(01-13-2019 09:11 PM)ken d Wrote:  Since 2008, only 3 teams have finished in the Top 4 of the final CFP / BCS rankings more than twice: Alabama, Oklahoma and Clemson. Oklahoma and Clemson did it 4 times each and Alabama has done it 10 times. A total of 18 different schools would have made a 4 team field during that time.

32 different teams appeared in the Top 8 during that 11 year period. The number of appearances by conference:

Conf...Top 8...Top 4

SEC.....25.......17
B1G.....19........4
B12.....17........9
PAC.....14........5
ACC......6........6
ND.......3.........2
AAC.....2.........1
MWC....2.........0

Individual school appearances during that time:

Alabama....10...10
Ohio St.......8....2
Oklahoma...6....4
Oregon.......5....2
Stanford.....5....2
Clemson.....4....4

All Clemson's appearances have come in the last four seasons.

The Tide and the Tigers won't be this dominant forever in a sport as cyclical as football. I suspect that, if there were more variety among schools making the CFP than there has been so far, much of the clamor for an expanded field would dissipate. And most of what would remain would come from fans of G5 schools. They aren't numerous enough to turn the tide (no pun intended).

No, the push for more is because conferences are being left out, not because Miami and Virginia Tech and Florida and LSU aren't getting in.

In a most ironic twist, imagine if the CFP was established in the 90's, as opposed to early 2010's?

ACC - Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Wake Forest
BE - Boston College, Miami, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
Big Ten - Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Big 8 - Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
PAC 10 - Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State
SEC - Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
SWC - Baylor, Houston, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, SMU, TCU
Independents - Army, BYU, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Louisville, Memphis, Navy, Notre Dame, Southern Mississippi

Highest rated team from each group is a representative for a playoff, creating an 8-team playoff.

I think many times with FCS though, you have a much separate have vs have-nots. 1-11 Central Michigan destroyed an FCS playoff team who advanced in it well. You put ND State against CMU, and you have a different story.

The whole Alabama-invincible thing obviously shocked people. Not to end up losing in the end, but to be bent over without lube. That was the real burner.

You'll still see consistency of who's in the final 4 -- much like you will in a field of 64. But you'll also see some upsets, too.

An 8-team playoff is coming. It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of When, even in the not toooo distant future.

Problem with 8-team playoff is that you have fewer teams than Conferences. You can't give P5 Champs an inarguable auto-bid, because upsets happen there. They can be beat out by the 2nd best G5 Champ (#10 Central Florida, #13 Boise State, #15 Washington State -- oops). Going by Pure-Pure rank won't cut it though either. Top 6 Conf Champs with a Conditional auto-bid, if they're within Top #x, where 'x' is close-enough to make it to 8-team playoff. That's the best aim.

The argument against 8-team playoff is it takes away from the bowls. My solution? Have other 8-team playoffs! 1st Rounds are home/away games, not bowls. The rest are.

1) National Championship Playoff (8-teams; Top 6 Conf Champs if within #13 get auto-bid; rest by rank; limit on # from conferences based on details)

2) National Elite Playoff (8-teams; Rest of Conf Champs; rest by rank)

3) Power-General Playoff (8-teams; Rest of best 4 P5s vs 4 G5s)

4) Power-5 Playoff (8-teams; Rest of best P5s)

5) General-5 Playoff (8-teams; Rest of best G5s)

+ Misc 1-time bowls to fill in the rest

Autobids only serve a function if the conferences also have power to limit membership to the most able. Think BE FB conference.

Think basketball. Their are 32 autobids to the NCAA tournament following conference tourneys were every school can play in any given year for all of the marbles.

Has this improved recruiting at low major schools? The autobid is doing nothing for them. In fact most think they would have more respect if they could earn a wildcard by virtue of strong regular season play.

The exclusivity of conferences has been eroded with 10, 12, 14 becoming the common size in the name of selling more content to the networks. Content that is for the smaller conferences trending more and more toward streaming than broadcast.