If anyone knows the sweet spot for the size of a college sport’s playoff field, Ohio State AD Gene Smith is your guy.
“You’ll always have somebody left out. I was (chair) of the (NCAA basketball tournament) selection committee and we put in 68, and people wanted to talk about 69 and 70. The reality is, this works and we’ll keep tweaking it to get better.”
I keed, I keed. Seriously, is that not as perfect an example of a total lack of self-awareness as you could imagine?
And, again, Gene baby, you didn’t stop at 68 because it worked. You stopped because you couldn’t get the networks to pony up enough jack for the privilege of broadcasting a 96-team show.
So we’ll see how perfect four teams are in light of news like this.
My bet is Gene will be telling us how much better the eight-team tweak is soon enough.
Get The Picture 
I know injuries and so forth are part of the game, but I hope the powers that be realize that the more games they add, the more it’s just going to become a battle of attrition. OSU is down to their 3rd string QB. Oregon now missing 2 of their most explosive receivers (I know one wasn’t due to injury, but still attrition). If Bama had won, I’m not sure Collins or that MLB who got hurt would have been able to play in the next game. Add a 3rd or more playoff game, and you’re going to end up with a champion who isn’t the best team, but more likely just the luckiest team that had the least impactful injuries.
And I know they’re already playing more games at the lower level playoffs, but I would argue the game is less violent at those levels. Not because the kids play any less hard, but because Force = Mass x Acceleration. There’s no arguing that the kids at the FBS level, on average, are bigger and/or faster, leading to more violent collisions.
LikeLike
Eh, if there’s enough money in the pot, they can always shorten the regular season, or eliminate conference championship games. Or both, if the playoff field is big enough.
LikeLike
I agree conference championship games will be the first to go. By eliminating that game the odds of getting three teams into the playoff goes way up for the SEC.
LikeLike
The championship games are the ones I like the most. 😦
LikeLike
Amen, and Amen!
LikeLike
Actually, I don’t think the injury rates go up like you think. I saw a concussion study that stated that youth football has a similar concussion rate to high school football, despite the fact that high school kids are bigger and run faster.
Anyway, the folks who worry about injuries will always be overruled by those who worry about money.
LikeLike
I suspect Smith would talking out of the other side of his mouth if the Big 12 had a championship game and Ohio State hadn’t gotten into the four-team version.
LikeLike
This is just undeniable, and it was so close to happening. TCU deserved a spot, and was positioned for one, until they got hosed despite a 55 point win, on the road, against a conference opponent. Not saying Ohio shouldn’t be in a playoff because…….well, you all know I feel conference champs should get into every playoff. But it is so much BS that Urbie and Smith are playing this card. They would have been available for interviews to any media outlet, large or small, to cry and whine like little babies had Ohio not gotten a pass. While I admire Patterson and his associates for their restraint, they should be proposing how to fix this and not allow the lies from Urbie and Smith to get the stage. Four teams my arse, what a crock, and this season proved it. Would love to have had the whiney Ohio fan base on all the airwaves beating this drum to help get this fixed. TCU is being classy but are naïve because that conference will get screwed again because of their lack of 1)a championship game and 2) TV sets.
LikeLike
I wonder if there has been a corresponding drop in ads for the other 450 bowl games? For instance, did the ads for the non-playoff games go down as these ads went up.
LikeLike
I don’t think ESPN would keep buying new bowl games if it wasn’t a profitable business model.
LikeLike
The FCS has a 24 team playoff. A friend of mine’s son plays for Coastal Carolina who made it to the quarter finals this year. He said they were having serious issues with injuries by that last game.
LikeLike
Conversely, the outrageously overpriced tickets are tanking. Stadium is enormous, it’s played on a Monday, and is held in a location nowhere near either team. And fans already ponied up big to go to Pasadena or New Orleans, but carry on Gene.
LikeLike
Get ready because the CF national championship is about to become the Super Bowl 2.0. As popularity increases, the majority of the tix will soon be designated for corporate sponsors and the fans will be left out.
LikeLike
They couldn’t care less about attendance. The CFP is about TV ratings. If they have to, they will play the game in front of a green screen with CGI fans appearing on TV and fan noise pumped in on loudspeakers. Welcome to the new age.
LikeLike
I know it will never happen but….. 6.
6 you say? Yes give 1st round bye rounds to #1 and #2. 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5 in round 1.
Why? It keep viewers interested through the season as ranking matters, and yes controversy. Controversy creates, talk, talk creates PR, which generates viewers. It also encourages scheduling of out of conference game to create that resume for a top 2 ranking. Finally how often does the debate expand beyond 5 especially if the Big12 mans up to a championship game.
