Link: http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa...f-eight-team-future/tvjqr87lpqvu1kg7m401cpe7d
Nebraska's Scott Frost brings strong voice Big Ten needs in Playoff era
by Bill Bender, Sporting News
CHICAGO - Nebraska coach Scott Frost speaks from experience.
He played quarterback for an undefeated Nebraska team that split a national championship with Michigan in 1997. He coached a UCF team that finished 13-0 and claimed a national title despite missing out on the College Football Playoff 20 years later. He used those experiences to sharpen that voice, which continues to speak out about the future of the Playoff era with no reservations.
Frost, a first-time Power 5 coach at 43 years old, brings a voice that carries. It's one the Big Ten needs in the College Football Playoff era.
"We were undefeated and Michigan was undefeated. We couldn't play each other," Frost said from the podium at Big Ten Media Days on Monday. "Obviously that changed and the BCS happened and the best two teams in the country got to play. I think that was an improvement. Getting it to four teams was an improvement. But it's hard to look at last year's college football season and not feel like an eight-team playoff isn't where we should go."
Frost will elaborate on that and -- whether he knows it or not -- isn't just speaking for Nebraska, where he's taking on a restoration project two decades after leading the Cornhuskers to their last national title.
He is a strong new voice in the Big Ten, one whose accent isn't different but comes with a tone that strikes a much different note. The Big Ten champion hasn't made the College Football Playoff in either of the last two seasons. Ohio State's Urban Meyer doesn't politick about the Playoff much, and the Buckeyes have been on both sides of that conference champion debate. Then there's Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, who wants a 16-team playoff.
Frost sees 16 teams too, but only as a prop to emphasize why eight teams would be better in college football.
"I think it'd be awesome for college football -- you watch the Sweet 16 -- and there's a 12-seed that's there that nobody expected to be there," Frost said. "Well, let's say we went 1-3 in our first four games and then caught fire and won the rest and we're firing on all cylinders and playing as well as anybody in the country and we go to a Big Ten championship and beat an undefeated team in the Big Ten East, do we deserve to go? I think so, because we won the conference. They do too because they went undefeated and they could get one of the three at-large spots."
If Frost gets Nebraska up and running, there's a good chance he could be the voice of the Big Ten in much the same way former coach Tom Osborne was for the Big Eight and Big 12. Frost's view is his own. It's bold. It's sincere. It's a few degrees off course from the traditional buttoned-up point of view most coaches in the Big Ten hold. It's strong.
Frost already knows the rebuttals to that eight-team format. The regular season will be devalued. The bowl games will have even less meaning. It's one more risky game for college football athletes.
"I don't know that you can't play the first round before Jan. 1," Frost said. "Why can't the first round be on Dec. 25-26 and the second round be on Jan. 1-2 and the championship game in early January? You hear the argument that would make regular season games matter less. I don't think so. If you went more than eight, then maybe."
Frost wants eight teams, but he wants to maintain the nine-game conference format. That goes for the Big Ten and everybody else.
"I think you have to absolutely have blinders on because the ACC and SEC are going to be over-represented in the College Football Playoff every year because they play eight conference games while the Pac-12, Big 12 and Big Ten beat themselves up and play an extra game," Frost said. "It's inevitable that an extra conference game that half of your schools are going to have one more loss at the end of the year.
That hurts you. It hurts your rankings. It hurts your preseason rankings for the following year."
You can take that any way you want.
Take it as an affront to Alabama's Nick Saban, who advocated an all Power 5 schedule last week at SEC Media Days, despite the fact the Crimson Tide plays FCS opponent The Citadel, the week before the Iron Bowl.
Take it as a defense for UCF, the Group of Five school Frost led to an undefeated record and a victory in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in 2017. The Knights didn't get to play in the College Football Playoff, and that's a message that sticks.
Take it as foreshadowing for Nebraska. Frost didn't get that chance to play Michigan in 1997, but he's making damn sure the Huskers won't be locked out of the College Football Playoff if they win the Big Ten.
Take it as a common-sense answer in a sport where half the field -- maybe more -- is eliminated from consideration before the season starts.
"Those are things that need to get balanced out," Frost said. "There needs to be a level playing field for everybody."
Frost has a carefully crafted voice, one that blends the past and present and looks toward the future with a fearless outlook the sport needs.
