Playoff Problem begins a new series by taking a more in-depth look at popular playoff proposals that have been presented by journalists, fans and other college football aficionados. We appreciate the thought and consideration given to these plans, and we look carefully at all of them. We want to share with you some observations and challenges associated with each one. Check back here for the analyses of other plans over the next few weeks.
Today we look at a playoff plan by Dan Wetzel from Yahoo! Sports. His plan is a 16-team playoff, with 11 conference champions getting automatic playoff berths and five at-large teams filling out the brackets based on the final BCS Standings. Here’s what it looks like:
Dan is a smart, diligent reporter and a thoughtful writer who covers college football regularly. With his solid background in this subject, it might be expected that a playoff plan from him would address all of the details. Unfortunately, he has missed several significant factors.
Who’s Out, Who’s In
First, the automatic qualifiers. The Wetzel plan puts all 11 conference champions in the playoff, including Sun Belt champ Troy (9-3), the Mid-American’s champ Central Michigan (11-2) and Conference-USA winner East Carolina (9-4). We get that; it makes sense that conference champions would be included in any hypothetical 16-team bracket, even though those three teams were not ranked in the final BCS top 25. On the outside looking in are 12 teams with two, three and four losses that rank 14 to 25 in the final BCS Standings: BYU, Miami (Fla.), West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Oregon State, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Stanford, Nebraska, Utah, USC and Wisconsin. They won’t be happy about being left out of this 16-team playoff scheme.
Second are the at-large bids, which, under Mr. Wetzel’s plan, go to the next best teams as ranked in the BCS Standings. This year, those bids would go to No. 5 Florida (12-1), No. 10 Iowa (10-2), No. 11 Virginia Tech (9-3), No. 12 LSU (9-3) and No. 13 Penn State (10-2). Now, we like the BCS ranking system just fine, but many fans don’t. So we would expect that fans of two-loss No. 14 BYU would be awfully frustrated, as would the six other teams with three losses in the BCS top 25. We also predict claims of unfairness from the other three-loss teams that were unranked in the final BCS Standings—Middle Tennessee State, Houston and Temple. And what would Big 12 folks think about having only one team in the playoff, while the Big Ten and SEC had three?
In short, many more teams with identical or similar records would be excluded from the playoff for what they would surely consider arbitrary reasons. They would argue for inclusion, and over time, more teams would demand berths. Can you say “bracket creep”? Mr. Wetzel dismisses this as a “ridiculous argument,” but every sport’s bracket has grown larger over the years. The NCAA men’s basketball tournament started out with eight teams and it’s now 65, and there is serious talk of expansion to 96.
Must-See Matchups?
But on to the games. Because of the seedings, first-round games in Dan’s playoff include Alabama vs. Troy; Texas vs. East Carolina, and Cincinnati vs. Central Michigan. Dan calls these “must-see” games, but the bowls are far better at creating compelling and competitive matchups.
Then there’s the question of playing four more games. Under Dan’s plan, the top two teams would be required to play as many as 17 games. That’s a lot for anyone, especially young men ages 18-23, and carries serious additional injury risk. And we must remember that these people are full-time students and part-time athletes.
Let’s move on to the locations of the games. Dan proposes that the higher-seeded team host each game until the championship. That might make sense until you consider the tremendous importance of the seedings. Those seedings would be just as controversial as choosing two teams under the current BCS system. For instance, in Mr. Wetzel’s plan, Georgia Tech would travel to Columbus to play in the Horseshoe, but that seeding would draw ire in the ACC and southeast. We all know that home-field advantage is significant in college football, and so there’s absolutely no possibility that a playoff at home sites would last more than a couple of years. Look at the history: the people who manage the NCAA men’s basketball tournament recognized the inherent unfairness of home courts, and so several years ago they went to neutral sites, taking their game largely away from the campus atmosphere that Mr. Wetzel rightly treasures.
We agree with Dan on many subjects, but his football tournament ignores several critical details. He can do that in a hypothetical world. We can’t in a real world.
Real-World Playoff Details
When would his tournament begin? The Army-Navy game was Dec. 12 this year and will be on a similar date for at least nine more years. The playoff certainly couldn’t start until after that date, as either team could receive a BCS bowl berth if they were to finish in the top 14. Assuming two weeks for practice, the first round would be Dec. 26.
