Hey All,
Here's my take on the recently adopted four team playoff for college football. Oh, and we still miss you, Alan Malamud.
The powers that be in college football agreed to a four team playoff system that will start in 2014 and run for 12 years. That's about all we know. What we don't know is how it will really work. So, we're stuck now with a lame four team playoff for 12 years without knowing much about it at all. That's like leasing a car for 12 years and never knowing anything about the car before you sign the lease. I have huge questions and doubts about this new playoff monster.
Question 1: Who will pick who the Final Four teams are?
That will be done by a committee. They will choose and seed the teams. Which begs the next question.
Question 2: Who will be on this committee?
It's rumored to be a group of 15 current conference commissioners. athletic directors, and former coaches. Yeah, there won't be any bias there at all. Every school west of Big XII country better just get used to never being in the Final Four.
Question 3: What criteria will be used to determine the Final Four teams?
Being a conference champion will factor in. However, SEC teams don't have to worry about this because, well they never have. They say strength of schedule will matter too. Sure, only for teams west of Norman, Oklahoma.
Question 4: Where will these playoff games be played?
The current configuration has six bowls in the mix to host semi-final games with the National Championship game going to the highest bidder. That begs two questions.
Question 5: What two bowls become the fifth and sixth bowls in the mix?
Well folks, only the sixth bowl is doubt. The fifth bowl is the new Big XII- SEC bowl I wrote about last month. So, the SEC wins again with another southern bowl. As for the sixth bowl, I expect that to be the Cotton Bowl. You know Jerry Jones is slobbering over the chance to elevate the Cotton Bowl back to major status with the game at Jerryworld.
Question 6: Who gets the National Championship game?
Those in the know say they will give it to the highest bidder and want the game to be at a neutral site. I see this becoming like the Super Bowl with some sort of rotation like the NFL seems to do with Tampa, San Diego, and New Orleans.
Question 7: When will the games be played?
This new deal says the semi-finals will be played on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with the title tilt on the second Monday in January. I would really hate too see the Rose Bowl played on December 31st. That just ain't right.
Question 8: What about the smaller conferences?
Basically, the same as before. Maybe they'll get an extra payday out of it here and there, but most likely an undefeated, dangerous Boise team will be watching a four loss SEC team play in the Orange Bowl while they prepare for the Poulan-Weedeater-R&L Carriers Nobody Cares Bowl.
Question 9: Will these playoffs expand to more than four teams?
No, the university presidents say that this new deal keeps the season the same length and that's what's important. Translation: the money wasn't there. It will be though one day and then there will be this great revelation that the playoff should be expanded. Also, it doesn't really matter how many teams get it in, there will always be controversy. With two teams, number three was angry. With four teams, number five will be angry. It's a slippery slope.
Question 10 (Should be 1): How much money will there be and who gets the money?
"Industry experts" claim the playoff could generate 400-500 million dollars annually. As to who gets it, the only thing mentioned was that teams in the Final Four will get a good slice of the pie. Wow, no opportunity for graft there, huh?
Now That we're stuck with this thing, there's a few things I'd like to see happen to even the field here so teams can be on a somewhat equal footing throughout the year.
1. Nobody gets seven or eight home games anymore. It's a 12 game schedule. Six at home and six on the road is fair.
2. Nobody in the FBS gets to play an FCS school ever again. With 124 teams now in the FBS, there are plenty of schools to play.
3. Eliminate all neutral site games except ones with great history. To me that only leaves Army-Navy, Texas-Oklahoma, and Georgia-Florida in the mix.
4. Strength of Schedule should really matter. Teams need to be rewarded for playing a tough out of conference game or two. I would rather watch Georgia play at Oregon than watch either school host Buffalo.
5. All conferences should play eight conference games. That gives schools a chance to build a solid non-conference slate.
6. No polls or standings get released until mid-October. That goes for the AP and all other ranking systems. Let the season settle in, then let's look at who is playing well.
7. Let's abolish the myth of the SEC. The SEC plays good football, but it's flawed like every other league. The top teams are great, the bottom teams stink. Does anyone here think that Kentucky is better than Washington State on any given Saturday or that Illinois and Vanderbilt aren't on the same level?
8. No more conference championship games. Let league records speak for themselves. You spend 12 Saturdays to crown a league champion only so that team could spoil all their hard work with one off game at the wrong time? That stinks.
Until next time folks, remember that after all the garbage and the crying about this new system, when you're in the stands and it's that moment right before kickoff, none of this junk ever enters your mind. Just the love of the game prevails.
-The Commissioner
