Vols are a complete embarrassment to the SEC

The inherent problem with any number of teams in any playoff is the human/political/profit generation craziness that skews everything at every turn. America created the greatest form of recreational warfare in the history of the world when we invented CFB. If we can figure out a way to determine who actually won without all the BS, it will be even better.

 

Conferences are too damn big now. It's stupid that teams don't play each other consistently. Conferences should be smaller and regional. 10 teams each and everyone plays everyone. The winner represents that conference in the playoffs. Regional seeding. Have bowl games as secondary prizes for teams that didn't make playoffs. But we all know the mighty dollar has dictated where we are now.

 

Agree 100%. Before they went to 64+, the conference champs were automatically in. It should be the lowest rated non-automatic qualifiers in the play-in game.

 

Thats why 16 clears that up instead of our opinions.i would love Arizona state to knock out some of these top seeds. We are often wrong about who the best eight teams in the country are, and there are always surprises, well, not always.

 

8 would be plenty if they had the right 8. If the playoff people are forced to take a Boise or Memphis type team along with an ACC or Big 12 team that played nobody, the only way to fix that is with 16 so teams like S Car., Bama or Ole Piss would get in. That would also allow an Indiana type team to get in and promptly get beat.

 

The seating is always a cluster, but 16 removes any doubt. Anybody bitching about being 17th or 18th has lost their mind if they think they're about to win a national championship. The problem I see is the ninth or 10th team in years would have a damn shot, especially if they were giving the shaft and should've been in there anyway. Could you imagine us at nine and three next year and being left out because Lagway was hurt for three games and that's the only games we lost. He's back then he's back for the playoffs and we are favored against anybody out there yet. We are the number nine team in the country or possibly the number 14 team in the country.

 

I don't really have a solution other than that the current format is the worst of all possible worlds and needs to be scrapped ASAP. I also believe that any formula that doesn't factor in SOS in selecting either a 16 or 8 team PO field is irrevocably flawed. The problem for me lies in limiting the field to those who have actually earned that spot during the regular season. Gerrymandering in the non-P4 conference champions is the poison pill that will undermine any major CFB PO system, at least to some extent - no matter what else you do. The PO should be about crowning a true CFB champion. Participation awards are for middle school and also-rans. Eliminate the bogus "champions" and eight teams would be preferable. Leave them in and a field of sixteen becomes a must.

 

Team............Sagarin.......fpi.......AP.......BCS.......Avg
Boise St.........28...............24........8.........9..........17.3
SMU..............18...............13........12.......12.........13.8
IU..................9................10........9.........8...........9.0
AZ st..............11..............22........10.......10.........13.3
Bama.............7................4..........11.......11.........8.3
SC.................13..............14........14........idk.......13.7
Miss...............8................7..........16.......idk.......10.3
FL..................15..............19........32.......idk........22.0

If these metrics mean anything, you may be right (excepting FL). The problem is that excluding 11 and 12 win teams would not jive with sports fans and commentators who are not SEC wonks.

 

Vol fans embarrassed themselves, not us. Hopefully they were more humble on their drive out of town, back to the hills of TenerC.

 

What's the downside? You host a patsy at home in the first round?

Sweet. Bank the financial windfall of the home playoff game and move to the second round.

 

Another aspect is bowls, other than the playoff are inconsequential. At least there are playoff games that people are interested in watching and players are interested in playing in.