There are two problems with starting on Dec. 26: First, the NFL plays in the weekend television windows from mid-December to late January. Would Dan schedule the eight first-round games on Friday night, Dec. 25? Of course, the calendar doesn’t fall that way every year. But the idea is the same. Second, college campuses shut down over the holidays. It takes hundreds of workers to put on a game, most of whom would be home for the holidays during his playoff window. And how would band members, cheerleaders and other students make holiday plans, knowing their team might play one, two or three games on campus during the time they are normally home with their families? Planning for one week at a bowl site is one thing; making arrangements to stay on campus for as many as three additional weeks is quite another.
Fans’ Fares
Then there is the travel burden his plan would impose on fans. In Mr. Wetzel’s playoff, Penn State would travel 984 miles to the Swamp to play the Gators in the first round. If the Nittany Lions were to win and the higher seeds win other games, they would pack their bags and fly 1,392 miles to Fort Worth to face TCU the next week. A victory over TCU would mean a 920-mile haul the next weekend to Alabama for a matchup with the Crimson Tide. If Penn State prevailed at Bryant Denny, its entire traveling party would head to Pasadena for the final game, a 2,553-mile journey. In four weeks, that’s 11,698 miles traveled back and forth.[1] This may sound like the ultimate college football road trip if you’re a millionaire who owns a jet plane, but how many fans could actually afford the time and money it would require to follow their team?
We also disagree with Dan on the future of the bowl games in a playoff world. Despite his claims, he can not know for sure what would happen to the bowls if his hypothetical tournament became reality. We’ve heard civic leaders and bowl directors say it would wreck their events. In any case, a playoff would end the bowls as we know them.
Playoffs sound great on paper, but once the details become clear, we believe they would trigger as much—if not more—contention than today’s system produces.
Final Score: Bowls Win
It’s not that the college presidents couldn’t devise a playoff plan—they could – but at great loss to the game that we all love. The playoff plans that have been considered run square into these and many other issues, which is why higher education leaders have rejected them.
The BCS has an important but limited purpose: to pair the top two teams in a bowl game while creating exciting matchups in four other games. Certainly that is working; the top two teams by media consensus (the Associated Press poll) have met in the past six BCS championship games.
Finally, the BCS helps to deliver what even Mr. Wetzel concedes is a “roller-coaster regular season.” That regular season is the most exciting and most meaningful in sports, and it delivers fantastic football with national implications from August to December. On this we are in full agreement with Dan. College football’s roller-coaster ride is worth protecting.
These are the real-world implications of the playoff proposal that Mr. Wetzel has thoughtfully presented. We look forward to continuing the debate, and in the coming weeks we will analyze other playoff plans that have been circulated.
[1]Calculations were based on miles between stadiums from Google maps then doubled to reflect round trips: 1,968 + 2,784 + 1,840 + 5,106 = 11,698 miles traveled.
Tags: BCS
This is the strangest website e-v-e-r. “Today we look at a playoff plan by Dan Wetzel from … ” What are we looking at tomorrow? Or the next day?
This site is pure propaganda. But, whatever. Enjoy the drinks and party favors at the bowls Mr. Elitist. Just remember the rest of college football nation laughs at you.
I have to agree with Dan that the whole “bracket creep” argument is just not a compelling argument against a playoff. If you define “Bracket creep” as the presence of teams arguing that they should have a chance to compete in the postseason for the championship, then it’s inevitable. It exists in the BCS today (which has already creeped from a playoff of no teams to 2 teams), will be present in every playoff proposal, and exists in pretty much every other sport as well. I don’t see how it’s an argument against a NCAA D-I football playoff. If anything, it’s an argument FOR a playoff, in that a 16 team playoff eliminates the complaints of 14 very good teams. Teams 17+ are no worse off with a playoff than they are with the current system.
John nails it. If the requirement for playoff participation is conference championship, then each team knows what they have to do to play for all the marbles. Yes, that means Notre Dame needs to man up and join a conference or get used being the 12th seed at best. As it stands now, 3 teams that did all they could to play for the NC, won’t have the opportunity. How a team like Auburn in 04, the undisputed SEC champ, gets totally left out is a travesty. In the playoff, they get a shot by earning their way in vs being left out because a team they beat lost an out of conference game lowering their strength of schedule.
