The Committee (Sort Of) Got It Right. Now, It's Time To Fix The Playoff.
This time last year, I was whining at the playoff committee about including Alabama in their playoff field. The central thesis of my argument was that the Tide had been included on name recognition only; they didn't have the quality wins, they didn't have the conference title, they didn't even have the momentum. Of course, once Alabama inevitably dashed through the playoff to take the College Football title, that sentiment probably seemed foolish. But I stand by it! The ends do not justify the means.
This year, the committee again faced a decision on who the 4th team in the playoff should be, and once more the debate centered around a conference champion and an SEC non-champion. This time, they elected to include 12-1 and Big XII Champion Oklahoma over 11-2 SEC runner-up Georgia.
I tell you all this because if I am going to lambast the committee last year for getting teams wrong, then it’s only fair that I give them credit for getting the field right this year. Georgia showed they were a terrific team by outplaying Alabama for 3 quarters last weekend. They’re easily the 2nd-best team in a great conference, and very well may have beaten Oklahoma and Ohio State in a postseason setting. But those two teams avoided the dreaded 2nd loss AND more importantly, won their conference. Georgia did neither of those things, and thus, it’s time to give someone else a crack at Alabama and at the crown. Oklahoma, despite spending about 11 of their 13 games just not playing defense, is a worthy candidate. They have the most exciting offense in the country, quite possibly the best quarterback, and are playing their best football of the year.
Of course, in a perfect world, that “someone else” would be the only other undefeated team in college football, Central Florida, who won their 25th straight game (and 2nd straight American conference title) with a 2nd-string QB, at that. In any division of any sport, they deserve to be playing for the title. Yet, due to the constraints of a 4-team postseason, their schedule strength and ‘little-school’ reputation has done them no favors in their efforts to do just that.
There has been, still are, and quite possibly always will be debates raging over the various postseason possibilities for college football. This own blog has offered forward some various playoff permutations in the past. One of those, the one bandied about most often these days, is simply extending the playoff from 4 to 8 teams. Put 5 Power conference champions in, a ‘Group of Five’ champion, and 2 at-large bids. It’s simple. So simple, in fact, that the more I, or anyone for that matter, thinks about it, there is virtually no argument for expanding it to 8.
“It makes the college football season too long!!” In fact, you wouldn’t need to change the status quo schedule at all. All you need to do is plop a first round smack dab in the middle of the ridiculous 4-week layoff you have now between the conference championships and the semifinals.
“The bowl system is all about revenue for the schools!!” First of all, bullshit. But secondly, play the first round at the home stadiums of the higher teams. What generates more revenue than that? You really think there’s going to be an empty seat in Death Valley when Clemson hosts Michigan in the national quarterfinals?
“I like rewarding conference champions, but you can’t just give them carte blanche; what if 7-5 Pittsburgh wins the ACC?!?” Alright, fine, add an amendment that the conference champion has to reach at least 10 wins or their conference’s auto bid is ceded. That way you can still rank the teams however you genuinely want without concern over controversy.
“Well sure, but then you have teams complaining about having to play on the road against a team that didn’t even win their conference!!” I’m all for seeding the teams regardless of conference performance, but having the conference champion host, a la the NFL.
“It weakens the emphasis of the regular season!!” How? I think ‘win at least 10 games or you probably won’t play for the championship’ is a pretty serious command still, right?
“Butbutbut we signed this dope New Years Six deal for 20 years!!” There is absolutely no reason you’d have to change the current semifinal and final format.
“Butbutbut then the other NY6 bowls will get stuck with teams ranked even lower, and that ruins their viewability!” I got a hint for you; the fans of the #18 team will still come support their side, and the #9 team that missed the playoffs will still be pretty jazzed about playing in the Sugar Bowl. But, there is also an alternative option (read on).
To put this in the present context, we’d be looking at this slate in the coming weeks:
Cotton Bowl Bracket
(#9) Washington at (#1) Alabama
(#5) Georgia* at (#4) Oklahoma
Orange Bowl Bracket
(#8) UCF at (#2) Clemson
(#3) Notre Dame* at (#6) Ohio State
If you’re a college football fan, and you’re not drooling at those possibilities, I don’t know what to tell ya.
And if you, like me, have to begrudgingly admit that the tradition of big bowl games is fun and are worried about the trickle-down effect this would have on the quality of the other bowls, here’s an idea: leave 4 spots open in the New Year’s Six bowls for the losers of the first round. Like the 3rd-Place match in the World Cup, it gives those teams who won’t win the title a chance to win one more big game and cleanse their palette. Those bowl spots could be filled with the best geographic ties the day after the first round, to give fans at least 2 weeks’ notice. For instance, this year, it may look as such:
Fiesta: (#13) Washington State vs. TBA
Peach: (#10) Florida vs. TBA
Rose: (#7) Michigan vs. TBA
Sugar: (#11) LSU vs. TBA
Say all the lower seeds lose in the first round, for example; then we’d see Georgia go to the Fiesta Bowl (to avoid a rematch with either of the SEC teams), Ohio State go to the Sugar, Central Florida to the Peach, and conference champions Washington to the Rose. Everyone happy by now? Good.
Of course, even this small change would still result in a bracket just 25% the size of the playoff field found at every other division of college football. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is not another piece for fantasy wishlists; this is a reality that needs to be addressed. The system is seriously broken, and fans, players, and coaches alike deserve better from America’s best sport than to be subjected to seeing the same 3 teams duke it out every year. It’s time to fix it, and that fix is simple as could be.