I don’t see championship games going away, they make money and sell tickets, which happen to go 100% to the conference.
4 or 6 is the only way I say to include everyone really deserving without devaluing the regular season any further. I have watched fewer games outside this SEC than I have in the past decade because who won the B1G mattered very little to the SEC playoff picture.
LikeLike
“devaluing the regular season any further”? If you didn’t see heightened interest this year you either weren’t listening or just not paying attention. This season had the broadest national interest level from fans that I have ever experienced and it still dealt a creul blow due to not being large enough, there is a sweet spot and 8 is it although six would be large enough if it didn’t require the byes.
A move to six, or eight will also increase the interest in the regular season, by a great deal. Finally, something to play for on the field that cannot be take away by subjective voting. More teams will be rising and falling on performance on the field, both their efforts and that of others. I will agree if the field gets to a number like 16 that it has gone too far and it does devalue the regular season because it isn’t elite enough. Allowing only six percent of the field in is a very tough standard too meet, and you don’t have to screw someone over that worked their butts off and achieved a high status.
LikeLike
So you’re saying that if the playoff goes beyond eight, national interest will begin to decline?
LikeLike
No, as with bloated playoffs in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, etc. the more teams you keep alive will allow more fan bases to have hope of making it. My comment was that after eight, those of you who have clung to the “devaluing the season’ meme become credible because it would not only cheapen the regular season games by them becoming less precious, it would most likely lead to shortening the regular season for all fans just to get another 4-8 teams in because of the time to get extra rounds in.
One of the reasons I have always been confident that “eight is enough” is because there is a logistical issue/cap with large fan bases that doesn’t exist, or matter much, with FCS schools. I feel there has to be a minimum of two weeks between games played in each round and another two weeks just doesn’t work without a major disruption in length of the season which impacts every school’s finances. It would never get the votes as there just isn’t going to be that much impassioned screaming about people that don’t make the top eight. It doesn’t matter so much with FCS schools, they rarely have more than 1000 hardcore fans that want to travel to all games.
LikeLike
Giving a team a bye is a huge, huge, huge advantage. Especially when your’e talking playing elite teams for two or three games in a row. The whole argument of late season attrition points to the unfairness of that. The number of teams has to be evenly divisable by four or it won’t work.
LikeLike
It seems to me playoff(s) make the regular season MORE valuable as every win or loss has an impact on making the final field.
Much as it pains me, the ESPN-driven weekly playoff shows actually seem to heighten the pressure during the season.
My God, its only a freshman.
LikeLike
You have it backwards. If the playoff consists of two teams, a single loss could knock a team out of contention. If the playoff consists of four teams, it would take two losses. With eight teams, it would take three losses.
So, more teams means more margin for error. And that means that those losses become less important.
LikeLike
I think the NCAA will keep it at 4 for as long as they can. Why? Because they are too dumb to figure how and where to play the other games – neutral site vs home stadium for higher seed? Also, the 8 team playoff significantly impacts the conference championship games. Right now, the Big 12 is trying to figure out if they need to petition the NCAA so they can have a championship game (while still only having 10 in the conference). If you keep a 12 game regular season then have a conf. championship then have the potential for 2 other games, you are looking at 16 total games for the 2 teams playing the CF championship. I think we sports fans over-simplify it not realizing there are lots of layers to this. Sometimes, more may not be better.
LikeLike
You give the NCAA too much credit. I doubt its smart enough to realize how dumb it is.
LikeLike
Suppose every team finished it’s conference schedule in10 games..and then game 11 was scheduled against whoever…If you’re in the top eight, you re-schedule to play game 11 against another top 8 (8 vs 1, 7 vs 2, etc).
The teams that got stood-up by the re-scheduling would play each other with expenses paid for by the NCAA…If it was a cupcake that was going to get it’s expected big paycheck in, say, Tuscalosa, then Bama has to pay them the difference of what is and what would have been.
This winnows the field down to 4 without playing an extra game, but satisfies those that want 8. The same scenario would work with 16.
I’m sure there are huge holes in this as I put very little thought into it..
LikeLike
I like the idea of the 11-game schedule, hell I’m old enuf to remember when UGA played 10 reg cson games, and none of them were against 1-AA teams. Those were meaningful regular seasons.
Best scenario would be shorter reg season, keep the conference championships, start the 8-game playoff 2 weeks after conference championship games so the Natl Champ game comes New Year’s weekend.
LikeLike
Sounds like a plan to me. I like it.
LikeLike
Rob Sale new OL coach. from Mcneese St with Bama ties.
LikeLike