As for when to play the games and length of season as a concern for players’ health? All Ari Fleicher’s crew needs to do is look at the FCS, Div II, Div III, and NAIA playoff brackets. They play the entire tournament a week before Christmas. Where’s the concern for their players’ health? All the FBS needs to do is drop one regular season game (as if we need more Florida vs Charleston Southern battles). Yes that’s still potentially 16 games for the NC contenders but unlike the FCS, they would get a break before the last game (like the Super Bowl) as the title game would be played hopefully on New Year’s Day as the showcase “bowl” game.
As for campuses shutting down? Adjust the regular season a bit and schools will have no problem staying open to host a playoff game. The economic impact to their local community would more than make up for any cost. Army/Navy is a great tradition, but when was the last time that game had any impact on the NC race? They can move it to the last week of the season if it’s that big a deal. Another thing, if the concern about a playoff means a diminished regular season, then the opportunity to host more games will make up for that.
Fan travel. Referring to my last statement, the best teams will have most of their games close to the majority of their fans. They will show up. If the visiting teams’ fans won’t make the trip, then their team needs to win more games. Simple as that.
Bracket Creep. Sure it could happen, but that would only mean more money coming in. March Madness takes roughly 3 weeks to complete and as far as I know, each regional site has had no problems filling the stands up for their games.
We all know Ari and his boys are getting paid to spout the virtues of the BCS. Until they can show how a team can truly earn their way into the NC game under the current system, there is no solution but a playoff. How are teams like TCU, Boise St, Utah suppose to improve their BCS stock when power conference schools won’t schedule them because they fear a loss hurts their own chances at a BCS title? Right now a team has to have success over the course of a few years to start out high enough in coaches’ poll to have a realistic chance at a BCS title spot. Biggest problem with that is the BCS awards a NC to a one team for a given year, but only to schools who have shown a strong program over a few years. The Cinderella teams are what makes March Madness and the NFL playoffs so much fun to watch. When a team like George Mason or the Arizona Cardinals can get to the grandest stage of their league against all odds on their own merits, it makes for great drama. Great drama makes for big bucks. Big bucks is what the schools need and the TV networks want.
Actually, that sweet sixteen would be awesome, even though my team (USC) would be on the outside looking in.
To my knowledge, only one sport on the planet has a system in place where an undefeated team does not have a right to play for the championship.
Does that sound right to you?
It’s sweeter than two. Playoff, BCS, whatever, there would inevitably be controversy over who made it in, but wouldn’t it be nice if, say, seeds 11-16 were arguable, versus seeds 1 and 2? That is, the top teams–anyone who has the most realistic chance based on statistics–would almost automatically qualify. The worry from the BYUs, etc., is valid, but far less contentious since their bid for the crown is at far greater odds. Moreover, if one of the lower seeds DID when the national championship, a la George Mason playing in the Final Four a few years ago, then it’d be hard to argue their worthiness in the playoff system. (Also, context is needed, as two of Troy’s three losses, for instance, were to Florida–a 5 seed here–and Arkansas, who was one of the hottest teams in the SEC by the time Troy played them.)
The regular season would still matter, of course, because one or two losses could still prevent you from being one of the 16 seeded teams, just like one or two losses can prevent you from going to a BCS bowl.
Valid arguments could also be made for travel, exam schedule, etc., but basketball teams do it. So, I think the concern has less to do with exhaustion and scholastics, otherwise there would be an overhaul of most big collegiate athletics, especially basketball.
Anyway, none of that even addresses the blunders of the BCS, only the benefits of a playoff system. If we were to address the BCS, we might discuss teams like Auburn, Boise St, TCU, Cincy, et al. We might also discuss embarrassing matchups like the Illinois-USC game or Hawaii-UGA. Or, we might discuss how the regular season even with this system doesn’t matter, since the results are in the hands of the BCS, not the teams. If it isn’t won on the field today, then how could it possibly be made any worse? If the AP, the oldest poll in the land doesn’t buy it, most fans don’t buy it, and the majority of sportswriters–even from the networks broadcasting BCS games–don’t buy it and many coaches don’t buy it, then why does the BCS exist? And why does the BCS have to set up a Twitter account dedicated primarily to defensive updates and disparaging comments about a playoff system. It’s as though even the BCS knows it’s broken, back on its heels, but it’s still doing everything it can to convince people who can’t be convinced. Like by creating a narrowly thought WordPress account.
Let’s just admit it’s about money and call it a day.
“…but every sport’s bracket has grown larger over the years. The NCAA men’s basketball tournament started out with eight teams and it’s now 65, and there is serious talk of expansion to 96.”
