I find it funny that people are discussing the possibility of a four-team playoff for college football, as if the group of self-interested parties needed to sign off on anything would ever agree to something that would be good for the sport. How does the SEC sign off on any plan that prevents them from getting two teams into the mix? How does the Big Ten, who packs the biggest marketing punch (which is why we have to see so many conference teams play in January) agree to any system that does not get them a guaranteed spot? How do the ACC and Big East plus the little guys agree to anything that does not guarantee them from ever whiffing the playoffs? If we used the top four conference champion plan last year we would have watched LSU, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Boise State square off. Meanwhile I can name four other programs--Alabama, Oregon, Arkansas and Wisconsin--who would put on a final four that would have been just as compelling and would have attracted higher television ratings and ticket sales. But now they would be playing in bowl games that would lose a lot of luster with a playoff scheduled a few days later. And if you are willing to put two teams in from one conference, then last year by November when it became clear that Alabama and LSU would be getting into a playoff barring a huge upset, all of the rest of the powers would have been fighting for two spots (which is of course, two spots more than they ended up with but how is that a solution?) and Boise would have had no chance.
Which leads me to my next problem with this format and any playoff idea. How do you pull it off? Neutral sites or home fields? The first round cannot be played on January 1, as that magical date will be needed to save as many of the old bowls as possible. Because of the NFL playoffs you would be stuck with weeknights, which makes a doubleheader difficult. And then there are the fans. If you are doing neutral sites you are asking fans of say Oklahoma to shell out the money for tickets, flights and hotels for let's say Phoenix for the semis and then, if the Sooners win, New Orleans one week later. Remember, the bowl system was set up to encourage Northerners to vacation in sunny climes in the winter.They would have a month to plan what would basically be their winter holiday. Now they would be scrambling with a travel agent. Putting the entire final four in one site helps that but creates another difficulty. College football already has the problem of teams winning titles in what are basically home games (Miami feasted on games in the Orange Bowl, ditto USC in the Rose Bowl and LSU in the Sugar). What's the point of a playoff system if one team gets two home games?
I can continue this but will wait until we see what they end up with, if anything. I am not optimistic.
Great points. If we have learned anything the last 15-20 years, it is the struggle for power and money will lead to an unsatisfactory result (from the fan perspective).
ReplyDeleteI know I could never afford to attend two playoff/bowl games a week or two apart. However, the Pac 12 and Big Ten seem so loyal to the Rose Bowl they will do include it in the process.