13-0, CUSA)

Second Round-
1 Michigan (13-0, B10) vs winner 16/17
8 Oregon (11-2) vs winner 9/24

5 Florida State (13-0, ACC) vs winner 12/21
4 Alabama (12-1, SEC) vs winner 13/20

6 Georgia (12-1) vs winner 11/22
3 Texas (12-1, B12) vs winner 14/19

7 Ohio State (11-1) vs winner 10/23
2 Washington (13-0, P12) vs winner 15/18

Quarterfinals-
Orange Bowl (Miami, FL); potential 1 seed

Rotation of Bowls*; potential 4 seed

Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA); potential 3 seed

Cotton Bowl (Dallas, TX); potential 2 seed


Semifinals-
Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA)

National Championship-
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)


*Bowl rotation for potential 4 seed Qtrs matchup:
1st Year Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX)
2nd Year Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV)
3rd Year Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL)
4th Year Holiday Bowl (*moved to San Francisco, CA at Levi Stadium)

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

I do, too.....but needs to be uniform among all P4 conferences. Meaning all play 9 conference games and at least one P4 OOC.

I agree if the current structure remains, but when the day comes that the sport begins to break apart and go back to a more regional conference model, you're gonna see conferences with an unbalanced number of teams, and that will happen, if for no other reason than because there's no need to shoehorn a team or three in just to meet some arbitrary quota for a required number of teams in a conference.

If you got 8 regionally-based teams in a southwest conference, then there's no reason to add South Florida and Central Florida just so they can have a home and so there's a "uniform" 10 teams in the conference.

We don't need to consolidate teams into fewer conferences. What we need are more conferences with fewer teams, ESPECIALLY if they're dead set on expanding the CFP.

 

[NickyNooch]

ridiculous but the playoff will be fun

This should be the slogan for March Madness.

 

[Duckboy33]

SEC and ACC already require it. I don't think that B12 does though.

The ACC doesn't even know how many conferences games they're playing

 

[Calhoun]

As I've said before, I'm more interested in how/by whom the playoff teams are selected than the raw number of teams in the playoff. What's needed:

1) A totally transparent process/algorithm to select teams, all votes (by named voters) and computer model/power ranking results to be made public. No broadcast/telecast network may be part of/represented during the selection process. They will know who's playing when the rest of us find out.

2) Whatever the number (x) of teams, select the (x) best teams regardless of conference affiliation/standing using the process/algorithm from 1) above. No conference gets any automatic bids.

or alternatively

2a) All FBS conference champions (championship determination by individual conference rules/tiebreakers) get automatic bid. Remaining teams selected/final rack & stack seeding using transparent process/algorithm.

I prefer the former, simply because I think it will generally provide the best number of quality games. That said, doing so will widen the gap between mids and power conferences, and virtually eliminate post season play for mids as NIT bowls continue to go tits up.

 

[Digger]

@ADavidHaleJoint


It is crazy to consider the driving force behind a lot of 24 talk isn't about audience size or TV contracts or bowls or preserving the regular season but... People paid for their trophies in advance & now we owe them something.

 

[Digger]

@ADavidHaleJoint


Money + Hope = 24 team playoff
At ACC meetings, Phillips said main reason for 24 was “schools continue to invest … it’s really important that they have hope.” Sankey echoed that: “There are a lot more people putting economic heft behind teams expecting an outcome.”

 

[Digger]

@ESPN_BillC


Tony Petitti’s greatest accomplishment over the last 2 months has been convincing people it’s a big deal that coaches want to coach in the CFP.