THEY ARE DOING SO BECAUSE THEY SEE THE POTENTIAL FOR AN IMMENSE AMOUNT OF INCOME FOR THE NCAA!!! Why are the college football big-wigs and the BCS the only ones who don’t see this the same way?!?!
Let me see if I understand this: you’re saying that the biggest reason not to have a playoff is the controversy over who makes or doesn’t make it and where they play their games? I can’t see you, so I must assume you are saying this with a straight face. As a lifelong and die-hard fan of your poster-child of disappointed schools in this hypothetical scenario, BYU, let me say that I would gladly deal with these “controversies” in order to create a real national champion, to give the “have-nots” a chance to prove they are just as good as the “haves” (AQ conferences). Of course I would be disappointed to see BYU left out of this year’s playoff, but I would far rather see BYU left on the outside looking in this year, allowing TCU, Cincinnati, and Boise State a shot at the title, than continue the farcical monopolistic BCS system we currently have. BYU will be on the inside of that playoff in the future, with a chance to play for, yes, a national championship, something that is, for all practical purposes, impossible in the current system.
Wow, thanks for the brilliant reporting on this. I was really surprised that the website run by the BCS determined that the BCS is better than a playoff. Hard to argue with your conclusion unless you believe like a majority of fans that a playoff is preferable.
In your analysis you say that the 5 at-large bids would go to the next 5 BCS ranked teams. If you actually read Dan Wetzels column on playoffs, he says that the at-large bids would be determined by a selection committee. If the basic premise is that the BCS is flawed (and it is), then why would a flawed system be used as part of a newer and better system?
Your “newsvertisement” also states that 2,3 and even 4 loss teams would be on the outside looking in. Well, all I can say is that they should have won their conferences and they wouldn’t have to worry about being selected as one of the at-larges.
Playoffs rule, bowls drool!!
Again you guys are idiots. Are you for real? I’m sitting here wondering why I’m watching a 6 and 6 UCLA team play in a bowl game that means absolutely nothing. Why couldn’t this game be replaced with a playoff game? Why is it that you can sit here and pick apart a system that would guarantee a national championship as opposed to always wondering who it would be? Why is it you never respond to any of these messages. Respond to the accusations about taking things out of context. Go on air with the argument and Be men or women and talk to the people concerning these comments instead of hiding behind them. Again you’re idiots so I don’t expect this to happen. Boise st. TCU, Cincy I know you’re proud of playing for number 2.
Based on the thinking of these guys that would mean 20 teams should be upset that they got left out of the BCS “title” game this year. I would rather get left out of the tournament as the # 14 team in the nation than get left out of the championship all together as the #3 or #4 team that also went undefeated. Your argument is weak sauce. If our nation’s leaders had your attitude, we would still be under the control of England. Based on the BCS formula the Nazis would have won world war 2.
You talk about how some of those match-ups in the playoff are not “must-see” – sure, you will get some every once in a while that are not the made for TV that others are…but you will always watch because there is a chance that the underdog could win and move on. THAT always makes for great college hoops and there is not reason to think it wouldn’t make for great college football.
Add to that the fact that 90% of the bowls right now I have no interest in watching because winning them or losing them means NOTHING at all…it’s like those pre-season exhibition games. Some teams don’t really care to be there, etc. It’s always a disappointment for half the teams that go to a game. But if winning meant moving on to the next round?? THAT is “must-see” TV!
Looks like the undeniable negativity toward the BCS of the real fans of college football is coming out and Ari’s team doesn’t like it. I had very thorough rebuttal to the articles arguments and what do you know — It was deleted. Only shows that they can’t deny the real benefits of a playoff. Is Wetzel’s proposal perfect? Maybe not. Is it better than what we are currently forced to accept as a fair system? Yes by light-years. Playoffs work in the FCS just fine and the players are just as susceptible to injury as the FBS players. One less regular season game where we aren’t forced to watch FBS powerhouse beat down FCS weaklings and at worst a team plays 16 games with a long rest period over Christmas. That’s one more game than the FCS teams would play. Even better, if a team is knocked out of the playoffs, they would still get a trip to one of the 33 meaningless consolation bowl games we have to accept as a fair system. Fans will travel and they will show in droves for playoff games where their team is the host. Each conference has clear cut rules for deciding their champ and none of those involve subjective criteria until about the 5th tie-breaker. If Notre Dame wants a better seed than 12th, then they need to man up and join the Big Ten. Army/Navy is a great tradition but hasn’t been a factor in the NC race in 60 years.
