I just hope we go to the 16 team formate for the playoff. We know it works because all the other NCAA football division are using the 16 team formate!

(03-27-2012 02:43 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  I just hope we go to the 16 team formate for the playoff. We know it works because all the other NCAA football division are using the 16 team formate!

Not true, but they do use many more teams than what is being considered for FBS.

FCS uses a 20-team format and wants to go to 24 teams
Div. II uses a 24-team format
Div. III uses a 32-team format

I like that, apex.

(03-27-2012 09:47 AM)Dr. Isaly von Yinzer Wrote:  As soon as they implement a "mini-playoff," it will no longer matter to most people which conferences are affiliated with what bowl games. All that will matter is who is in that Football Final Four?

Once a playoff of any type is installed, do you really think people are going to care who won the Cotton Bowl or even the Rose Bowl? I do not. I think those games will instantly become college football's equivalent of the NIT and frankly that's where they belong, IMHO.

See, if you and I can figure that out, then sooner or later, the university presidents and conference commissioners will figure that out.

And they do not want that to happen. The Big 10 and PAC-12 do NOT want anything to dent the brand value of the Rose Bowl--it's a significant moneymaker for the Big 10 and PAC. The NIT is a great analogy, Doctor. I don't know how long ago, but I know there was a time that the NIT and NCAA tournaments were on the same level. The Big 10 and PAC 12 do not want the Rose Bowl to go the way of the NIT.

Plus, the article doesn't even mention what will be a massive controversy--how do you divide up the money from the playoff? The power conferences will find a playoff much less attractive when they realize that giving payouts to the Founding Seven every year regardless of performance won't be politically tenable.

The bowls are much more easily controlled by the power conferences (and the TV networks) than a playoff would be. Bowls also allow the power conferences to keep the money in their own hands. So the system will have as much "bowl" as possible. There will be a National Championship Game on Martin Luther King weekend, matching two bowl winners.

(I'd expect there would be a side agreement made that undefeated conference champions will get at-large bowl bids before one-loss teams--a Cinderella Rule.)

(03-27-2012 02:50 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  

(03-27-2012 02:43 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  I just hope we go to the 16 team formate for the playoff. We know it works because all the other NCAA football division are using the 16 team formate!

Not true, but they do use many more teams than what is being considered for FBS.

FCS uses a 20-team format and wants to go to 24 teams
Div. II uses a 24-team format
Div. III uses a 32-team format

I should have said have used 16 teams. More than 16 is over kill. It shows I do not follow that level od football that much.

(03-27-2012 01:15 PM)apex_pirate Wrote:  I think 4 games is all we get now...although I do believe it will grow.

I personally would like a 12 team playoff. I wrote this back in 2008 and I've change my mind on a few things as expansion has changed the landscape. The below proposal takes the conference champions but I know think a pure top 12 would be better.

*1.* It puts great emphasis on the season for the perrenial championship contenders. It also put emphasis on the season for those just trying to be one of the 8 remaining.

*2.* If you start the playoffs in mid December (after exams) it would end in early January. The length of the post season would actually be the same as the existing post season and less for most of the teams in the playoffs....and even less if they went back to 11 regular season games. Play the games in prime time.

*3.* The lower tier bowls can be played at the same time period but during the week or daygames on the weekend (just as many are now).

Automatic Bids - The big six conferences still get their auto-bids (with wording as it is now on how to lose those). It would be best not to have auto-bids but the big six would never let that happen. More than six is just as bad as you then lessen the chance of having the true top 12.

At-Large Bids - After the big six get their bids, the top 6 highest ranked remaining teams in the final BCS poll are invited.

Seedings - Seedings are also based on the final BCS poll. I'd rather have the issue of fighting about whether some school should have been the 12th team versus who should have been #1 or even #2. In the following proposed playoff, TCU would be the only team in the BCS Top 12 that would be left out. They would be pushed out by Virginia Tech.

