We have about a month after play stops before meaningful bowls start, (if there is such a thing). So, in my Nat'l Championship Tournament, we start 2 weeks after conference champ. games. 1st. 8 games, higher seed gets a home game, a monetary reward for a great season. A great match-up to start things off: 1. Sooners @ Ducks (Sooners can't stop anybody - Ducks rule) 2. Arky @ Auburn (Tigers win 94 - 67) 3. Utes @ TCU (OK 1 stinker in the bunch) 4. Iowa @ Boise (find out if Boise is real pretty quick) 5. Bama @ LSU (unreal ain't it?) 6. Spartans @ Stanford (Spartans ahead of Bama is nuts) 7. OKie St. @ Wis. (Cowboy speed runs Wis. off field) 8. Buckeyes @ Neb. (welcome to Big 10 Huskers) The 4 quarters next week at traditional New Year's Day sites. I will project winners: 1. Ducks v. Buckeyes Rose Bowl (Buckeyes over-rated as usual) 2. Auburn v. Okie St. Cotton Bowl (Cowboys in way over heads) 3. TCU v. Stanford Orange Bowl (Stanford looked great Sat.) 4. Boise v. LSU Sugar Bowl (the end for Boise) Semis (work Fiesta into equation, & use major markets, 5 bowl sites to rotate a Semis game every year): 1. Ducks v. Auburn - Tempe (game goes into OT @ 116 all Cam Newton with 736 yards total offense) 2. Stanford v. LSU - Atlanta ???????????????? Nat'l Championship at Superdome: ??????????????????????????????? (Don't want to jinx Tigers) Now, how great would all of that be? The folks that talk about college football having the most meaningful regular season, you think they wouldn't be on board with this deal? Reg. season would be just as important, you don't make Top 16 in BCS Poll, you don't go to the dance. And Gawd, how much money would the networks pay for a package of games like that? But the BCS is better?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?! Anybody think the Orange Bowl would prefer the Va. Tech v. So. Florida crapfest, or the game above? That's the other great thing, we don't have to pretend that the ACC or the Big East deserve to have a team in the tournament this year. NO AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS!
Actually put everybody in a conference and make them play a championship game. Take the conference champions and put them in a playoff. 4 weeks later you have a true National Champion. Let all the conference runner ups play the bowl games.
Respectfully disagree. Looking at that scenario, you think the reg. season game of LSU v. Bama is meaningless? Honestly? Turns out that game decided home field for LSU in the 1st. playoff game. Would the Tigers rather play Bama again at home, or in Tuscaloosa? It's not like basketball. There are still only 12 regular season games, so you can't afford to stumble much. But this does allow you to lose a game and bounce back. And I'd really rather watch one of those 8 games, than watch So. Carolina v. W. Virginia in the Carquest Bowl.
Last year there were 4 teams with 3 losses in the top 16 of the final BCS standings. There is no way those teams deserve a shot at the title.
This... Make it so there's 12 conferences. Make everyone join a conference, make all conferences play an extra (championship) game. Take the 12 Conference champs, add 4 at larges and there's your 16 team playoff.
That's a valid point of view. Just askin', how come nobody makes that point when the subject is a NC State team that finished the regular season 19-10 in '83, and went on to win the title? I know basketball is different, but I could still argue that State had no business being in the tournament. They were 8-6 in conference. Nobody seems to mind and didn't then, and now Valvano is a saint. Also, with this new system, maybe teams that had better records than the 3 loss teams, will actually start scheduling somebody so that a good record will not be ignored. Finally, did a 2 loss LSU team deserve to play for the National Championship?
I love the excitement of March Madness but believe me I have a huge problem with the setup. Especially in basketball, anyone can beat anyone. N. Iowa beat Kansas last year. I thought Kansas was the best team last year, but that one loss messed them up. They might have beat that team 9 out of 10 times. I don't think Duke was the best team and I like Duke. For my money, college baseball has the best playoff setup. (This setup obviously wouldn't work for football)
That's the point of a tournament, so that the talking heads don't decide Kansas is the best before they play and hand them a title.
I didn't say they should be handed the title. I think baseball's setup would work great for basketball. It lessens the impact of those fluke wins.
