Playoff Expansion Survey Part 1: How many teams?

[WNY_FOOTBALL_DUDE]

Hello everybody, I want to see if we can come up with our own college football playoff system. Apparently the college football big wigs cannot agree on a playoff format. Lets see if we're can do it for them.

Here are your options:

5 teams, straight up - The top 5 ranked teams gets in. You either give the #1 seed a bye or the top 3 seeds a bye.

6 teams, straight up - The top 6 ranked teams gets in. Top 2 seeds gets the bye.

8 teams, straight up - The top 8 ranked teams gets in. No byes.

8 teams, P5 autobid - 8 teams total. Conference champions from the ACC, Big-10, Big-12, Pac-12 and SEC gets an automatic playoff berth, regardless of record or ranking position. You believe winning a major conference championship deserves a playoff spot.

8 teams, P5 + best G5 - 8 teams total. The 5 major conference champions gets in, along with the "best" Group of Five conference champion.

8 teams, best 5 champs gets in - 8 teams. The top 5 highest ranked conference champions automatically gets in.

10 teams, straight up - The top 10 highest ranked teams gets in. The top 6 highest ranked teams gets a bye. #7 plays #10. #8 plays #9.

10 teams, P5 autobid + best G5 champ - 10 teams. The 5 major conference champions gets in, along with the "best" Group of Five conference champion.

12 teams, P5 autobid + best G5 champ - 12 teams. The 5 major conference champions gets in, along with the "best" Group of Five conference champion.

12 teams, best 6 champs gets in - 12 teams. The top 6 highest ranked conference champions automatically gets in.

16 teams, best 8 conference champs get in - 16 teams. Top 8 highest ranked conference champions automatically gets in.

16 teams, all conference champions gets in - 16 teams. All conference champions gets in.

Please pick 2 options you like the best.

 

[LoftonPack80]

I used to be a big proponent of 8 teams, the 5 P5 champs + highest ranked GO5 then 2 at large bids. Over the last year or two I'm kind of leaning towards just taking the top 6 or 8 ranked teams regardless of conference

 

[obxyankeefan]

Over the years I have been a proponent of the 16 team playoff with the all conference champs getting in. Also having the round of 16 be the conference championships and then the losers from that round get a bowl game.

I do like the 8 team playoff with all P5 champs getting in along with the best G5 champ.

 

[WNY_FOOTBALL_DUDE]

I used to be a big proponent of 8 teams, the 5 P5 champs + highest ranked GO5 then 2 at large bids. Over the last year or two I'm kind of leaning towards just taking the top 6 or 8 ranked teams regardless of conference

I agree. In the last 8 years, 36 out of the 40 major conference champions were ranked in the top 8. 34 of them in the top 6. In 3 of the last 4 seasons, a G5 champion made it into the top 8. If we're going to ask a committee to rank the top 8 teams, they will most likely put in at least 5 conference champions.

 

[LoftonPack80]

Over the years I have been a proponent of the 16 team playoff with the all conference champs getting in. Also having the round of 16 be the conference championships and then the losers from that round get a bowl game.

I do like the 8 team playoff with all P5 champs getting in along with the best G5 champ.

16 is way too much for me lol. I feel like that would be watered down

 

[BTHOtu]

6 teams. Top 2 gets bye.

 

[TheLonestarDUCK]

I used to be a big proponent of 8 teams, the 5 P5 champs + highest ranked GO5 then 2 at large bids. Over the last year or two I'm kind of leaning towards just taking the top 6 or 8 ranked teams regardless of conference

If you take top 6-8 teams and not conference champ, teams will be more likely to not schedule heavyweights. If conference champ gets an auto bid, schools will schedule decent OOC’s.

 

[foster4prez]

8 teams
5 p5
1 g6
2 at large
max 2 teams per conference
first round played at higher seed home stadium two weeks after conference championship game weekend.
higher seed picks their game window (Fri 7pm, Sat 12pm, Sat 4pm, Sat 8pm)
semifinals played as they currently are rotating among the major bowls
first round losers fill out other major bowls
championship game bid out like super bowl.

 

[LoftonPack80]

If you take top 6-8 teams and not conference champ, teams will be more likely to not schedule heavyweights. If conference champ gets an auto bid, schools will schedule decent OOC’s.

