Poll : Hypothetical

[fifteenandoh]

the College Playoff System showed itself incompetent last season by choosing Ohio State over Penn State.
I knew this was going to happen.
but we did have 2 seasons that made it an interesting case study.

but now is the time to have at least a 5 team Playoff with the 5 Conference Champions receiving automatic bids.

there's something wrong with those folks that don't want this. imo

imagine if the NFL adopted the College System...
it would be blatantly obvious the system is severely flawed...
but somehow because its College... its not flawed?

but lets explore the possibility for this upcoming season...

what if all 5 Conference Champions go undefeated... and also Notre Dame...
with Nebraska, of course, being one of the five Conference Champions.

which 2 teams get left out.... and why?

 

[Capiche]

Oklahoma and Washington. Oklahoma will be ranked higher than Nebraska going into the season but wins over Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State, all probable top ten teams, will be enough to put Nebraska in. If Oklahoma beats OSU in Columbus I think their in. It would then come down to Nebraska, Washington and Notre Dame for the last spot. I still would go with Nebraska based on SOS.

 

[TwinsRRUs]

Without having looked at any of the schedules for the teams or the names of the teams, I would say Big XII and PAC 12 get left out due to "perceived" conference strength and ND gets in because everyone thinks they are awesome... even though they play the fewest power 5 teams every year...


Although last year, I believe Washington played 11 power 5 teams and 9 conference games plus a conference championship game and they still called their schedule weak compared to Alabama's, who only played 10 power 5 teams and 8 conference games plus the conference championship game...

 

[huskerfan1414]

Wash, ND, or OU. Thats easy, and im not being biased.
As for OP, stop with this shit, there shouldnt be a playoff and if there is it should be no more than 4 teams. There is no perfect system! If you need 5 you need 8....if you need 8 you need 16....etc
I hate it when people try to compare college and NFL...NFL has 32 teams in 2 cnferences that pay players to play, not 120 amateur filled teams playing in 10 different conferences. Its ridiculous to me that people cmpare the two. Stop trying to ruin the regular season! Thats all this playoff shit does.

 

[TwinsRRUs]

Wash, ND, or OU. That's easy, and i'm not being biased.
As for OP, stop with this shit, there shouldn't be a playoff and if there is it should be no more than 4 teams. There is no perfect system! If you need 5 you need 8....if you need 8 you need 16....etc
I hate it when people try to compare college and NFL...NFL has 32 teams in 2 conferences that pay players to play, not 120 amateur filled teams playing in 10 different conferences. Its ridiculous to me that people compare the two. Stop trying to ruin the regular season! That's all this playoff shit does.

I completely agree, but then they argue that the other college football divisions do it differently...

I like it being unique and don't want it to continue to add more and more teams, but nowadays that thought process is in the minority, at least on this board for the most part. Most think it should be adjusted in some way, shape or form and it is hard to argue against.

 

[fifteenandoh]

I have the opinion that anybody that doesn't want all Power 5 Conference Champions to make the Playoff... that person is a 100% moron.... no two ways about it.

 

[cubsker]

get rid of divisions, top two teams play a conf champ game. 5 conf winners and one wild card. wild card comes from nd or non power 5 team if certain qualifications are met. committee can seed em and pick the wild card if necessary. top 2 get byes like nfl.

 

[TwinsRRUs]

Every conference champ could go undefeated, but what about when Wisconsin beat Nebraska and won the B1G and had 5 losses as the conference champion?

A 5 loss team should not make the playoffs IMO as the regular season wouldn't matter as much, but it's just that, my opinion, only worth $.02

Back in the olden days, the goal seemed to be whomever had the best season overall was the champion, not who sucked at the start and finished hot.

 

[chicolby]

I pine for the days when the Big Ten played the PAC 12 (now) in the Rose Bowl and the Big 12 (now) played in the Orange Bowl, etc etc.

