(07-11-2021 01:38 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(07-11-2021 01:02 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  Kind of perversely, I think CFB could fall in to an NFL-trap.

An NFL team that is at .500 with 3 games remaining (now that they play 17) maintains fan interest because they still have a very realistic shot at the playoffs. That's not a trap; that's the ideal to which CFB can aspire but never reach.

Compare that to the current state of college football, in which every team is effectively eliminated from playoff contention the minute they pick up their second loss of the season.

If CFB teams with 2 losses still have a chance to reach the playoff, and some teams with 3 losses still have an outside chance in November, there will be a lot more teams playing November games that TV can sell as meaningful, and a lot more teams who can sell hope to their fans in November and not just in September.

Your point is a good one, but you have dramatically understated how bad the current system is.

Only a third of CFB is eliminated by their second loss.

Another third is eliminated by their FIRST loss.

And I’m sort-of ok with those two shortcomings.

The biggest problem I have with the current system is that one-third of the teams are literally eliminated from contention before they take the field for their very first game.