Playoff Format Proposals
- Thread starter CloniesForLife
- Start date
If you do away with the conf championship, you are again inviting the bias of polls.
Go to 24 team cfp and scrap bowls. Give all 4 P4 teams 4 bids and 1 bid to two G5 leagues and 6 at large which I'm sure will go to more B1G/SEC/ND.
This is where CCG weekend can be more fun. No more CCG's, the top two spots in each P4 are automatically in and instead of CCG's each P4 leagues has #3 vs #6 & #4 vs #5 each of those winners get the 3rd and 4th spots for the P4 leagues. Then take the 6 best at large teams.
The weekend that is CCG weekend has double the games a lot of teams in contention and nobody in a P4 CCG should be left out of the playoffs so why play that weekend.
This is where CCG weekend can be more fun. No more CCG's, the top two spots in each P4 are automatically in and instead of CCG's each P4 leagues has #3 vs #6 & #4 vs #5 each of those winners get the 3rd and 4th spots for the P4 leagues. Then take the 6 best at large teams.
The weekend that is CCG weekend has double the games a lot of teams in contention and nobody in a P4 CCG should be left out of the playoffs so why play that weekend.
Expand to a 16 team playoff. Because the SEC and BIG think they are so much bigger, better and more desrving than everyone else, they are seeded on one side o the bracket and playoff against one another...the top four teams from each conference against the top four from the other conference meet in the first round on that side of the bracket.
The other side of the bracket has the best eight teams from non SEC and BIG schools. The winner from each bracket then meets for the national championship. The big two conferences will always have a team in the championship, just like they want. They may even win it every year ... same as the BIG East teams always did.
The playoffs will be far more interesting and perhaps better competitively balanced. The national championship will always have an underdog in it that most of the country will cheer for to win it all.
The other side of the bracket has the best eight teams from non SEC and BIG schools. The winner from each bracket then meets for the national championship. The big two conferences will always have a team in the championship, just like they want. They may even win it every year ... same as the BIG East teams always did.
The playoffs will be far more interesting and perhaps better competitively balanced. The national championship will always have an underdog in it that most of the country will cheer for to win it all.
They should've done this when we had 5 or 6 strong major conferences of 10, 11 or 12 teams. Nobody would have wanted to expand a conference significantly.
It's probably more likely they televise Big Ten and SEC commissioners plotting who to vote off the island than that they come up with something equitable that's healthy for long term interest of the entire sport. I hope ISU can find an immunity idol next year.
The ultimate goal is probably this but SEC on one side and Big Ten on the other side. Maybe some kind of special rule for Notre Dame some years but everybody else can enjoy the Little Caesars Bowl.
Any proposal that doesn't have more guaranteed slots for B1G and SEC than ACC and B12 is a non-starter.
Because it's fantasy to think they'll agree to any proposal without that.
If you have guaranteed number of bids for specific conferences... let them figure out who gets in. No committee nonsense, no ******** "polls." You'll play whatever teams they decide to bring.
That's a non-starter also. B1G and SEC will ask "why should we eliminate our teams in a conference championship when we can send four teams to the invitational and they can eliminate your teams?"
I like OP's start with the P4 champs getting 4 auto bids.
All I want after that is for the computers to decide the best for the other 8. And I HATED the computers in the BCS era. The reason I did was because you could have 3 undefeated teams and they had to decide which two would go for title and who got left out.
Now with a 12 team playoff, no P4 team can complain if they didn't get in because, well, they should've won their CCG. The other 8 would just go off the computer rankings so that way there is transparency and we know what algorithms are being used.
I think a lot of consternation from CFB fans (me included) is that it's just a bunch of nameless & faceless (maybe not literally) people who probably don't watch the games, deciding which teams get in without having to provide their reasoning and showing obvious favoritism to brand name teams or certain conferences (we all know who and who not.)
I'd also be cool if they wanted to put a rule about undefeated = auto-in as well. As long as SOS meets certain basic minimum requirements of course.
