I am so pumped about the college football season starting and absolutely can't wait, but I have to admit about the end of every season it ends with a thud because there isn't really a true college champion crowned and it becomes a voting contest. I think there is a way to have a true champion and have it determined on the field and the best part is there is a lot of participation. I think a 32 team field is viable using the same number of games that are played now with the exception of a +1 game and here is how.
College football has a 12 game season. Every team schedules their first 10 games, which maybe one non-conference and the conference schedule or two non-conference and the conference schedule. Every team leaves the remaining two games open. At the end of the first 10 games there is a selection of 32 teams(this round could be called the sub-playoffs). The 32 teams are then seeded and matched up and play at one of the colleges site. I know revenue is important to each team so no team can have back to back home dates. Unless both teams playing that round were at home and then the higher seed gets the home seed. The losers in this round can be thrown in with the teams not making the 32 sub-playoff seeding for their 12th game of the season and also STILL GET TO QUALIFY FOR A BOWL GAME at the seasons end.
The teams that didn't make the selection are then are either paired up with other teams that didn't make the selection for their final two games of the season, probably trying to schedule geographically someone close for schools who can't afford travel and cross-country games for schools that can. Each team gets a home game and a road game. These teams can still qualify for a bowl game but didn't qualify for the sub-playoffs.
By using this process we are down to 8 teams and everyone has played 12 games. There is one quarterfinal round before the bowl games, this is considered the playoff round and teams have played their way into it. This basically replaces the amount of teams playing in conference championship games and there are no further conference championship games.
Then we are down to 4 teams left and we seed these final 4 in two of the bowl games and 1 remaining bowl for the championship or +1. There could be a regular bidding process every predetermined number of years for bowls to bid to be a part of the 3 bowls involved for this. Also, all of the other bowls are left in place with same conference tie- ins etc. The bowls can choose who they want and all teams with at least 6 wins are eligible(whether one of the 32 teams not making the final 4 or teams that were left out of the sub-playoff.
This scenario IMO:
1.) Keeps the regular season viable. People say now the regular season is a playoff which is a fallacy, this scenario makes the regular season a playoff for the national champion.
2.)This allows for lots of teams to participate to determine a true NC but also truly leaves the bowl structure intact. These previously undetermined games only replace regular season games that teams have now.
3. It allows for interesting regular season matchups. The last two weeks of the year would be great with both the sub-playoff round and even teams not qualifying still with the hopes of a bowl season could have some intereting matchups.
4. The two things to overcome is to make sure revenue for home games are not lost which is why the last two weeks each team gets a home and a road game. Maybe the NCAA goes to a 13 game so the bigger schools get to buy off a lesser opponent for another home game if needed. There may be some resistance from the leagues because of not having the conference championship game and the revenue from that but the teams making the final 8 would split revenue for their conferences by selling those tv games in place of the conference championship games, plus a lot of these coaches don't like the conference championship games because it eliminates them from NC games. In this scenario the game is meaningful and part of the NC process.
It may sound complicated because it takes a while to type out but actually I think it is manageable and would make college football even better!
College football has a 12 game season. Every team schedules their first 10 games, which maybe one non-conference and the conference schedule or two non-conference and the conference schedule. Every team leaves the remaining two games open. At the end of the first 10 games there is a selection of 32 teams(this round could be called the sub-playoffs). The 32 teams are then seeded and matched up and play at one of the colleges site. I know revenue is important to each team so no team can have back to back home dates. Unless both teams playing that round were at home and then the higher seed gets the home seed. The losers in this round can be thrown in with the teams not making the 32 sub-playoff seeding for their 12th game of the season and also STILL GET TO QUALIFY FOR A BOWL GAME at the seasons end.
The teams that didn't make the selection are then are either paired up with other teams that didn't make the selection for their final two games of the season, probably trying to schedule geographically someone close for schools who can't afford travel and cross-country games for schools that can. Each team gets a home game and a road game. These teams can still qualify for a bowl game but didn't qualify for the sub-playoffs.
By using this process we are down to 8 teams and everyone has played 12 games. There is one quarterfinal round before the bowl games, this is considered the playoff round and teams have played their way into it. This basically replaces the amount of teams playing in conference championship games and there are no further conference championship games.
Then we are down to 4 teams left and we seed these final 4 in two of the bowl games and 1 remaining bowl for the championship or +1. There could be a regular bidding process every predetermined number of years for bowls to bid to be a part of the 3 bowls involved for this. Also, all of the other bowls are left in place with same conference tie- ins etc. The bowls can choose who they want and all teams with at least 6 wins are eligible(whether one of the 32 teams not making the final 4 or teams that were left out of the sub-playoff.
This scenario IMO:
1.) Keeps the regular season viable. People say now the regular season is a playoff which is a fallacy, this scenario makes the regular season a playoff for the national champion.
2.)This allows for lots of teams to participate to determine a true NC but also truly leaves the bowl structure intact. These previously undetermined games only replace regular season games that teams have now.
3. It allows for interesting regular season matchups. The last two weeks of the year would be great with both the sub-playoff round and even teams not qualifying still with the hopes of a bowl season could have some intereting matchups.
4. The two things to overcome is to make sure revenue for home games are not lost which is why the last two weeks each team gets a home and a road game. Maybe the NCAA goes to a 13 game so the bigger schools get to buy off a lesser opponent for another home game if needed. There may be some resistance from the leagues because of not having the conference championship game and the revenue from that but the teams making the final 8 would split revenue for their conferences by selling those tv games in place of the conference championship games, plus a lot of these coaches don't like the conference championship games because it eliminates them from NC games. In this scenario the game is meaningful and part of the NC process.
It may sound complicated because it takes a while to type out but actually I think it is manageable and would make college football even better!
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