Is this a joke? Essentially your argument can be summarized like this: Our current system is a fraud, but the playoff system would have some imperfections. Since we can’t have a perfect system, why change?
This is absolutely garbage. In 50 years, the current system will be laughed at. People will look at undefeated TCU, BSU, and Cincinnati and think what a joke the BCS is.
College football… the only sport in the world that doesn’t determine a winner on the field.
Yes, but guess what your precious regular season is a PLAYOFF SYSTEM! So the teams with two losses WHO DIDN’T WIN THEIR CONFERENCE really don’t have much of a ground to base their complaints on.
It’s amazing college presidents use the type of logic that would merit an F grade in a freshman critical thinking course.
Wow, you are certainly full of crap here. While there are certainly many factors which could be seen as cons to a playoff system, there is a reason that the vast majority of Americans favor a playoff. It is fair. You win your conference, you’re in and you have a shot at a championship. If you don’t win your conference, better luck next year. These arguments you make against a playoff are weak at best. You say that a playoff would cause a loss to the game we all love. If the majority of fans want the playoff, they must not view it as a loss. We all know that you have a ton of money hanging on the existance of the BCS, but to be honest with you, a good businessman would not be sitting around thinking of every pathetic argument in favor of his current venture if the majority of his clients were against it. A good businessman would figure out how to give the people what they want and still get a good piece of the pie for himself. Think about it and give us our playoff!
At least at the beginning of the season every team would have a change to win it all. After playing sports my whole life I would much rather lose in a playoff then never get a chance to play. No matter what is said not giving TCU, BSU and Cincinnati a chance this year is proof the bowls don’t work. What is the difference between Texas and TCU? Last year Utah is the only undefeated team yet somehow not the national champion how does that work?
There are clearly details that need to be worked through, but they can be done, and done well. This site is a cop-out. The TCU-Boise State match-up is the biggest cop-out of them all. You are fighting tooth and nail to protect your system because of the love of money, not for the sport. The college presidents who like the BCS like it because they get the big payout. Change the rules, either forced by Congress or by you, and they would change their tune. The whole thing is a joke and anyone who genuinely loves college football knows it.
Sure this wouldn’t be perfect, nothing is. However, it would be WAY better than what we have now. Let me think, would a the eight thru sixteen seeds prefer to play an away game across country to have a chance at the Championship or have no chance at all? We all know the answer to that question. Let the teams play!
Any team that would complain about not making the playoffs could only look themselves in the mirror. A conference championship guarantees you a playoff berth, so a conference championship should be your goal every season. If you can’t even win your conference, why should you be in a playoff for the national championship? This is hardly an argument in favor of the BCS. With the current system, it’s extremely unlikely any team that didn’t win its conference could play for the national championship.
The bowl season already extends from mid-December into January. A 16 team playoff would only go 4 weeks, so the excuse of timing seems a little weak. Just put the playoff games in the current bowls, with a few adjustments. That would also cut down on travel for many fans.
Only the BCS would find it a bigger injustice for a 10-2 BYU team (who didn’t win their conference) to be left out of a 16 team playoff than the three undefeated teams who are being left out of the championship game this year. If BYU or Miami or West Virginia want to be in the playoff, the path is clear; win your conference. If they can’t do that, you’ve got no one to blame but themselves.
As far as the greuling schedule of up to 17 games, all I’ve got to say is the lower divisions do it. They find time to schedule the games and even manage the travel aspect of it. If Penn State doesn’t like the potential of traveling 11,000 miles in 4 weeks, perhaps they should opt to go to a bowl game instead. Again, if they had won more regular season games, they would have had at least a couple home games.
BCS apologists love to trot out this quote, “That regular season is the most exciting and most meaningful in sports, and it delivers fantastic football with national implications from August to December. ” Tell me again, how meaningful was the regular season for TCU, BSU and Cincy? 12-0 or 0-12, they’re still out of the national title picture and there is nothing more they could do about it. Under Wetzel’s plan they’d have a shot.
Assuming two more weeks for practice? Having to wait until after the army-navy game? Come on, surely you can come up with a better argument then that. Army-navy can move their game to Sunday if they don’t like the all the other games or better yet, play it championship weekend during the conference championship games. I used to hate the BCS but now really hate it with all this crap you are spewing out. makes me sick.
