The Never-ending Debate: College Football Playoff
I can say those three words anywhere in this country and immediately get an opinion. Most college football fans initially respond that it is a must to ensure that America has a true college football champion. Oftentimes the end of college football ends with a debate on who is really the national championship.
Of course, we now have a Bowl Championship Series that measures the top two teams in a combination of human and computer polls.
A 16-team or even an eight-team provides a number of logistical solutions. Of course there have been proposed solutions to this conundrum, like a plus one playoff. This year we've even seen threatened legal action unless the BCS changes its formula for selection or somehow comes up with a playoff system.
What are the benefits of the current BCS system?
1. A playoff atmosphere is cultivated each week. We saw a number of key games this year where teams were essentially eliminated from the title game. Think of all the important Big 12 games, like Oklahoma vs. Texas, Texas vs. Texas Tech, etc., or how Florida ended Alabama's title game hopes in the SEC Championship.
2. The traditional bowl games remain intact. Of course there is the proposal that the major bowl games like the Rose, Orange, and Sugar host the playoff games. But that kind of interferes with the tradition of Big Ten and Pac-10 in the Rose or the SEC in the Sugar. What would college football be without the continuance?
3. It's in line with the current academic structure. Yes Virginia, we are still talking about student-athletes. Lengthening the season through a college playoff would interfere with exam schedules and the general academic structure.
4. It allows a number of teams and conferences to benefit from the BCS payouts.
What would be the benefits of a college football playoff?
1. We would see unprecedented buzz and expectations, perhaps rivaling that of College Basketball's March Madness.
2. Head to head, mano y mano competition decides the true national championship, not somebody punching keys on a computer.
3. It would generate millions of dollars for universities, although I'm not convinced it would generate more than is being generated from bowl games. I've yet to see an economic study that would show that. Perhaps somebody would do that now that we appear closer.
4. A majority of fans support a playoff system. What is college football without the fans?
I'm not convinced that an eight-team or 16-team playoff would eliminate all controversy. I've yet to see an argument about how a 16-team playoff would work. We would have discussions instead on whether the eighth team should be Boise State or Texas Tech.
I'm also not convinced about how shortening the length of regular season would be beneficial to all schools. We are talking about eliminating the conference championships, which I personally like, and taking away a game or two away from schools that would never been in the BCS playoff.
Those schools need the revenue generated by an extra one or two football games to support all the other sports their school offers.
1 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment
Scott Pusich 5 months ago
Good article, Martin. This topic is not going to go away... and eventually it's going to happen. It's just a matter of when and how it happens.
You're aware of the FCS (and Div II and III) playoff, right? Logistically it's already happening at three out of four levels in college football. Logistically (and in terms of "student-athletes") there are no obstacles.
The main obstacle is the refusal of those who control the levers of power in FBS (and more specifically, the BCS conferences... note that the FBS 'mid-majors' have threatened legal action at various times). At the risk of seeming overly political, I compare these fellows to the 'good governor' George Wallace of Alabama and his views on 'separate but equal'. Or let me be more direct: the views of most fans and alumni of the SEC and ACC on 'separate but equal' and the integration of their schools–both in terms of students AND student-athletes.
Enjoy swimming against the *cough* tide, playoff opponents... you won't be able to do it much longer.
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