Payout - Payout is $10M for seeds 9-12, $15M for seeds 5-8 and $20M for seeds 1-4...or make up your own realistic, magical numbers. Payouts are static/final and do not change based on making it to the next round. If feasible, you could add additional rewards in as an incentive for reaching certain rounds.

Playoff Sites - The first two rounds of the playoffs are hosted by the highest seeded team on their home field. The Final Four and Championship game would be hosted by one of the current BCS Bowls (Orange, Rose, Sugar and Fiesta) at their tradition bowl site.

BCS Bowls - The Orange, Rose, Sugar and Fiesta "sponsor" (for a lack of the correct terminology) two games. One in the first round and one in the second round. While ticketing is handled by the hosting university the rest of the process (financial and otherwise) is administered by the BCS Bowl that is "sponsoring" the game. On a rotaional basis, one of the BCS Bowls will host the Final Four and the national Championship at their traditional site.

Let's take a look at how the seeding would have fallen had the proposed playoff been implemented in 2008...

1. Oklahoma (Big 12 Champion)
2. Florida (SEC Champion)
3. Texas (At-Large)
4. Alabama (At-Large)
5. USC (PAC-10 Champion)
6. Utah (At-Large, MWC Champion)
7. Texas Tech (At-Large)
8. Penn St. (Big 10 Champion)
9. Boise State (At-Large, WAC Champion)
10. Ohio State (At-Large)
11. Cincinnati (Big East Champion)
12. Virginia Tech (ACC Champion)


As you can see, TCU was the only team in the final BCS poll that would have been left out.

As mentioned earlier, the first round is hosted by the higher seed and sponsorship (for lack of the correct word) is owned one game each by one of the four major bowls. You could call them the Orange Regional, Sugar Regional, Fiesta Regional and Rose Regional). Home team and away ticket allotments are offered the same way they are for regular season home games but all other aspects of the game, including the financial aspect, would be administered by whichever Bowl is sponsoring that particular game. Those tickets not purchased get offered to the public. Guaranteed sell-outs for every game.

Home team in bold

Weekend of Dec. 20th
*#8 Penn St.* vs. #9 Boise St. (Orange Regional - +Happy Valley, PA+)
*#5 USC* vs. #12 Virginia Tech (Rose Regional from Los Angeles, CA)
*#6 Utah* vs. #11 Cincinnati (Sugar Regional from +Provo, UT+)
*#7 Texas Tech* vs. #10 Ohio St. (Fiesta Reional from +Lubbock, TX+)

The second round is hosted by the top four seeds and the same sponsorship for the first round as is for the winners game in the second round. You could call them the Orange Regional Final, Sugar Regional Final, Fiesta Regional Final and Rose Regional Final). Home team and away ticket allotments are offered the same way they are for regular season home games but all other aspects of the game, including the financial aspect, would be administered by whichever Bowl is sponsoring that particular game. Those tickets not purchased get offered to the public. Guaranteed sell-outs for every game. Those tickets not purchased get offered to the public. Guaranteed sell-outs for every game. For argument's sake, if the higher seeds won this is what it would look like


Weekend of Dec. 27th
*#1 Oklahoma* vs. #8 Penn St. (Orange Regional Final from +Norman, OK+)
*#4 Alabama* vs. #5 USC (Rose Regional Final from +Tuscaloosa, AL+)
*#2 Florida* vs. #7 Texas Tech (Fiesta Regional Final from +Gainesville, FL+)
*#3 Texas* vs. #6 Utah (Sugar Regioanl Final from +College Station, TX+)


The Final Four is hosted by one of the four major bowls on a rotational basis. This year it would be the Orange Bowl and it could have been called The Orange Bowl Final Four. The Final Four games as well as the National Championship game would be held at the Orange Bowl in Miami, FL. For argument's sake, if the higher seeds won this is what it would look like...