BYU fan here. I’d be thrilled to be left out if Mr. Wetzel’s plan was implemented. And those “not-so-must-see” games the author was belittling, my eyes would be glued to the TV for each one of them because they actually would mean something.
I watched the semi-final game between Montana and Appalachian State on ESPN. You could tell those players played with an entirely different, higher level of energy than most 1-A teams bring to meaningless bowl games because they are truly playing for something bigger.
Thanks for finally putting some comments up. Could you review the proposed “Plus One” system (essentially a 4-team playoff) at some point? Also, please keep in mind that the goal of a proposed system isn’t to be perfect, just better than the one we have now. No system will solve every problem imaginable, but surely one can be better than what is in place today. In the case of the Plus One, it’s a fairly small change from what’s in place today, but it gives 2 more teams a shot. Sure, it’s not perfect, but I don’t see how it could be worse than what we have now. I’m sure you’ll have some creative arguments against it, though.
I’ve gotta say, Playoff Problem, I absolutely love your blog. It’s hilarious! Keep up the good work!
Most stupid article ever. Penn and LSU in a hypothetical playoffs? Va Tech too? And you leave out BYU? I hate BYU, but they are still more deserving that crap teams you are promoting here.
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The NCAA needs to take over the post season in college football. Because it’s ovbious that when the AQ schools are left in charge, crap happens.
As most of the complaints I had about the joke of an informercial on the part of the BCS were touched on already in the other comments, I’d only mention the “Must-See games”. Would I watch ECU against Texas, Troy against Alabama, or CMU against Cincy in a bowl… probably not. Would I watch them in a playoff… heck yeah! The coaching situation this year with CMU and Cincy would be very interesting, Troy would be an ultimate underdog against in-state Alabama, and ECU would be a great bracket upset pick against Texas.
The matchups are excellent after that, with a Boise State-Va Tech preview for next season, TCU-LSU, Florida-Penn State, and every game would be must-see TV.
It would make, as Dan said, all FCS teams have something to strive for, and result in the betterment of all of college football. It would ignite fan bases across the country with hope and excitement and incentive to be better and make the playoff. Right now the BCS is being run like an exclusive country club with a 50 year waiting list to join.
I can guaranty you that in the 16 team play-off, there wouldn’t be an undefeated team upset that they were left out. I don’t care if a #17 ranked 9-3 team complains they were left out of a chance to play for a chance at a national title. I have a HUGE problem with an undefeated team being told they have NO chance to play for a national title.
Great arguments! I suggest eliminating the Super bowl in favor of bowl games that we so dearly love.
The Super bowl creates lots of problems. For example, only millionaires can go to all the away games that a lower seeded team must play in to get to the Super bowl. And 19 games is way to many for a Super bowl team to play. Bowls would create “must see matchups” that don’t exist in the playoffs right now. And more NFL teams could finish with a victory! making people feel good is what the bowls are all about, not finding out who is actually the champion!
I am going to start an NFL bowl game website.
Absurd arguments. “A great playoff system because somebody will have their feelings hurt when they don’t qualify.” Are you kidding? The playoff allows EVERY team the opportunity to qualify by winning their conference. How do you not understand that? In contrast, the BcS allows only a very few, elite, “tradtional” powers to play for the championship. Reading this article makes me feel like I’m taking crazy pills. The weakness of the BcS propoganda arguments is laughable. A playoff can be done – see every FCS.
Furthermore, look at how disinterested many teams are for their bowl games because they are MEANINGLESS unless you are one of the teams in the championship game. In a playoff, every game has meaning.
Here is my proposed format. This is my best case scenario. Of course, the NCAA could work backwards to accomodate things some might not wish to give up. That said, I have applied this format to the past 32 seasons in a roundabout way and it has averaged matching the AP poll on 4 of 5 wildcard teams which means 15 of 16 teams overall. Any complaints about teams being left out is negated by rules that quantifiy the value of all possible seasons before competition begins rather than an arbitrary vote deciding who is in and who is out.
1-All FBS teams play 12 regular season games versus FBS competition only including six home games and six away games. No conference championship games, exempted games, or FCS games.
