How should the playoff be tweaked

Well, it looks like the best 4 teams survived. The problem is they were seeded #5-#8.

 

Yep, now there is talk of putting asterisks with all past winners based on the conclusion that the Top 4 teams all lost after their bye week so maybe the Top 4 of every season up till now maybe weren't the best teams. It was an ugly viewpoint that the 9-12 and 1-4 all lost their opening games. The difference that I saw was this - the 5 -8 teams had the advantage of playing at home and getting CFP experience and shaking off the rust. The 1 - 4 teams couldn't shake the rust, the Christmas layoff and it showed. Unless the CFP ends byes, I would expect the 5 -8 seeds to have the advantage every year. If they make it past the 1st round, I'm betting on them to beat the 1 - 4.

 

Jeremiah Smith looks to be the difference

 

That's why I like 16 teams. Erases all doubts nobody gets a silly ass bye. It could be the number nine team in the driver seat right now.

 

I could see 16 teams no byes and conference champs get home field games. Sorry ND That means four extra games for two teams, 1/3 of the regular season, but likely this year. don’t see an extreme underdog team making a magical run like in March Madness tournament. All I do know is Georgia lost!!

 

Be careful what you wish for with the pros. If we are not careful we might get a WNBA model, where all teams play fewer season games, almost everyone gets in the playoffs, and Beth Mowins gets to call the games.

 

If they separate the teams from the schools, they may get WNBA viewership numbers too.

 

College football is monetarily successful though so more games is better for their pockets. The WNBA has to be propped up by the NBA.

 

I would go to 16 teams, eliminating the byes. I still think conference champs matter so the top 4 conference champs are among the top eight to play their first game at home, so this year Boise St and Arizona State would be seeded 7 and 8, respectively. The additional four teams would include in no particular order, Bama, USCe, Ole Miss and scUM.

 

As I predicted, I've had about as much interest in the college playoffs as I do the NFL. I think I watched about 30 minutes of the Texas game and about an hour of the Georgia game only because I was enjoying them getting dismantled so much. I didn't even re-arrange my work schedule to watch UF play, but I am glad they won in such dominant fashion.

 

Absolutely. We need new nomenclature, Stat. Perhaps the Power 2, the Mid 2, and The Soon Not To Be Fielding a Football Team Rest.

 

And the NFL is a terrible product that only bettors and fantasy league participants watch. Colleges/Universities shouldn't want to emulate that league.

 

The bowls couldn’t survive that. Not sure they need to survive. I bet we are headed to 32 or even 64 teams. It’s all about the money.

 

They will survive as long as ESPN needs content. When that ends, those Bowls will end.

 

Bowl games as filler like the poker tournaments?

 

Use the BCS formula to determine the top 8 or 12 teams.

 

I’m thinking week 17 games should be flexible and put the teams competing for a last spot head to head. Broncos rolled the Chiefs because the Chiefs sat their first string players. How about revising week 17 matchup to have the Broncos play the Dolphins and the Bucs play the Falcons. Make the games meaningful by allowing flexibility to create matchups that will decide playoff spots

 

I was originally fine with a four team playoff, but, I have now shifted my opinion. Seeing what the playoff system has done to the bowl situation, I am now in favor of more teams vs. less being included in the playoffs. No one attends or watches bowl games that aren't playoffs anymore. Players opt out en masse or sometimes give uninspired performances. One bowl-bound school couldn't even field a team. Did you see the stands at even mid-level games like the Gator Bowl this year? The bowl in Hawaii looked like the stands at two losing high school teams. Most looked like a bunch of spring games in terms of attendance.

With all that considered, I say expand the playoffs to 16 teams and forget the byes. Teams that didn't really deserve a bye from lesser conferences end up with a free advance with conference champion byes. Any more than 16 teams would add too many games to the schedule for some teams or reduce home game revenue for others who don't make the playoffs. 16 teams is the sweet spot.

 

And all the 1 seeds lost. They obviously cant pick the best teams. Sure, we got blowouts but we also got blowouts in the second rd by teams that wouldnt have even made the field. Dont you think if we had 16 for the last two decades that there would have been some national championships won by teams that werent given a chance?

 

The one seeds in this format were never/rarely going to be the best four teams because of the conference champ requirement. If they were seeded with the old bcs formula, I doubt you’d see many teams outside the top four be very competitive.
How often does a lower seed win the fcs playoff?