College Football Playoff Prediction Series: Week Three
I am quite nearly appalled at last week's poll results which unequivocally favor the larger playoffs to the smaller, simpler playoffs. Come on, has North Carolina earned title game recognition?
Part of this is just the nature of this article series and who it attracts. And part of my distaste is my own bias toward the “Regional 16 Team playoff” which was outvoted by the “National 16 Team playoff.” Don't worry about my tastes though. Keep voting for the most sensible playoff.
Last Week
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Last week two of our playoff hopefuls took a punch to the gut. The Southern California Trojans and the Brigham Young Cougars both lost to unranked competition.
USC dropped out of the Three-Team playoff and in most other cases was replaced by California as the Pac-10 representative. The Trojans cling to a possible BCS berth in the Two-Team playoff and are still members of each of the 16-Team playoff models.
BYU took a harder fall and has disappeared out of all playoff models. Virginia Tech and Oklahoma took the Cougars' and the Buckeyes' spots in the Two-Team playoff. In the larger 16-Team playoffs TCU has taken the Mountain West mantle.
Cincinnati and Miami rocketed into the Eight-Team playoff, which despite decent votes has been falling in the poll. I have also decide to kill the Five-Team playoff which took zero votes both of the last two weeks. I kinda liked the playoff idea but realize it was just too rigid for wide acceptance. For similar reasons I have considered replacing the Eight-Team playoff with a more streamlined model.
A third 16-Team playoff has also been added at the request of one of last week's posters. While I am hoping votes shift to the smaller playoffs it will be interesting to see which larger format makes the most sense to voters.
The Poll
If you have proposals that you'd like displayed next week, then link to them or describe them in the comments section. Up to two may be added for each new iteration of this series.
Each week there will also be a poll for which proposals makes the most sense. The playoff with the least amount of support may not appear next week, at my discretion.
Enjoy the playoffs below, given in an order considering last week's vote.
The Playoffs
Three-Team playoff (top two teams play in NC; a single, high-profile BCS play-in game added)
Dec. 5 Games:
No. 1 Alabama – No. 3 Florida (SEC Championship Game)
No. 2 Texas – No. 19 Kansas (Big 12 Championship Game)
No. 4 LSU – No. 7 Penn State (BCS play-in Game)
Four-Team playoff (top conference champions in BCS Top 5 and top at-larges in playoff)
New Year's Bowls:
No. 1 Alabama – No. 5 California (Rose Bowl)
No. 2 Texas – No. 3 Florida (Fiesta Bowl)
Two-Team playoff (top two teams play in NC; two more play-in games, like CCG's, added)
The 10 BCS spots go to:
No. 1 Alabama – No. 3 Florida (SEC Championship Game)
No. 2 Texas – No. 19 Nebraska (Big 12 Championship Game)
No. 4 LSU – No. 13 Va Tech (Eastern BCS play-in Game)
No. 5 California (Pac-10 Champion)
No. 6 Boise State (Mid-Major Champion)
No. 7 Penn State (Big Ten Champion)
No. 8 Miami – Clemson (ACC Championship Game)
No. 10 Cincinnati (Big East Champion)
No. 11 USC – No. 12 Oklahoma (Western play-in Game)
The 10th BCS spot goes to the highest ranked team not yet in a BCS bowl.
National 16-Team Playoff (first two rounds on campuses in early December; January Final Four at neutral sites)
Ohio @ No. 1 Alabama
No. 9 Ole Miss @ No. 8 Miami
No. 14 Ohio State @ No. 4 LSU
No. 12 Oklahoma @ No. 5 California
Louisiana Lafayette @ No. 2 Texas
No. 10 Cincinnati @ No. 7 Penn State
No. 13 Virginia Tech @ No. 3 Florida
No. 11 USC @ No. 6 Boise State
BCS Bowls:
No. 1 Alabama – No. 2 Texas (BCS Championship)
No. 5 California – No. 7 Penn State (Rose Bowl)
No. 8 Miami – No. 14 Ohio St (Orange Bowl)
No. 12 Oklahoma – No. 10 Cincinnati (Fiesta Bowl) – maybe Fiesta Bowl selects Boise State
No. 3 Florida – No. 6 Boise State (Sugar Bowl)
Regional 16 Team playoff (first two rounds on campuses in early December; next round in bowl games)
West Region Games: (winner to Rose Bowl)
No. 21 Houston @ No. 5 California
No. 11 USC @ No. 6 Boise St
South Region Games: (winner to Sugar Bowl)
No. 13 Va Tech @ No. 2 Texas
No. 12 Oklahoma @ No. 8 Miami
East Region Games: (winner to Sugar Bowl)
Louisiana Lafayette @ No. 1 Alabama
No. 5 LSU @ No. 4 Florida
North Region Games: (winner to Rose Bowl)
Ohio @ No. 7 Penn State
No. 15 TCU @ No. 10 Cincinnati
Eight-Team Playoff (turns SEC and Big 12 championships into two of four play-in games)
December 5th Games:
No. 1 Alabama – No. 3 Florida (SEC play-in Game)
No. 2 Texas – No. 10 Cincinnati (Big 12 play-in Game)
No. 5 California – No. 8 Miami (Western play-in Game)
No. 7 Penn State – No. 6 Boise State (Eastern play-in Game)
Pick 'em 16 Team Playoff (Eight automatic bids; Top eight teams pick opponents for each week)
Teams with first round picks:
No. 1 Alabama (SEC Champion)
No. 2 Texas (Big 12 Champion)
No. 3 Florida (At Large #1)
No. 4 LSU (At Large #2)
No. 5 California (Pac-10 Champion)
No. 6 Boise State (Mid Major Champion)
No. 7 Penn State (Big Ten Champion)
No. 8 Miami (ACC Champion)
Teams to be selected from: (Conference match-ups are disallowed the first round)
No. 9 Ole Miss (At Large #3)
No. 10 Cincinnati (Big East Champion)
No. 11 USC (At Large #4)
No. 12 Oklahoma (At Large #5)
No. 13 Virginia Tech (At Large #6)
No. 14 Ohio State (At Large #7)
No. 15 TCU (Mountain West Champion)
No. 16 North Carolina (At Large #8)
Graveyard:
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.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