2-FBS teams are ranked most to least:
a. Power Points (Games Won Opponents’ Wins – Games Lost Opponents’ Losses)
b. Net Wins ( Wins – Losses)
c. Schedule Strength (Opponents’ Power Points)
d. Net Points (Points For – Points Against)
3-16 teams qualify for the playoffs (11 conference champions plus five wildcards).
4-Each conference’s automatic berth is awarded to the team with the best conference record. If there is a tie, the highest ranked team in the national standings per the rules described above is awarded the automatic berth.
5-The top five teams in the national standings that do not win their conference’s automatic berth are awarded the five wildcard berths.
6-The 16 playoff qualifiers are seeded highest to lowest national standing.
7-First round pairings are 1-16, 2-15, 3-14, 4-13, 5-12, 6-11, 7-10, and 8-9. Subsequent round pairings match the highest and lowest advancing seeds, second highest and second lowest, and so on.
8-Higher seeded teams host all playoff games through the first three rounds. The national title game is held at a neutral site.
Huge BYU fan, and quite honestly I think the Wetzel plan is great. All BYU would have had to do to make it into this playoff is beat Florida State at home, and quite honestly if they couldn’t do that they don’t deserve a chance at the championship. This year though 3 teams had no shot at the title because their names were Cincinnati TCU and Boise State. At what point do you realize that teams with two or three losses can be left out, and even though it would be tough. They probably will deserve to be on the outside looking in. While teams that go undefeated get a pat on the back and a resounding “good job” according to the executive director of the BCS, and that’s good enough.
I did not/will not watch bowl games this year. They are meaningless exhibitions. I have better things to do with my time.
“In short, many more teams with identical or similar records would be excluded from the playoff for what they would surely consider arbitrary reasons.”
Ummm like TCU and Boise St who had identical records as Texas and Alabama, yet don’t get to play for the National Championship because the BCS arbitrarily decides which conferences count and which don’t.
It’s so funny that all you can do it talk about how bad a playoff system is, yet FCS football is still the ONLY major college sport without one. It’s also embarassing to see the BCS pit Boise State against TCU as a face saver. Heaven forbid you place them in separate bowl games. It would’ve been very embarassing to have TCU and Boise State win separate bowl games and have two teams that “aren’t worthy” finish undefeated.
The BCS is a “pay to play” system. The mid-majors will always lose out on the good bowl spots.
Nice job BCS, you’re a crummy system, but you sure know how to spin a story.
During the holidays I was flipping through the channels, past bowl games, etc. When I happened upon the Montana St. vs. App St. playoff game.
WOW! This was exciting! I was captivated by the rabid fans and the passion and emotion of the game. I found myself standing up for the last few minutes as it came down to the wire and when it was all over, I had a big smile on my face.
Now, this is a college football division I have no ties to. I really couldn’t care less who came out the winner. But since everything was on the line for these two schools, it sucked me in and I’m hooked on playoff football.
My dream is a Wetzel-like bracket that starts the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. Imagine, 4 playoff games each day! Then on to the National Championship on New Year’s Day. Woe nelly! It wouldn’t get any better then that!
haha, this website only shows that you scumbags are feeling the heat and do not have a leg to stand on. Too bad the anti-bcs pressure will only get worse while your pro-bcs arguments will become more asinine. Thanks for the unintentional comedy.
Wow!! 100% of the posters are in favor of a playoff!! The BCS is all about keeping the power conferences in power and not sharing any of the booty! How does that work? The presidents of the power conferences are in charge of the BCS and who gets to play in the BCS bowls? Sounds to me like a cartel (The aim of such collusion is to increase individual members’ profits by reducing competition.). Time to bust up this illegal entity and allow ALL schools the chance to compete for the NC. Imagine if college basketball was like this and there were no March Madness (which happens to be the highest rated sporting event). There would be little interest!! I think the non-AQ conferences should file a lawsuit for discrimination!! Down with the BCS!!
Wait i’m sorry. I read this and was thinking this is a joke. This writer has no idea what in the hell he’s talking about. First off, this writer says teams like BYU, Miami (Fla.), West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Oregon State, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Stanford, Nebraska, Utah, USC and Wisconsin would feel left out of this 16 team playoff? FYI BCS: THEY WEREN’T IN ANY BCS BOWL GAMES EITHER! Second, I’m all for having the winners of the Sun Belt, CUSA and MAC in the playoff they won their conference they deserve a shot.
