Best playoff proposal yet.....from someone who doesn't matter at all. I wish that he did because I would love to have a playoff as much as everyone else, but the reality is that he doesn't. Until a proposal comes from the AD's of BCS schools and the Commishes of said BCS conferences I'll hold off on the "Best playoff proposal yet" title.
The system mention makes the regular season mean more. As it stands now once you lose a game or two your season is over as far as the MNC is concerned. It doesn't make sense to have no path to the MNC if you continue to win the intermediate steps along the way. LSU has won there division, could very well win their conference and still have no chance to even compete for the MNC. That is the perfect example of the regular season meaning nothing. The only fair way to decide a true National Champion is to decide it completely on the field in a tiered approach. Win your division, win your conf, then make it thought the play-off. How could a team argue any step of the way. Division champ is decided on head to head competition with all teams in that division, conf champ is a head to head game, etc.
16 teams never deserve to play for the national championship. By the end of the season, deserving teams have been whittled to significantly smaller numbers. This takes away from the regular season by not making each game a playoff as it is now. More teams would be involved, sure, but it would add a certain loss forgiveness which would water down the bitterness of defeat and the thrill of victory. It would make college football more like a business, more like the NFL. 16 teams would kill the bowls. The current BCS devours 10 teams, removing 6 more teams from the pool for secondary bowls, bringing them closer than ever to NIT status. The bowl system would all but die out and the BCS bowls would get all the money. Losing the bowl system would bring college football precariously close to the mentality of "win at all costs." I'm all for a playoff, but I firmly believe that the wrong kind of playoff may change college football for the worse.
That's not true. Every game now (until a team is knocked out of championship contention) is exactly like a playoff game. Allowing teams to lose games takes away from the pain of defeat and the thrill of victory. Removing the playoff nature of regular season games in lieu of loss forgiveness is definitely not the way to go, IMO. Once teams lose, I guess the regular season means less, but there still may be a conference championship to play for and it is always fun to aim for the best bowl game possible. If anything, I think the attitude after being knocked out of NC contention is more like what a team would feel if they were playing for a spot in a 16 team playoff in the first place.
Seriously? I don't care what system is put into place. I don't want LSU to lose ever. Never did and never will. Plus it will be important to win for home field advantage in this scenario.
Same thing with the system I proposed. Win their conference and their in the BCS. Win their BCS bowl game and their in the NC hunt.
LOL, we never want LSU to lose, but tacking on a loss in the likelihood to play for a NC to each loss makes each loss that much more upsetting and unforgivable. Adding loss forgiveness to games really makes a tactical loss more debatable and I guarantee there will be some who say, "Eh... we're still in the playoff, no biggie. Kinda sucks, but oh well." Playing for HFA isn't anywhere near the motivator as playing to participate in the NC is.
What about the #5 - #20 BCS teams around this time of year with no shot at the NC, but who would have a shot at a playoff if certain games go their way? If LSU loses any of their close games this year they are more than likely out of a playoff. If they lose the SECCG they would more than likely be out. It really just gives more teams the opportunity to prove they belong in the NC game. Isn't that how it should be? Games will never lose their importance.
How many chances do teams deserve? If you don't set the bar pretty high, the likelyhood of championship worthy results are lowered. Teams 10-20 have basically always proven through the regular season that they are not one of the best teams in the nation (with the exception of nonBCS teams, possibly) and by keeping them in the argument you belittle the achievements of the best teams and make the entire process more cushy and comfortable. By making a 16 team playoff, you are making a season within a season. The excitement in college basketball during the regular season is notably less than what exists in college football (at least until the playoffs, when games really have palpable consequences). I really think a 16 team playoff will hurt the popularity of college football because the intensity of emotions related are reduced (at least until the playoffs). It may not hurt college football over night, but there is a very real chance of long term implications. And don't forget the death of the bowls. Also, if we jump into a 16 team playoff, there is no going back. If we ease into smaller pools of playoff participants we could guage the impact better. I think most think a two team playoff is better than what existed prior (as far as determining a national champion). But don't get me wrong, I don't like the BCS much and I think we need a playoff.