Weekend of Jan. 3rd from +Miami, FL+
*#1 Oklahoma* vs. #4 Alabama
#2 Florida vs. #7 Texas

Weekend of Jan. 10th from +Miami, FL+
*#1 Oklahoma* vs. #2 Florida


Since the Final Four games are on back to back Saturdays fans can take a week long trip to see the Final Four. One trip for the majority of people just like it would be in the current system. Most people can not afford to take more than one trip during the holidays. Forget the holidays, they can't take two trips that close together for a variety of reasons...money, time off, etc. This would allow the fans to attend the first two rounds if their team hosted and take just one trip that would cover the Final Four and the National Championship.

This plan satisfies the BCS objectives, the fan's plea for settling it on the field, maintaining the BCS Bowls participation as well as securing even larger opportunities for making money by sponsoring more than one game, allowing fans to see multiple rounds without traveling multiple times and lastly not getting rid of the other traditional bowls.

Do you know how much just one ticket costs to go to one BCS game? Cuz I guarantee you a final four game would be much more. Then add the final four tix with a champ tix + round trip tix from say Columbus to Pasadena + a 7 or 8 day stay in a hotel room + food in a place that is going to gouge the hell out of you?

I don't know about you but I don't have several thousand dollars lying around to afford that.

Campus sites until championship game is the only way it CAN work.

(03-27-2012 10:19 PM)Old Dominion Navy Wrote:  Do you know how much just one ticket costs to go to one BCS game? Cuz I guarantee you a final four game would be much more. Then add the final four tix with a champ tix + round trip tix from say Columbus to Pasadena + a 7 or 8 day stay in a hotel room + food in a place that is going to gouge the hell out of you?

I don't know about you but I don't have several thousand dollars lying around to afford that.

Campus sites until championship game is the only way it CAN work.

Believe me, I know what it costs for tickets and traveling. For many, a week long trip with tickets to two games is just too much. Honestly, it will only happen to a select few fanbases anyway and most of those are used to chalking up thousands to go see their team around the holidays. They have 100,000 plus at their home games with huge waiting lists. There really is no shortage of fans for them who would step up to buy tickets. Plus, after losing, half of the fans will want to sell their tickets and transfer their hotel rooms to additional fans of the wiunning school that didn't get tickets/room in the beginning. Those types of transactions currently happen in the NCAA basketball tourney.

As for the smaller or traditionally weaker supported schools...they won't be in those games as often as the larger programs. If they make it, IMO they'll most likely be willing to pony up for a "once in a lifetime" event (see TCU and the Rose Bowl).

You're expecting these huge fanbases to take a week's vacation immediately after the holidays to stick around in a city once they realize at 11:45pm on the 3rd they need to stick around for a week for that title game. Have you ever tried taking a week off while giving your boss almost no notice?

I don't think you thought your cunning plan all the way through.

(03-28-2012 07:56 AM)bronconick Wrote:  You're expecting these huge fanbases to take a week's vacation immediately after the holidays to stick around in a city once they realize at 11:45pm on the 3rd they need to stick around for a week for that title game. Have you ever tried taking a week off while giving your boss almost no notice?

I don't think you thought your cunning plan all the way through.

I'm not sure I understand? If you are a Florida fan, then you know in early December you are going to spend a week at the Orange Bowl...possibly less. You would have already asked in early December (just as people currently do to go to BCS Bowl games) for a week off. That part isn't new or different than it is today. It isn't a two week trip. Just one week, bookended by games on each Saturday.

(03-28-2012 07:56 AM)bronconick Wrote:  You're expecting these huge fanbases to take a week's vacation immediately after the holidays to stick around in a city once they realize at 11:45pm on the 3rd they need to stick around for a week for that title game. Have you ever tried taking a week off while giving your boss almost no notice?

I don't think you thought your cunning plan all the way through.

Dark horse suggestion (Translation: this guy is WAY off his meds):

Play the bowls, then a National Championship Game on MLK Saturday at the highest seed's home stadium.