 

[huskerfan1414]

I pine for the days when the Big Ten played the PAC 12 (now) in the Rose Bowl and the Big 12 (now) played in the Orange Bowl, etc etc.

No, that was the problem. The old system in the 90s etc would have been just fine has it not been for bowl allegiences.
As for all 5 power conferences making it, no I dont think they all deserve it because there is always going to be a weak conference champion. There should never be a two loss team contending for an NC, that pretty much negates the regular season. And yes it could happen where we end up with all undefeated conference champs, yet unlikely, but if we do then it should go back to strength of non conference schedule as its supposed to. Also, who gets the bye? What if ND is 1 loss and a non power is undefeated, who gets the sixth spot? Welp, better go to 8 then. And on and on we go.
But I also think the 4 team playoff sucks. There is no perfect system, and college football has traditionally had the best regular season in sports. A big playoff doesnt protect that.

 

[chicolby]

No, that was the problem. The old system in the 90s etc would have been just fine has it not been for bowl allegiences.
As for all 5 power conferences making it, no I dont think they all deserve it because there is always going to be a weak conference champion. There should never be a two loss team contending for an NC, that pretty much negates the regular season. And yes it could happen where we end up with all undefeated conference champs, yet unlikely, but if we do then it should go back to strength of non conference schedule as its supposed to. Also, who gets the bye? What if ND is 1 loss and a non power is undefeated, who gets the sixth spot? Welp, better go to 8 then. And on and on we go.
But I also think the 4 team playoff sucks. There is no perfect system, and college football has traditionally had the best regular season in sports. A big playoff doesnt protect that.

Sorry, I forgot to include the hashtag #MCFGA (Make College Football Great Again)

 

[nebcountry]

Washington and NU get left out, based on a peripheral review of schedules and assuming nothing too extraordinary happens (since we already have extraordinary covered with 6 undefeateds and NU being one of them).

Clemson and Alabama automatic bids based on popular sentiment. Oklahoma would've beaten B1G darling OhSU, diminishing B1G stock. Notre Dame would've beaten Pac12's higher tier teams, diminishing Pac12 stock. Washington although undefeated, wouldn't have any marquis matchups.

But that's not really the point behind the discussion. There are all kinds of strawman hypotheticals (however unlikely) that can be used to show problems with the playoffs. The real rub to me with the playoffs is how to deal with the 1-loss teams.

There are 5 conferences and 4 spots, but it's the best we got atm. And that's a whole lot better than the sec's profiteer, espn, pushing 24/7 for two sec teams to be playing for a national championship.

 

[timnsun]

Washington and NU get left out, based on a peripheral review of schedules and assuming nothing too extraordinary happens (since we already have extraordinary covered with 6 undefeateds and NU being one of them).

Clemson and Alabama automatic bids based on popular sentiment. Oklahoma would've beaten B1G darling OhSU, diminishing B1G stock. Notre Dame would've beaten Pac12's higher tier teams, diminishing Pac12 stock. Washington although undefeated, wouldn't have any marquis matchups.

But that's not really the point behind the discussion. There are all kinds of strawman hypotheticals (however unlikely) that can be used to show problems with the playoffs. The real rub to me with the playoffs is how to deal with the 1-loss teams.

There are 5 conferences and 4 spots, but it's the best we got atm. And that's a whole lot better than the sec's profiteer, espn, pushing 24/7 for two sec teams to be playing for a national championship.

So Oklahoma beating Ohio State trumps Nebraska beating Ohio State and Penn State? Who else does Oklahoma beat that would be more impressive?

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

Too many variables. Oklahoma winning in Columbus is better than Nebraska winning in Lincoln

Nebraska winning at Penn St better that OU winning at Okie St

Washington beating Washington St, Oregon, and winning at Stanford and at Colorado plus beating the south champ is better than the list of teams OU will play, as measured by preseason prognostications.

