My Take: Move to a 6 team playoff

S

SoliDeoGloria

Active Member
Moving to a 6 team playoff would take CFB to the next level.

Top 6 would be:
  1. Big 10 Champion
  2. Big 12 Champion
  3. SEC Champion
  4. PAC 12 champion
  5. ACC Champion
  6. Top ranked conference champion outside of Power 5

Format:
  1. Similar to NFL playoffs, top two seeds get a "bye". Seed 3 plays 6, and Seed 4 plays 5
  2. From there, similar to today's 4 team playoff

Here are the pro's:
  • No excuses. You win your conference, you are in. Each conference has to determine the format for determining one clear winner (here is looking at you Big 12)
  • Allows for bigger non-conference matchups. You no longer need to worry about losses in the non-conference. This should free up teams to be fearless in their non-conference scheduling. It will give us more Alabama vs Michigan and less Ohio State vs Hawaii.
  • Less hand wringing throughout the season. With a much clearer playoff scenario, we can lose the hemming and hawing throughout the season. Take this year for example. Is Iowa's schedule weak? Should a 1 loss Stanford get in over an undefeated Big 10 team or a 1 loss SEC team? No longer do we need to waste time on comparisons that aren't taken care of on the field. You win your conference, you are in. Period.
  • Still gives room for a cinderella. Everyone loves an underdog. With this format, you get the best non Power 5 conference winner. This would create some controversy since it would come down to rankings, but it still gives them a seat at the table.
 
Disagree slightly, yes to 6 teams but all of the playoff division should be 6 super conferences with 16 teams each. You win your conference championship game you are in. The committee seeds the teams, determines who gets a bye. Every team has a clear part the the playoff.
 
I don't mind it as long as the playoff expansion ended at 6. But I can't see the SEC ever going for it.
 
SoliDeoGloria said:
Moving to a 6 team playoff would take CFB to the next level.

Top 6 would be:
  1. Big 10 Champion
  2. Big 12 Champion
  3. SEC Champion
  4. PAC 12 champion
  5. ACC Champion
  6. Top ranked conference champion outside of Power 5

Format:
  1. Similar to NFL playoffs, top two seeds get a "bye". Seed 3 plays 6, and Seed 4 plays 5
  2. From there, similar to today's 4 team playoff

Here are the pro's:
  • No excuses. You win your conference, you are in. Each conference has to determine the format for determining one clear winner (here is looking at you Big 12)
  • Allows for bigger non-conference matchups. You no longer need to worry about losses in the non-conference. This should free up teams to be fearless in their non-conference scheduling. It will give us more Alabama vs Michigan and less Ohio State vs Hawaii.
  • Less hand wringing throughout the season. With a much clearer playoff scenario, we can lose the hemming and hawing throughout the season. Take this year for example. Is Iowa's schedule weak? Should a 1 loss Stanford get in over an undefeated Big 10 team or a 1 loss SEC team? No longer do we need to waste time on comparisons that aren't taken care of on the field. You win your conference, you are in. Period.
  • Still gives room for a cinderella. Everyone loves an underdog. With this format, you get the best non Power 5 conference winner. This would create some controversy since it would come down to rankings, but it still gives them a seat at the table.
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According to your playoff scenario, an undefeated Notre Dame team couldn't make the playoffs. Go to eight with the Power Five champs & three wild card teams.
 
Eight teams
Seeded
Conference champs automatic or not....open to discussion. Probably would favor that since seeding ensues anyway.
First round, give higher seeded teams a home game.
Rounds two and three as before.
 
How many times during the BCS era were there two highly ranked SEC teams with one of them having one loss, and there was always discussion about that team getting into the championship and leap-frogging an undefeated team? How about this year and wondering if one loss Alabama, Stanford or Notre Dame potentially getting in? The Media doesn't want to take away this possibility, so it will never go to something like this, even though I agree it should be.

We always talk about the ESPN/SEC lovefest, but let's be honest, viewership and ad dollars are probably a lot higher down south than they are here. Just follow the money.
 
Jonesy86 said:
How many times during the BCS era were there two highly ranked SEC teams with one of them having one loss, and there was always discussion about that team getting into the championship and leap-frogging an undefeated team? How about this year and wondering if one loss Alabama, Stanford or Notre Dame potentially getting in? The Media doesn't want to take away this possibility, so it will never go to something like this, even though I agree it should be.

We always talk about the ESPN/SEC lovefest, but let's be honest, viewership and ad dollars are probably a lot higher down south than they are here. Just follow the money.
Click to expand...

Actually, you are incorrect. Viewership & ad dollars are much higher in the B1G Ten than in the SEC. The B1G has the first, third, fourth & ninth largest TV markets. The largest market in the SEC is Atlanta at number eight. Also, Detroit is larger than the second largest market in the SEC. Follow the money. It leads right to the B1G. ABC/ESPN pays the B1G a lot more money than it does the SEC. The B1G says jump & ABC/ESPN asks "How high."
 
next logical step is to go to 5 teams. add 1 play-in game the week after the CCG.

typically the Play-in game would be #4 vs. #5, but the CFP committee might decide to make it #3 vs. #5 if #3 did not play a CCG.
 
ColumbusHawk said:
According to your playoff scenario, an undefeated Notre Dame team couldn't make the playoffs. Go to eight with the Power Five champs & three wild card teams.
Click to expand...

I will admit I did not take Notre Dame into consideration. Probably because I don't like them too much (to put it mildly). But I think at some point you have to put pressure on these teams to get in conferences.

