In the 6+6 format if you lost in a conference championship game, made the CFP via an at-large bid, and played in the national championship that would equal 17 games. The only way to prevent that from going up is going no higher than a 16 team playoff. If you have 24 teams make it then we are looking at 18 games under the same scenario.
13?
I played only briefly in high school but I think players should have a say here. I even wonder if there is something like what was proposed in the NFL, where an athlete can only “work” X games a season. Expanding the season beyond that would dilute the product.
Depends on whether we're winning or not.
Other than 2020, NDSU played 14-16 games every year since 2010. We're managing fine, and that's on just 63 scholarships.
It's too many when Alabama gets a bunch of injuries late in the season and knocks them out of contention.
(08-15-2023 10:57 AM)Crayton Wrote: [ -> ]13?
I played only briefly in high school but I think players should have a say here. I even wonder if there is something like what was proposed in the NFL, where an athlete can only “work” X games a season. Expanding the season beyond that would dilute the product.
While unlikely, that would create some fascinating strategies. What game do you bench your top players? In a rotation, or all at once? Do you just play them until the get hurt and let it sort itself out? Do you wait until you know your playoff chances and give them a break? What if you need a player in a win and in situation but they have played their allotted number?
I think if you had a 12 game regular season, a conference championship date, and 3 rounds of playoffs (16 games max, but only 2 teams would be playing that many) it would be fine. That's still one less than an NFL regular season and you have much larger rosters.
Allowing redshirted players to play any and all games after October 15th (or any other agreed upon date) would add depth in the later weeks.
I'd say basically how long the season is now. 12 regular season games (13 if you use the Hawaii exemption) ccg and either playoffs or bowl (exhibition) game. Most teams using the Hawaii exemption don't plan on making the conference championship game so it's better for them to get a extra home game or payday game. For most teams the end goal is a bowl game. The coaches get a extra 2 weeks of practices and players get guaranteed TV time to sell themselves for NIL deals, transfer market or maybe moving up the late round draft board.
There are 17 regular season NFL games. 20-21 games to win a Super Bowl.
17 College games to win the CFP seems fine to me.
(08-15-2023 10:52 AM)Troy_Fan_15 Wrote: [ -> ]In the 6+6 format if you lost in a conference championship game, made the CFP via an at-large bid, and played in the national championship that would equal 17 games. The only way to prevent that from going up is going no higher than a 16 team playoff. If you have 24 teams make it then we are looking at 18 games under the same scenario.
With the Hawaii exception you could have 18 games, but nobody seems to take advantage of that anymore.
(08-15-2023 10:57 AM)Crayton Wrote: [ -> ]13?
I played only briefly in high school but I think players should have a say here. I even wonder if there is something like what was proposed in the NFL, where an athlete can only “work” X games a season. Expanding the season beyond that would dilute the product.
Texas high schools have a 64 team playoff so they can play 16.
(08-15-2023 10:52 AM)Troy_Fan_15 Wrote: [ -> ]In the 6+6 format if you lost in a conference championship game, made the CFP via an at-large bid, and played in the national championship that would equal 17 games. The only way to prevent that from going up is going no higher than a 16 team playoff. If you have 24 teams make it then we are looking at 18 games under the same scenario.
Of course, going to a 16 team CFP doesn't add more games to the schedule for any school except the four who will get a bye in the 12 team CFP. The vast majority of FBS schools won't go past 13 games, and most of those that do will have a roster with a lot of players who aspire to play a longer NFL schedule.
I also don't think there will be more than a dozen schools with a realistic chance of actually winning the CFP in any given year, so even if you were to expand the field you could see some top teams getting a double bye. Then the problem won't be how many games individuals must play but how far into the new year the playoff schedule would intrude.
(08-15-2023 10:52 AM)Troy_Fan_15 Wrote: [ -> ]In the 6+6 format if you lost in a conference championship game, made the CFP via an at-large bid, and played in the national championship that would equal 17 games. The only way to prevent that from going up is going no higher than a 16 team playoff. If you have 24 teams make it then we are looking at 18 games under the same scenario.
FCS has 24 teams in the playoffs and no one plays more than 15 games (16 in 12-game seasons)
(08-15-2023 10:52 AM)Troy_Fan_15 Wrote: [ -> ]In the 6+6 format if you lost in a conference championship game, made the CFP via an at-large bid, and played in the national championship that would equal 17 games. The only way to prevent that from going up is going no higher than a 16 team playoff. If you have 24 teams make it then we are looking at 18 games under the same scenario.
One possibility for handling longer seasons is to allow larger rosters.
Most teams, of course, aren't affected by the postseason.
(08-15-2023 12:31 PM)dbackjon Wrote: [ -> ] (08-15-2023 10:52 AM)Troy_Fan_15 Wrote: [ -> ]In the 6+6 format if you lost in a conference championship game, made the CFP via an at-large bid, and played in the national championship that would equal 17 games. The only way to prevent that from going up is going no higher than a 16 team playoff. If you have 24 teams make it then we are looking at 18 games under the same scenario.
FCS has 24 teams in the playoffs and no one plays more than 15 games (16 in 12-game seasons)
FCS can theoretically get to 18, though I doubt anyone ever will.
11 regular season(12 if the calendar works)
+1 if they play at Hawaii and schedule the extra game in what otherwise would be a bye week.
5 playoff games if they are unseeded but make it to the champs.
NDSU has done 16 without Hawaii or a round of 24 game.
16 - 19
As a fan the more the better! As a realist 12 to 13 is what the vast majority will play at the FBS level. If two schools "have" to play 17 to play for the National Championship I just don't see the issue...If it's really a problem for a school (or the school's fans) they should just decline the invitation.
I think that 24 gets us to about the same ratio in football as 68 does in basketball. Football is much more popular, so...anything beyond 24 is probably pushing it. I'm ok with 4, or 12, whatever, any of it is better than the old pre-BCS days where voters chose the champion rather that letting it get decided upon the field.
The schedule could be this: 2 OOC games to start the season. 8 conference games. 2 teams from each conference make the conference championship game. 16 teams make the playoffs and 2 of those teams play 4 games. So the total games for each team that makes the playoffs is 11 to 15. Every team that doesn't make the playoffs could be grouped into groups of 3 by rank (and nobody from the same conference in each group and nobody who played each other already in each group). Those groups could play each other round robin. So each team would get postseason games in the form of a conference championship game, playoffs, and/or the two round robin games (I call them ladder games). So, everybody plays 11 to 15 games each season. It would be rare for a team to only play 11. A team would have to make the playoffs without making their conference championship game and lose in the first round. The ladder games would be a cool, conference versus conference set of games in December each year. They would replace bowl games. It'd be a chance for schools to root for their conference mates as they play teams from other conferences. It'd help settle the relative rankings of the conferences.
What is too many games? Ask FOX and the other networks. NFL added a game to get to 17 plus 4 preseason games. More games mean more money for those involved.