All I want after that is for the computers to decide the best for the other 8. And I HATED the computers in the BCS era. The reason I did was because you could have 3 undefeated teams and they had to decide which two would go for title and who got left out.
Now with a 12 team playoff, no P4 team can complain if they didn't get in because, well, they should've won their CCG. The other 8 would just go off the computer rankings so that way there is transparency and we know what algorithms are being used.
I think a lot of consternation from CFB fans (me included) is that it's just a bunch of nameless & faceless (maybe not literally) people who probably don't watch the games, deciding which teams get in without having to provide their reasoning and showing obvious favoritism to brand name teams or certain conferences (we all know who and who not.)
I'd also be cool if they wanted to put a rule about undefeated = auto-in as well. As long as SOS meets certain basic minimum requirements of course.
Make it as close to the NFL as possible.
Revenue sharing/ salary cap / draft / who cares LOL
It seems to be a successful business model.
Revenue sharing/ salary cap / draft / who cares LOL
It seems to be a successful business model.
There's nothing inherently wrong with the 12 team format. Its just always gonna to exist. We think and believe the Big 12 is better than what the national media thinks. Boise State thinks they're better than we think. Tulane thinks they're better than we think. Each conference has that bias. The SEC and Big 10 believe they are as good as the ESPN fart pumpers tell them they are,
The problem the Big 12 is having is that for the most part, the pre-season ranked teams did not do well. Had Utah gone 10-2 and Iowa State gone 10-2 and K-State was 10-2... I am 99% sure we would be in the mix to have at least 2, with an extreme outside shot of 3 in the playoff.
But because the pre-season voting system was wrong - and BYU, Iowa State and Arizona State - all teams pre-season picked to finish 6th or worse in the conference - finished top 3... the narrative is that the conference isn't good. Say for example...
If South Carolina, Kentucky and Ole Miss were the top 3 teams in the SEC and all were 9-3, maybe one was 10-2.... I don't think there would be huge clamoring for the SEC to get 3-4 teams in. 2? Sure. Maybe 3.
So the problem really isn't with the 12 team playoff, IMO. Its with having pre-season rankings and predictions. Because that impacts the voter in the top 25 poll. That impacts the committee. That is what needs to go away.
Teams should not be ranked until October. Maybe even mid-October. Sure, you'd still have the pre-season expectations and brand bias... but at least then you'd hopefully even out some of the pre-season ranking bias.
Say Iowa State goes 10-2 next year (I know, may not be likely but lets play again) and Arizona State or BYU also wins 9-10 games.... because they were good this year, if they follow it up, I'd argue at the same point in time next season we'd be comfortably in the playoffs with a real chance at a top 4 spot because we'd be ranked top 10. Heck, we saw this after 2020, what'd we start 2021 ranked, 9th? If that team had won 9 games etc...
so its not the format itself, its the fact that both the committee and voters in the polls put way to much emphasis on pre-season thoughts of who is going to be good - how many weeks did it take for Indiana to finally get ranked? What were they, 6-0? How many other Big 10 teams would need to get to 5-0, 6-0 before being ranked? Not many.
For me, that's the biggest problem. The role that pre-season polls have on everything.
The problem the Big 12 is having is that for the most part, the pre-season ranked teams did not do well. Had Utah gone 10-2 and Iowa State gone 10-2 and K-State was 10-2... I am 99% sure we would be in the mix to have at least 2, with an extreme outside shot of 3 in the playoff.
But because the pre-season voting system was wrong - and BYU, Iowa State and Arizona State - all teams pre-season picked to finish 6th or worse in the conference - finished top 3... the narrative is that the conference isn't good. Say for example...
If South Carolina, Kentucky and Ole Miss were the top 3 teams in the SEC and all were 9-3, maybe one was 10-2.... I don't think there would be huge clamoring for the SEC to get 3-4 teams in. 2? Sure. Maybe 3.
So the problem really isn't with the 12 team playoff, IMO. Its with having pre-season rankings and predictions. Because that impacts the voter in the top 25 poll. That impacts the committee. That is what needs to go away.