Also, I would like to know how producing a playoff wouldn’t make any “must-see” games. Are you kidding me? The championship would be much more “must-see” when the two teams have given their blood sweat and tears to get there instead of relying on some stupid BCS system to bail them out.
Now, Wetzel’s playoff is great, however I would make a few changes. First off, each game is turned into a bowl game. For example, the national championship remains switching between the 4 BCS bowl game locations. The semi-finals are played at the Rose Bowl and the Orange Bowl locations. The quarter finals are played at the Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and also in the prestigious non-BCS bowl games such as the Capital One Bowl and the Cotton Bowl. Then the first round games could also be respected non-BCS bowls. But all other bowl games should be played! Why not let the lowly teams feel great about their 6-6 season? But let the playoff keep the tradition that the bowl games have. And, more importantly for the BCS, let the sponsors of all those bowl games keep making money. Because let’s be honest here, thats all the BCS cares about.
So here’s my concluding statement. A FBS playoff would be an excellent idea because it would create drama and suspense and would stop relying on the pitiful BCS to place teams where they should or should not be.
If I’m correct, the top 10 teams in the final BCS poll played in the BCS this year. Amazing it worked out that way. I myself would like to see a playoff from the four BCS champions and call it the BCS Final Four. But I was very pleased with the selections and the system this year for the first time. We had two teams for the first time from the smaller conferences. I would have preferred they not played each other but at least the BCS let them in (great strides accomplished). I do believe if the automatic and at large berths were done away with and take the top 10 teams in the final BCS poll with as usual the top two spots play for the championship that there would be less bickering especially from Washington. Teams from the smaller conferences realize that if they’re in the top 10 at the end of the season then they are automatic qualifiers. We do have a playoff system here. It maybe only two teams but it is a playoff; better than what it used to be. Actually when you get down to it, the whole season is a playoff. In what other sport is the regular season this valuable and meaningful? If we had a 16 team playoff then we would have to use the bowl system or it would be destroyed along with tradition. Besides, the two finalists would end up with over 25 million dollars “each”. I definitely don’t want to see that happen!
Way is it that division 1 AA schools have playoffs for a championship but division 1 A schools don’t? As far as bands, cheerleaders etc. go I was in band at a school that had been to the playoffs in division 1 AA and at the beginning of the season we knew we might have to be on the road during Christmas break so we had to have alternate plans if our team did go to the playoffs that year, which they did but were eliminated during the first round.
If playoffs work for division 1 AA they will work for division 1 A
yes yesw yes yes yes ! for a sweet 16 ! yes yes yes ! i love it ! i love it ! i love it !
How do we create a system in college football that enhances the excitement of regular season competition? How do we make sure that the heritage of college football stays intact? A system that works for all parties and includes every team in NCAA Division I? A system that would allow any team in the country an opportunity to win the big one? One that would crown a true national champion and would open up recruiting so student athletes can go where they want without having to worry about being left out of the big dance? Through my research on a recent college paper, I have developed a plan for college football that may be more exciting than any tournament we have ever seen and could generate more income and a larger fan base than any sport in history? 16 teams is not the answer! I believe I have the answer college football so desperately needs?
The presentation is too long for this thread but can be found at
http://littlelight-biz.blogspot.com/
ENJOY!!!
Agree with what other posters have said about the bogus arguments regarding teams on the outside looking in. You have the same issue today, but with a playoff system, if you lose your conference, you can’t complain. Regarding scheduling, I think the first round games should be played during the week between the final game of the NFL season and the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs. Have two games each Monday-Thursday, the first week of January, after Christmas, so players and cheerleaders can spend the holidays with their families. Play the quarterfinal games between the NFL wildcard round and NFL division round — two games each on Tuesday and Wednesday. The semis should be played the next Saturday, the day before the NFL conference championships. Then the championship game gets played the week before the Super Bowl. It will give NFL football fans something exciting to watch during the lull (the Pro Bowl doesn’t count).
If you still want to keep the traditional matchups of the current bowl games (for instance, Big Ten vs. Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl), you can do this with the pairings in the first round of the playoffs using the same process the BCS does today, rather than following a strict highest-lowest pairing across the board.
What a joke putting Boise St. and TCU against eachother in the “Seperate but equal bowl” to protect your beloved BCS teams.
I do not know how the people at the BCS can sleep at night considering the injustice they annually inflict upon the college football world.
How can they justify being the only sport at any level that decides a champion via media polls and computers? MONEY. This website is nothing but pure propaganda.