NCAA Playoff Proposal

CamaroDMD

Insert Cool Title
So, back when I was in college a decade ago...we were suffering through the BCS era. At that time, I sat down and hatched out what I thought would be the ideal college football playoff. I looked at what the NCAA basketball tournament does and why it is so popular. I also looked at the FCS playoff (which was at the time a 16 team playoff) and felt that FBS could do something similar. The first bracket I created was in 2007.

From those ideas, I developed a 24 team bracket which I felt would be ideal for college football. Interestingly, FCS went to a very similar 24 team format in 2013. As a result, the number of games played shouldn't be a big issue.

Today, we have a college football playoff...but it's somewhat stagnant and predictable. What we have is a step in the right direction, but we aren't there yet.

Here's what I propose:

24 team single elimination bracket. Like the NCAA basketball tournament, every conference champion gets an automatic bid. Conferences need to mean something! As of right now, there are 10 conferences in FBS. So, that would be 10 automatically qualifying teams and 14 at large bids.

A national poll is conducted to rank the teams. This poll is what is used to seed the playoff and select the at large teams. The 14 at large schools are selected from the highest rank non-conference champions. Independent schools can only make the playoff as an at large.

Seeding (1-24) is based on the poll alone, conference championship does not affect seeding. For the sake of this years bracket, I used the 2018 CFP Week 15 Poll.

The top 8 seeds get a first round bye.

The first two rounds are played at the home stadium of the better seed. As a result, the top 16 teams get one home playoff game.

Beginning with the quarterfinals, the games are played at neutral sites. For the sake of this year's bracket, I used the New Years 6 and CFP Title as neutral site games.

As far as corporate sponsorships and other bowl games. There are plenty of home playoff games to sponsor and there are there is no reason the lesser bowls can't still exist for teams that don't make the playoff. I believe there is a fortune to be made here.

Plus, endless entertainment filling out brackets and arguing with friends. It would be March Madness but better.

So, here's the bracket for 2018:
4YtKjCy.jpg
 
not sure that's a good thing... making the playoffs 8 teams seems okay, but once you start allowing everyone, it gets a little crazy.

one of the problems I've always had with NCAA Basketball Playoffs is... a team with a losing record can win their conference championship... and receive an automatic bid.

I remember a few years back with the Seattle Seahawks went 7-9 and won their division. seriously? with a losing record and you make the playoffs.

I'd even be willing to say let's let ALL Conferences with a winning record make the playoffs, but there again you would have a team that is 6-6 make the playoffs.

I'm more apt to vote for a playoff system that limits the participants to the Top Ten, but again, look out. It's obvious the Bowl Committee doesn't like UCF. Undefeated for the second year and still not contenders? Maybe you can place a one lost team in front of them, but a two lost team? NO NO NO
 
not sure that's a good thing... making the playoffs 8 teams seems okay, but once you start allowing everyone, it gets a little crazy.

one of the problems I've always had with NCAA Basketball Playoffs is... a team with a losing record can win their conference championship... and receive an automatic bid.

I remember a few years back with the Seattle Seahawks went 7-9 and won their division. seriously? with a losing record and you make the playoffs.

I'd even be willing to say let's let ALL Conferences with a winning record make the playoffs, but there again you would have a team that is 6-6 make the playoffs.

I'm more apt to vote for a playoff system that limits the participants to the Top Ten, but again, look out. It's obvious the Bowl Committee doesn't like UCF. Undefeated for the second year and still not contenders? Maybe you can place a one lost team in front of them, but a two lost team? NO NO NO
I think it's really hard because we have conferences which limited who you can play in 75% of your games. The other 25% you get to select "non-conference" opponents but when you start to have success (Boise State years back, UCF today) it's challenging to schedule quality non-conference games. Nobody wants to play you.

Historically, college sports have been conference focused. So, either do away with them or use them. This is the fifth year we have had the college football playoff...that is 20 slots (4 slots per year). Only 3 slots have gone to a non-conference champion (2016 Ohio State, 2017 Alabama, 2018 Notre Dame) and one of them was an independent.

I honestly believe that until every conference champion makes it into a bowl game...someone will complain. College basketball is a little different as they have conference tournaments at the end of the season and sometimes one team who had a bad year gets hot and steals a spot in the tournament...but that really can't happen in football based on how the conference titles are set up. Yes, there could be a weak division and a strong division and an upset in the conference title game...but we don't see that very often in college football.

I really feel like the conference title games are not very important in the current set up. Imagine you were a foreign sports fan who knew nothing of football and you watched this years title games. Lets just looked at the ACC and the SEC title games...they just seem silly if you break them down. Again think of them from the position of someone who doesn't follow football but likes sports...like your a soccer fan from England or something.

ACC: Clemson vs. Pittsburgh
Clemson wins - they are in the playoff
Clemson loses - probably still in the playoff
Pittsburgh wins - not in the playoff
Pittsburgh loses - not in the playoff

SEC: Alabama vs. Georgia
Alabama wins - they are in the playoff
Alabama loses - probably still in the playoff
Georgia wins - they are in the playoff
Georgia loses - maybe still in the playoff (turns out they were not)

No matter the outcome of those games...the playoff landscape didn't change much. It was just kinda silly.

In my system...you win your conference title you are in. Let the conferences decide how they want to crown their champion...could be a title game, could be conference record. That's 10 slots. Then, fill out the rest of the bracket using non-conference champion at large teams based on a national poll of some kind and seed all teams using that poll.

I went with a 24 team field because it allows more non-conference champs in and it gives an incentive for the top teams to earn a bye. I also set it up so the top 16 teams in the country get a home playoff game. I think that would be awesome. In this season's bracket...Syracuse would have to travel to Pullman, WA to play Washington St. (snow?)...and then the winner would have to go to Norman, Oklahoma to play the Sooners. The winner would then head to a neutral site quarterfinals game.

Of course, even with this system...neither of our teams would have made it. LOL. But, I am looking forward to the Red Box Bowl.
 
Of course, even with this system...neither of our teams would have made it. LOL. But, I am looking forward to the Red Box Bowl.

It's crazy... Michigan State was picked to have a good year... wasn't even considered "decent".

Hoping a delay at the airport will keep MSU from showing up to the Bowl. I'm afraid it will be another disappointing game for the Spartans.
 
Hoping a delay at the airport will keep MSU from showing up to the Bowl. I'm afraid it will be another disappointing game for the Spartans.
You never know...Oregon has a history of not showing up in bowls...but with Herbert announcing his return they might be pumped up. I think the Ducks will either look amazing or terrible...nothing in between.
 
Back
Top