However, you could just update team 6 to the highest rated independent or non Power 5 conference champion.
 
8. 5 P5 champions, the only "subjective" nature would be 3 additional choices by the committee.

Better yet, make 8, 16-18 team "super conferences"...8 conference champions are in.

Honestly, i have no idea the "best" way, but It's kinda fun to speculate on this.
 
SoliDeoGloria said:
I will admit I did not take Notre Dame into consideration. Probably because I don't like them too much (to put it mildly). But I think at some point you have to put pressure on these teams to get in conferences.

However, you could just update team 6 to the highest rated independent or non Power 5 conference champion.
Click to expand...

Why not the six highest rated teams & forget conference champions?

Under your scenario, when would the first two games take place?
 
If you are going to go to 8 teams with 5 automatic bids (P5 Conference championship game winners). It only makes sense to just go to 16 and call the conference championship games round 1.

So you already have 10 teams in (Make Big12 get a championship game). Just pick 6 at large teams to play that same weekend, and there you go.

I think it is unfair for certain teams to have to play an extra game (conference championship), but then have other playoff teams not have to play that extra game (if you go to 8, then that will happen). So lets say this year that Bama beats LSU, and LSU is a one loss team, but not in their conference championship game. I don't think they should get a "bye" week in essence while Bama is playing Florida for an automatic bid into the playoffs. Instead LSU would be 1 of 6 teams that make it as "at large" teams. Those would include Notre Dame (they shouldn't get away with playing 1 less game also), and also any teams like Temple/Houston/Memphis, etc.

This is really only adding one layer to the playoffs (going from 4 to 8) as the conference championship week now is week 1 of the playoffs. Can you imagine the excitement that week if these were the potential matchups?

Iowa vs Ohio St.
TCU vs Baylor
Bama vs Florida
Clemson vs N. Carolina
Stanford vs Utah

At large games:

LSU vs Oklahoma
Michigan st. vs Notre Dame
Oklahoma vs Florida St.

Who knows what the actually matchups would be 4 weeks from now, but the excitement would be awesome.
 
ssckelley said:
To damn bad, make them join a conference.
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I am also a big ND fan and I agree; it's time they join a conference. And, they need to join the B1G and I believe they will. Delany is no fool. Bringing ND into the B1G gives Delany leverage to infiltrate every single t.v. market in the nation. Huge $$ that could possibly be worthy a special deal with ND. I know most (or at least a lot of) Iowa fans hate ND. I get it. But, from Delany's perspective, that is a microcosm of what helps make ND the only true national team. That is tv sets in every tv market you can imagine.

Back to topic, I've been saying for sometime a playoff needs to be 8 games. P5 conferences must have a conference championship game. You rank each conference champ by conference SOS. Then you have 3 wild card teams. That gives the non P5 conferences a chance to get a team in.
 
SoliDeoGloria said:
Moving to a 6 team playoff would take CFB to the next level.

Top 6 would be:
  1. Big 10 Champion
  2. Big 12 Champion
  3. SEC Champion
  4. PAC 12 champion
  5. ACC Champion
  6. Top ranked conference champion outside of Power 5

Format:
  1. Similar to NFL playoffs, top two seeds get a "bye". Seed 3 plays 6, and Seed 4 plays 5
  2. From there, similar to today's 4 team playoff

Here are the pro's:
  • No excuses. You win your conference, you are in. Each conference has to determine the format for determining one clear winner (here is looking at you Big 12)
  • Allows for bigger non-conference matchups. You no longer need to worry about losses in the non-conference. This should free up teams to be fearless in their non-conference scheduling. It will give us more Alabama vs Michigan and less Ohio State vs Hawaii.
  • Less hand wringing throughout the season. With a much clearer playoff scenario, we can lose the hemming and hawing throughout the season. Take this year for example. Is Iowa's schedule weak? Should a 1 loss Stanford get in over an undefeated Big 10 team or a 1 loss SEC team? No longer do we need to waste time on comparisons that aren't taken care of on the field. You win your conference, you are in. Period.
  • Still gives room for a cinderella. Everyone loves an underdog. With this format, you get the best non Power 5 conference winner. This would create some controversy since it would come down to rankings, but it still gives them a seat at the table.
Click to expand...

This is essentially what I've thought they should go to, since there was all the crying after the selection committee made their decision, last year. The major differences would be that the 6th team would be the next highest ranked team; which might encourage more cross P5 OOC games. I don't think this will ever be used as the potential money to be made from an 8 team playoff would likely push it in that direction.
 
Wouldn't the bowl system pretty much fall apart if they went to 8 teams? The reason why I like the 6 team playoff is because it is just for conference champions, the bowl system should still survive. You go to 8 teams them how much longer until it went to 16, just like the FCS.
 
ssckelley said:
Wouldn't the bowl system pretty much fall apart if they went to 8 teams? The reason why I like the 6 team playoff is because it is just for conference champions, the bowl system should still survive. You go to 8 teams them how much longer until it went to 16, just like the FCS.
Click to expand...

Yes and no. I say get rid of about 1/2 the bowl games anyway, who cares?

I don't like the idea of playoff teams that only have to play 12 games. I would be wholehearted opposed to any playoff where at large teams were picked that didn't have to play a 13th game. That is my problems with the current playoff now, this is going to happen. Baylor, TCU, Notre Dame, or some team that doesn't even win their conference or only played 12 games is doing to get into the 4 team playoffs sooner or later as well, and it will be bullshitz when it happens.
 
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