(06-01-2013 06:30 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(06-01-2013 05:34 AM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  College kids playing potentially 16 or 17 games in a season seems absurd to me.

AGREED - that would result in too many games. As it is now, the champs might have to play

12 (or 13) regular season games + 1 conference championsip + 1 semi-final + 1 championship game = 15 (or 16) games*

* If they take advantage of the Hawaii exemption like USC sometimes does.

But that's four playoff schools out of how many? I am sure the kids know this is a one shot deal for a Nat'l championship. They get a nice ring for their two game playoff inconvenience.

(05-30-2013 03:16 PM)TerryD Wrote:  

(05-30-2013 02:14 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(05-30-2013 02:08 PM)JunkYardCard Wrote:  An 8-team playoff shuts everyone up. Five spots go to the P5 conference champs and then there are three wildcards - with a way in for the best team from the non-P5, ND, and wildcards for the other P5 teams.

I think the SEC already won the "argument" about the no-autobid playoff format last year, and that the SEC will insist on it for any expansion of the playoff. When it becomes an 8-team playoff, all 8 teams will be chosen by the selection committee, and there won't be autobids for anyone. Same as the 4-team playoff.

(I'm not saying that's a better or worse way to go, just saying that the politics of the system mean that this is what's going to happen.)

Agreed. (And, of course, I like that).

It will be done in steps, but this already leading to a 16 team playoff system. It will allow each of the major bowls to rotate the National Championship game.

(06-01-2013 09:54 AM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  

(06-01-2013 06:30 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(06-01-2013 05:34 AM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  College kids playing potentially 16 or 17 games in a season seems absurd to me.

AGREED - that would result in too many games. As it is now, the champs might have to play

12 (or 13) regular season games + 1 conference championsip + 1 semi-final + 1 championship game = 15 (or 16) games*

* If they take advantage of the Hawaii exemption like USC sometimes does.

But that's four playoff schools out of how many? I am sure the kids know this is a one shot deal for a Nat'l championship. They get a nice ring for their two game playoff inconvenience.

And, they already play 14 now including a bowl game, if they have a conference championship game. So that's 1 or 2 more - but nobody forced them to change from 11 to 12 regular season games. Go back to 11, and now you have 14-15 games.

North Dakota State University already played 15 games this past year and they are FCS. The excuse that they can't play that many games is not good enough. They only play once a week and only for a fraction of the game. Plus they are already playing nearly the same amount of games necessary to have a 16 team playoff.

It's ridiculous when FCS does it as well. As we learn more about concussions and long term damage from playing football I expect the trend will be toward less games, not more.

(06-02-2013 06:41 AM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  It's ridiculous when FCS does it as well. As we learn more about concussions and long term damage from playing football I expect the trend will be toward less games, not more.

Exactly, the concussion issue is a ticking time bomb for football....that is why IMO you will not see an 18 Game NFL Regular Season...they are already in court of that issue.

(06-02-2013 06:41 AM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  It's ridiculous when FCS does it as well. As we learn more about concussions and long term damage from playing football I expect the trend will be toward less games, not more.

OR, they will start doing other things to counter the bad publicity of expanding the season, such as player stipends and increasing the amount of football players on scholarship that a team may have.

Those are the two most obvious responses that these schools can come up with to folks that cite injuries as a reason not to extend the season. The players will be getting paid and there will be more of them so that coaches can substitute more thus causing less injuries.

With the new division in mind, a 8 team playoff seems about right for a division of 65 teams. Each conference would have at least one to two representatives per year.

(06-02-2013 06:43 AM)Maize Wrote:  

(06-02-2013 06:41 AM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  It's ridiculous when FCS does it as well. As we learn more about concussions and long term damage from playing football I expect the trend will be toward less games, not more.

Exactly, the concussion issue is a ticking time bomb for football....that is why IMO you will not see an 18 Game NFL Regular Season...they are already in court of that issue.

Put them back in leather helments and you will solve the concussion problems. The present head gear is the weapon of football... back in the old days men tackled without using their noggins as a ram rod...

16 is the way to go and include everyone. If the P-5 does not like it they can always leave the NCAA and pay taxes.

Why cant 8 include everyone?

Basketball overlaps both the spring and fall semesters and requires players to miss a trainload of class time. They make it up in the summer. Even going to 16 games, they could have football season over with before the start of the spring semester, so football would still be less of a burden on the student athlete than basketball is.

The notion that any of this has to do with giving guys enough time to study is laughable. The fact that so many people are willing to entertain the suggestion is an indictment of the higher education system that these organizations operate.

(06-02-2013 12:02 PM)JunkYardCard Wrote:  Basketball overlaps both the spring and fall semesters and requires players to miss a trainload of class time. They make it up in the summer. Even going to 16 games, they could have football season over with before the start of the spring semester, so football would still be less of a burden on the student athlete than basketball is.

The notion that any of this has to do with giving guys enough time to study is laughable. The fact that so many people are willing to entertain the suggestion is an indictment of the higher education system that these organizations operate.

LOL, yep.

Well, for what it's worth a 16 team tournament that uses Bowls for the individual games would probably be looked upon favorably by the Networks. I do believe more people would turn in for those games than they would the empty exhibition games that we currently have. It would be a ratings bonanza but we have seen time and time again that the Academic persons that would be part of the decision are extremely slow to change. Hell, they should have went straight to an 8 game tournament but instead they made the lesser choice because they are so worried about making big decisions that may bite them in the ass.

That is why I don't think 16 will be happening anytime soon. One or two years with 4 teams and then we move to 8 and will probably be there for awhile as there will be much less momentum to expand it again.

Because the P5 want to squeeze out everyone else and 16 keeps them happy so the SEC can get two or three teams in every year.

16 works. Always has. I am quite frankly sick of the excuses not to do it.

(06-02-2013 12:09 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  Because the P5 want to squeeze out everyone else and 16 keeps them happy so the SEC can get two or three teams in every year.

16 works. Always has. I am quite frankly sick of the excuses not to do it.

Well I find that highly amusing.

We havn't even started a National Tournament, yet somehow....16 has always worked?

If YOU say so.

If 16 would make the P5 so happy, then we would already have it, according to the premise you put forward. Yet...we only have a 4 team tournament. Perhaps you think with too much emotion when it comes to this subject.

16 is in every division of football except FBS. It's always worked. I do say so. Perhaps you think don't think enough on this subject?

(06-02-2013 01:42 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  16 is in every division of football except FBS. It's always worked. I do say so. Perhaps you think don't think enough on this subject?

Well played!

(06-02-2013 01:42 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  16 is in every division of football except FBS. It's always worked. I do say so. Perhaps you think don't think enough on this subject?

There's a good chance 16 hurts regular season attendance. That's where the P5 get most of their money. FCS actually has the opposite problem. Some schools draw less for playoff games.

There's no guarantee 16 works better, especially if there are 8 or more wildcards. Then you get a lot of 3 loss teams in.

IMO eight wouldn't have a detrimental impact as it would still be very hard to get in, but Presidents do worry about it.

(06-02-2013 11:59 AM)He1nousOne Wrote:  Why cant 8 include everyone?

That would necessitate ignoring the inevitable.