Take that, knowing Frost isn't leaving anytime soon.
Nebraska's Scott Frost brings strong voice Big Ten needs in Playoff era
by Bill Bender, Sporting News
CHICAGO - Nebraska coach Scott Frost speaks from experience.
He played quarterback for an undefeated Nebraska team that split a national championship with Michigan in 1997. He coached a UCF team that finished 13-0 and claimed a national title despite missing out on the College Football Playoff 20 years later. He used those experiences to sharpen that voice, which continues to speak out about the future of the Playoff era with no reservations.
Frost, a first-time Power 5 coach at 43 years old, brings a voice that carries. It's one the Big Ten needs in the College Football Playoff era.
"We were undefeated and Michigan was undefeated. We couldn't play each other," Frost said from the podium at Big Ten Media Days on Monday. "Obviously that changed and the BCS happened and the best two teams in the country got to play. I think that was an improvement. Getting it to four teams was an improvement. But it's hard to look at last year's college football season and not feel like an eight-team playoff isn't where we should go."
Frost will elaborate on that and -- whether he knows it or not -- isn't just speaking for Nebraska, where he's taking on a restoration project two decades after leading the Cornhuskers to their last national title.
He is a strong new voice in the Big Ten, one whose accent isn't different but comes with a tone that strikes a much different note. The Big Ten champion hasn't made the College Football Playoff in either of the last two seasons. Ohio State's Urban Meyer doesn't politick about the Playoff much, and the Buckeyes have been on both sides of that conference champion debate. Then there's Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, who wants a 16-team playoff.
Frost sees 16 teams too, but only as a prop to emphasize why eight teams would be better in college football.
"I think it'd be awesome for college football -- you watch the Sweet 16 -- and there's a 12-seed that's there that nobody expected to be there," Frost said. "Well, let's say we went 1-3 in our first four games and then caught fire and won the rest and we're firing on all cylinders and playing as well as anybody in the country and we go to a Big Ten championship and beat an undefeated team in the Big Ten East, do we deserve to go? I think so, because we won the conference. They do too because they went undefeated and they could get one of the three at-large spots."
If Frost gets Nebraska up and running, there's a good chance he could be the voice of the Big Ten in much the same way former coach Tom Osborne was for the Big Eight and Big 12. Frost's view is his own. It's bold. It's sincere. It's a few degrees off course from the traditional buttoned-up point of view most coaches in the Big Ten hold. It's strong.
Frost already knows the rebuttals to that eight-team format. The regular season will be devalued. The bowl games will have even less meaning. It's one more risky game for college football athletes.
"I don't know that you can't play the first round before Jan. 1," Frost said. "Why can't the first round be on Dec. 25-26 and the second round be on Jan. 1-2 and the championship game in early January? You hear the argument that would make regular season games matter less. I don't think so. If you went more than eight, then maybe."
Frost wants eight teams, but he wants to maintain the nine-game conference format. That goes for the Big Ten and everybody else.
"I think you have to absolutely have blinders on because the ACC and SEC are going to be over-represented in the College Football Playoff every year because they play eight conference games while the Pac-12, Big 12 and Big Ten beat themselves up and play an extra game," Frost said. "It's inevitable that an extra conference game that half of your schools are going to have one more loss at the end of the year.
That hurts you. It hurts your rankings. It hurts your preseason rankings for the following year."
You can take that any way you want.
Take it as an affront to Alabama's Nick Saban, who advocated an all Power 5 schedule last week at SEC Media Days, despite the fact the Crimson Tide plays FCS opponent The Citadel, the week before the Iron Bowl.
Take it as a defense for UCF, the Group of Five school Frost led to an undefeated record and a victory in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in 2017. The Knights didn't get to play in the College Football Playoff, and that's a message that sticks.
Take it as foreshadowing for Nebraska. Frost didn't get that chance to play Michigan in 1997, but he's making damn sure the Huskers won't be locked out of the College Football Playoff if they win the Big Ten.
Take it as a common-sense answer in a sport where half the field -- maybe more -- is eliminated from consideration before the season starts.
"Those are things that need to get balanced out," Frost said. "There needs to be a level playing field for everybody."
Frost has a carefully crafted voice, one that blends the past and present and looks toward the future with a fearless outlook the sport needs.
Take that, knowing Frost isn't leaving anytime soon.