Teams should not be ranked until October. Maybe even mid-October. Sure, you'd still have the pre-season expectations and brand bias... but at least then you'd hopefully even out some of the pre-season ranking bias.
Say Iowa State goes 10-2 next year (I know, may not be likely but lets play again) and Arizona State or BYU also wins 9-10 games.... because they were good this year, if they follow it up, I'd argue at the same point in time next season we'd be comfortably in the playoffs with a real chance at a top 4 spot because we'd be ranked top 10. Heck, we saw this after 2020, what'd we start 2021 ranked, 9th? If that team had won 9 games etc...
so its not the format itself, its the fact that both the committee and voters in the polls put way to much emphasis on pre-season thoughts of who is going to be good - how many weeks did it take for Indiana to finally get ranked? What were they, 6-0? How many other Big 10 teams would need to get to 5-0, 6-0 before being ranked? Not many.
For me, that's the biggest problem. The role that pre-season polls have on everything.
Because they get to keep all the money from CCG’s. By adding two more games to those, that’s a huge chunk of money. The distributed money from the CFP gets smaller and the CCG money gets bigger. That would make them happy.
KidSilverhair
Well-Known Member
There’s the “best” way, which is to blow it all up, create 12 regional conferences of 10-12 teams, have real conference champions who proved it on the field, and those conference champions go to the playoff … and there’s the “non-fantasy world” way, which somehow involves the B1G and SEC getting the lion’s share of the bids while the Big XII and ACC say “thank you, sirs, may we have another crumb?” whenever they’re deemed fit to get a bid or two, and the G5 can go pound rocks in the corner.
My idea for a playoff format:
1. Remove ESPN from any decision making/influencing role and don't allow them exclusive TV rights.
That's it.
1. Remove ESPN from any decision making/influencing role and don't allow them exclusive TV rights.
That's it.
I think just not allowing the chair to have interviews on ESPN would go along ways. Have a public press conference with everyone able to ask questions.
Realign existing 70 P4 teams into 7 10-team conferences with historical affiliations. ND can stay indy. Promote Colorado St or Boise St to make 71. Each conference plays 9 game round robin. 16 team playoff with 7 conference champs plus top at large team hosting first round games that replace CCGs. Existing CFP format used for quarters, semis and final.
Will take Fed intervention to make this happen but that is what the CST and Rudy/SMASH initiatives are now trying to facilitate to fend off a B10/Fox and SEC/ESPN breakaway with relegation of 25-30 schools (including ISU):
Big East: UCF, Miami, VA Tech, Louisville, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, BC
ACC: Maryland, Virginia, Wake, Duke, UNC, NC St, Clemson, South Carolina, GA Tech, FL State
SEC: Vandy, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Bama, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Miss St
B10: Penn St, Ohio St, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Mich St, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin
SWC: Texas, TX A&M, SMU, TCU, Baylor, TX Tech, OU, OK St. Arkansas, Houston
PAC 10: Washington, Wash St, Oregon, OR St, Stanford, Cal, USC, UCLA, Arizona, AZ St
Big Country: ISU, Northwestern, Mizzou, Nebraska, KSU, KU, Colorado, BYU, Utah, CO St (or Boise)
Will take Fed intervention to make this happen but that is what the CST and Rudy/SMASH initiatives are now trying to facilitate to fend off a B10/Fox and SEC/ESPN breakaway with relegation of 25-30 schools (including ISU):
Big East: UCF, Miami, VA Tech, Louisville, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, BC
ACC: Maryland, Virginia, Wake, Duke, UNC, NC St, Clemson, South Carolina, GA Tech, FL State
SEC: Vandy, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Bama, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Miss St
B10: Penn St, Ohio St, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Mich St, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin
SWC: Texas, TX A&M, SMU, TCU, Baylor, TX Tech, OU, OK St. Arkansas, Houston
PAC 10: Washington, Wash St, Oregon, OR St, Stanford, Cal, USC, UCLA, Arizona, AZ St
Big Country: ISU, Northwestern, Mizzou, Nebraska, KSU, KU, Colorado, BYU, Utah, CO St (or Boise)