You can make circular arguments to justify any of the teams. But margin of victory, where the game is played, how their opponents actually do in the rest of their games and 100 other factors will come into play. Timing of the game. Oklahoma and Alabama getting wins over Ohio St and Florida St in week 1 and 2 gives them the edge over an unranked Nebraska team and a Washington team with wins over Rutgers and Montana.

 

[fifteenandoh]

I'm big on Underdogs... therefore I would enjoy seeing a 5 or 6 loss team in the Playoff... so long as its earned...

and really that is the crux of the matter..
the 4 teams now... they don't earn their position.
they are appointed their position

nobody earns a playoff spot..}

that's a good way to rig a system... is it not?

 

[nebcountry]

So Oklahoma beating Ohio State trumps Nebraska beating Ohio State and Penn State? Who else does Oklahoma beat that would be more impressive?

You're more than welcome to list out your own scenario timnsun. The OP is a longshot hypothetical that points to one of the weaknesses of the 4-team playoff. And before anyone wants to run with "weaknesses", there are strengths as well, but not the point of the OP.

There are a handful of teams that are viewed as the top teams (imo), and NU is not one of them. I don't know if OU fits in as one of the top teams, but they're a lot higher than we are. Maybe NU wins every game by 3 TD's, OU scrapes by, then NU is in. Maybe OU wins every game by 3 TD's, etc. Insert whichever teams you want, but that's not the point of the discussion.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

I'm big on Underdogs... therefore I would enjoy seeing a 5 or 6 loss team in the Playoff... so long as its earned...

and really that is the crux of the matter..
the 4 teams now... they don't earn their position.
they are appointed their position

nobody earns a playoff spot..}

that's a good way to rig a system... is it not?

So what constitutes earned in your world?

You want to compare it to the NFL but it really is no different. A team can lose to a division opponent 2 times and still finish ahead of them in the standings. Similar to the Ohio St/ Penn St deal. At the end of the year Ohio St was 11-1 and Penn St 10-2.

 

[fifteenandoh]

So what constitutes earned in your world?

You want to compare it to the NFL but it really is no different. A team can lose to a division opponent 2 times and still finish ahead of them in the standings. Similar to the Ohio St/ Penn St deal. At the end of the year Ohio St was 11-1 and Penn St 10-2.

in your mind... why was Penn State chosen over Ohio State for the Big Ten Conference Championship Game?

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

in your mind... why was Penn State chosen over Ohio State for the Big Ten Conference Championship Game?

That was based on conference only record. If you want to do that and disregard overall record, the Arizona Cardinals should have won the NFC west over Seattle. Both teams were 6-5-1 in conference and Arizona was 1-0-1 against Seattle. If you want to go just division Arizona was 4-1-1 to Seattle 3-2-1. Either way, Arizona had a better record.

But 10-5-1 in overall record beats 7-8-1 so Seattle wins.

 

[HuskerO]

time to have at least a 5 team Playoff with the 5 Conference Champions receiving automatic bids

I've always disliked this idea. If you're going to go with an x-number-of-team-playoff then it needs to be those top ranked teams, NOT an automatic bid as a conference champion. Otherwise the only thing that matters is winning your conference. The non-conference games would mean absolutely nothing and schools would start scheduling their non-conference games against all Group-5 schools or worse, FCS schools.

There are lots of examples, but take the 2013 season. If you had a 5-team playoff with the 5 Conference Champions receiving automatics bids, then you would have #3 ranked Alabama NOT make the playoffs because they lost to #2 Auburn in the SEC CCG. You would have #6 Baylor (who's non-conference schedule was Wofford, Buffalo and UL Monroe) be in the playoffs instead.

In 2012 you would have unranked Wisconsin representing the BIG-10 in a 5 team playoff with CC receiving automatic bids. I guess possibly ND would take the place of Wisconsin that year, but no way ND would ever go for that playoff model of; "ND can only make the playoffs if they are ranked higher than one of the Power 5 Conference Champions."