As I type this Conference Commissioners are working on a Plus 1 System.

It seems that they have 3 options according to Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports; A Conference Champion Option, 3 Conference Champs plus an At Large, or picking the Top 4 Ranked BCS Schools.

I believe out of those 3 options that 3 Conferences Champions plus an At Large is the best option here. Sometimes the best couple of teams just might be in the same conference. What if there is a year where Pitt losses to VT or Miami by 1 and gets shut out of the Conference Championship due to that Loss. Pitt is suddenly left out of the title picture while a team that may be not as good gets into the playoffs. I call this the Alabama scenario, just because the Tide would've been left out of the Plus 1 this year if only Conference Champions was included in playoffs. Sometimes the top 2 teams in the land maybe from the same conference or even division, so why punish them because of this? Therefore I see this as the best option and the likely outcome.

Another problem with the Conference Champions option I see is you're leaving out Indy schools and also you're going to see debates for at larges really fast. Not that I'm sticking up for Notre Dame and BYU here, its that ND has a strong enough voice for this not to happen esp w/ the help of the Big East. I see ND and the Big East as partners through these negotiations. Plus I see Commissioner Slive from the SEC voting against this proposal. 3 nay votes off the bat = I don't see this happening.

The biggest problem with including the Top 4 from the BCS rankings is that there is too much of a human element to this. The greatest part of having a playoff would be removing the human element(polls) so this simply would be asinine. I simply see all conferences but the SEC voting no for this option.

At the end of the day, I see a 8 Team playoff coming into play within 10 years of whichever system they choose. Too many holes in these options so far. Plus any "compromise" will have to include the Big East and ND, or its simply not going to "fly".

There seems to be a few different options regarding the BCS Bowls. One option seems to be that the playoff games will be played a few days after Christmas with the Championship Game rotating between the BCS Bowls. That makes plenty of sense to me. But my biggest ??? is where would those games be played?

For Pitt, the Panthers are still at the "Big Boys" table while our former brethren may be unsure what their future might hold. Ultimately as I noted earlier, I still think the BE will still be included but unsure at what level.

The future of College Football certainly seems to be intriguing. Only time will tell what will unfold here. But everyone should grab some pop and popcorn an enjoy this show.

Joey Niklas

I agree with the three conference champions and then a fourth participant that might be an at-large or a fourth conference champion.

I'm not sure I agree that this will ultimately lead to an 8-team play-off.

I think the power conferences see Conference Championship games as their equivalent to the Elite 8 and if conferences continue to grow and go beyond two divisions those semi-final conference tourney games as their equivalent to the Sweet 16.

Cheers,
Neil

I was saying if the Conference Champ Only option was the end game, we'd end up with an 8 team play off.

As for the Elite 8 and Sweet 16, who knows if the NCAA goes for a 4 team Conference playoff.

I actually don't like the idea of a 4 team playoff at all. To me, it's really too small a number to actually change anything. Anything short of 8 is a waste of time. If you believe that they are going to go to 8 eventually then it's a real waste of time because things are going to end up bigger in the end anyway and we may as well use our efforts to figure out how to make that the best it can be instead of trying to figure out a 4 team playoff and then an 8 team playoff later.

(03-29-2012 04:10 PM)ClairtonPanther Wrote:  I was saying if the Conference Champ Only option was the end game, we'd end up with an 8 team play off.

As for the Elite 8 and Sweet 16, who knows if the NCAA goes for a 4 team Conference playoff.

Disagree. In a champions only model, we end up with essentially 5 conferences playing 5 conference championship games to determine which 4 will wind up in a 4-team playoff. In essence we have 10 teams competing for 4 spots. That could be reduced to 8 teams, if 16-team conferences becomes the norm, but by that time they will be having larger divisions within conferences and those conference semi-final games become in essence the Sweet 16.

But back to what is currently on the table, the fact that the 5 power conferences will have 10 teams competing for 4 spots, increases the overall value of the conference championship games due to heightened fan interest. Which is why the Big 12 will likely expand back to 12 and re-instate their championship game.

Cheers,
Neil

Interesting theory on why the Big XII will consider going back to 12. I have mixed feelings on if they go back to 12 or not.

(03-30-2012 11:01 AM)ClairtonPanther Wrote:  Interesting theory on why the Big XII will consider going back to 12. I have mixed feelings on if they go back to 12 or not.

If the conference champions model wins out (whether it is champions only, 3+1 or 2+2), I think they will likely be "forced" into it, since if the Big 12 champion is sewn up by early or mid-November, it makes the remaining part of the season immaterial compared to the other conferences who are still playing for a chance at the Football Final Four through early December thanks to the conference championship games.

I also think that the way this appears to be headed will result in either UL and BYU (or if BYU remains indy, Cincy or RU) to the Big 12.

It would mean 14+14+12+12+12 = 64 plus ND and maybe BYU for 65 or 66 power conference teams or their equivalent trying to separate themselves out from the rest more openly. It stinks for the likes of Boise, Cincy, RU, UConn, USF, Houston and others. It appears to me the power conferences, as much as we might not like it, are trying to consolidate power prior to the next wave of FCS upgrading.

Cheers,
Neil

Yea Neil, I def think that its setting up 4 Tiers rather than 3. You have the 5 BCS leagues, the Big East a notch below the BCS and a notch above the Alliance or MWC and CUSA(if they don't merge with the Sun Belt and MAC well behind the Alliance.