Wouldn't it have the opposite effect? If you were guaranteed a spot winning your conference doesn't that devalue your OOC? All you would have to do then is have the best conference record and not worry about what you do in OOC. If you're fighting to get into the top 6-8 you would want a better OOC to help your SOS, especially if you're in a weaker conference

 

[TheLonestarDUCK]

Wouldn't it have the opposite effect? If you were guaranteed a spot winning your conference doesn't that devalue your OOC? All you would have to do then is have the best conference record and not worry about what you do in OOC. If you're fighting to get into the top 6-8 you would want a better OOC to help your SOS, especially if you're in a weaker conference

I see it as focus on winning conference championship. Schedule a strong OOC if you lose a tough game that will provide tough experience for the team. Now go win your conference. If you win the tough OOC’s and conference you would be a very low seed. If it is just top 6 or 8, potentially one slip up and one tough loss you are out. Conference champ auto bids will keep OOC competitive.

 

[WNY_FOOTBALL_DUDE]

If you take top 6-8 teams and not conference champ, teams will be more likely to not schedule heavyweights. If conference champ gets an auto bid, schools will schedule decent OOC’s.

Not necessarily. 8 teams means a 2-3 loss teams are still in the playoff hunt. 2-4 teams means 2 losses knocks you out of contention. Keep in mind that "straight up" or "no autobids" doesn't mean Conference championship status isn't honored. It simply means there's no limits on the number of conference champions involved.

 

[trojanfan12]

I went with 8 teams, P5 autobid. I think that winning a P5 conference should meaningful and that would make it so. Yes. there will be the occasional years where you have a conference champ with only 8 or 9 wins. But it's not likely to happen enough to be an issue.

After that, the remaining spots can go to highly ranked non-conference cahmps and a deserving G5 team or 2.

 

[PhilSimms11]

I chose other.
8-team P5 and 8-team G5 playoff. Two separate champions. They would NOT play each other.
5 conference champions and 3 at-larges in each.

 

[foster4prez]

Wouldn't it have the opposite effect? If you were guaranteed a spot winning your conference doesn't that devalue your OOC? All you would have to do then is have the best conference record and not worry about what you do in OOC. If you're fighting to get into the top 6-8 you would want a better OOC to help your SOS, especially if you're in a weaker conference

No because you would have to have those big OOC wins in order to make an at-large spot. And losing one wouldn't put your entire season at risk because you could still win your conference.

 

[trojanfan12]

No because you would have to have those big OOC wins in order to make an at-large spot. And losing one wouldn't put your entire season at risk because you could still win your conference.

Agree. People say that auto bids will mean teams won't challenge themselves OOC.

A big part of the problem with how things have been done was that teams didn't really want to challenge themselves because 1 loss could keep them out even if they won their conference. With an auto-bid, if they lost an OOC game to another top program, they could still get in.

 

[PhilSimms11]

2021
(1)Alabama (12-1) v (8)Pittsburgh (11-2)
*(4)Notre Dame (11-1) v *(5)Ohio St (10-2)

(2)Michigan (12-1) v (7)Utah (10-3)
*(3)Georgia (12-1) v (6)Baylor (11-2)
---------- ---------- ----------
(1)Cincinnati (13-0) v (8)No Illinois (9-4)
(4)Louisiana (12-1) v *(5)San Diego St (11-2)

*(2)BYU (10-2) v (7)Utah St (10-3)
*(3)Houston (11-2) v (6)UTSA (12-1)
*at-large

 

[michaeljordan_fan]

Voted for p5 autobid, but after Texas / OU leave its a p4.

 

[cclxxxvdicere]

1) No expansion, 4 is enough.
2) 8 teams, P5 autobid then top 3

 

[dtgold88]

I went with 8 teams, P5 autobid. I think that winning a P5 conference should meaningful and that would make it so. Yes. there will be the occasional years where you have a conference champ with only 8 or 9 wins. But it's not likely to happen enough to be an issue.

After that, the remaining spots can go to highly ranked non-conference cahmps and a deserving G5 team or 2.

agree....and would like first round at home stadium of top 4 seeds.

 

[BamaDude]

I could see an 8-team playoff, with no auto-bids; but would prefer a 6-team format, with the top two teams getting a bye, and the #3 & #4 teams hosting first-round games.

Rarely are the more than six teams that deserve serious consideration for a playoff spot.