My, what a fine anti-playoff screed John U. Bacon delivers here. (Although I can’t figure out what Mark Emmert has to do with the CFP.) Actually, it’s more of an anti-college football management screed, when you get down to it.
First, they quadrupled the number of bowl games, from 11 to 41, which require 82 teams to fill them. Now just about any team with a winning record gets to go.
Then they tacked on a twelfth regular season game, when schools play “tomato cans” like McNeese State, Norfolk State and Bethune-Cookman, all just to grab another payday.
Then they piled on conference title games, too, increasing the total games a team can play from 11 to 14 — just two shy of an NFL season.
But we need a playoff now, they told us, to determine who’s best on the field. How? Instead of picking two teams based on polls, strength of schedule and computerized rankings, now they pick four teams — based on polls, strength of schedule and computerized rankings. Problem solved. Instead of the third-ranked team complaining that it got screwed, now the fifth-place team does all the whining. Another problem solved.
Remember, it’s all for us fans. Just ask Bill Hancock.
Get The Picture 
Whine, whine, whine. If you don’t like CFB, there is always cricket, soccer, or even the remote’s off button. Never understand the fan who wants less CFB. Me? I don’tr understand why there isn’t competition during the Spring, seems like a waste.
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Thanks for missing the point completely, Mac. But you keep on believing that the people running the sport see things the exact same way you do. It’s kind of quaint.
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Don’t think I missed it, just don’t get folks with your take. Is money involved? Yes. Why is money involved? Because we, the fans, love more CFB. Chicken or the egg? And your cynical take is as off base to me as you seem to think mine is. Isn’t necessary for us to agree. “Quaint” isn’t the only adjective either of us use to describe the other’s position at times, I am sure..
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Money is involved? LOL.
Money is everything. It trumps the bowls, the BCS and the perfection you perceive in an eight-team playoff.
If we the fans love college football so much, why is there so much concern about making sure we attend games?
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Mix a few apples with some oranges, cut some bananas and we can have a full fruit cocktail. No one denies money carries the majority of the weight, but it is hardly “everything”. The root driver of money is the passion from the fans, the majority of which do not care about attending the games in person. Attendance is falling, and I feel this will continue. More, and better, games will increase the dollars, and the interest will grow. Whether we agree on 2, 4, or 8 teams is irrelevant. The game has survived 0, 2, and now 4; I believe it will grow with eight, you don’t. That doesn’t matter, just a ripple in the sea, but we both agree there is a point that expansion will weaken the game (we are just one round off.)
But this goes beyond the tired playoff argument, Bacon takes it to the 12th game of the regular season, the conference champioship games, and expansion of bowls. Not sure I understand a fan who feels that is bad. Can it be done better? Sure, but we are better off for it, imo.
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Are you sure you’re not an ESPN executive? UGA vs. McNeese State? At least it’s content! The fans will continue to open their wallets indefinitely!
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There’s concern about making sure we attend games? Dam’f I’ve noticed any of that, especially at Sanford.
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The presidents, coaches and conferences love the bowls. They love the idea of ESPN paying for an ersatz playoff. Faced with a choice between the two they elected both. That is why we have a playoff selection outsourced to a group that includes people with a financial stake in which conference places teams in the playoffs and people such as Condi Rice and 4 week delay before the first game.
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They’re all whores. If you look at ever decision they make through that prism, it all makes sense. If you’re not willing to accept their whoredom, then it will never make sense.
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100% agree. You hit the nail on the head.
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“Instead of the third-ranked team complaining that it got screwed, now the fifth-place team does all the whining. Another problem solved.”
The NCAA/CFP is what it is, and for the most part I hate them, but how is the above statement not an obvious plus? Say what you want about the diminishing regular season or the fear of over expansion. 4>2 and not just numerically speaking IMO. If they ever wise up and move the first round games off of NYE then I believe the ratings will boom. Here’s to hoping the ratings are bad again this year so their hand is forced.
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Because it’s not going to stop there. Lather, rinse and repeat.
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If it gets passed 8 come talk to me, but as for now I’m just enjoying the ride even if it fouls up my NYE plans.
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You asked a question. I answered it. Our perspectives are different. If you don’t care, don’t ask the question to begin with.
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Who said I didn’t care? Did you miss your coffee this morning or something? Geez dude.
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“If it gets passed 8 come talk to me” sounds like a dismissal to me.
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If we get passed 8 I’ll be with you, but I choose to enjoy the current improvement rather than stress about future over-expansion that may or mat not ever happen. Is that better?
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You can enjoy it. But it’s naive to think that the playoff committee, conferences, and bowl games aren’t going to try to maximize revenue. Based on their past actions, which is the best predictor of future results, that means playoff expansion. And when it gets beyond 8 teams, it will be too late.
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Yeah, I’ve heard it 1000 times at this point. Not anything I’m gonna waste time worrying about. If it happens it happens. For me 64 team playoff is preferable to the BCS so I’ll live either way. I realize it’s a doomsday scenario for many of you. You have my sympathies. #NoSnark
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Fair enough. I suppose it pays to be sanguine. But a 64 team playoff would fundamentally transform the sport. At that point, it ceases to be college football and becomes the a postseason extravaganza with a seeding exercise held before it. And then the games against Florida, Auburn, and Tech really don’t matter much. And to some, they don’t care if it comes to that. But for many of us, that’s the point where we stop caring about the sport entirely.
Yes, for folks like Mac, turning college football into a bracket seeding exercise in January is a feature, not a bug. For most of us, we’ll be mildly interested, but stop attending and/or watching games from September through December. Like we already do with college basketball.
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I was being hyperbolic, it ain’t gettin to 64 bc no tv network is going to pick up that tab. They wouldn’t get near enough ROI in the first couple of rounds, plus it would be a logistical nightmare to schedule. Worst case scenario is 16 IMO. It’s too many, but I can deal. Still better than the BCS IMO. If we’re worried ab the significance of rivalry games just play them earlier. Still not ideal, but at least they would still matter.
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NPR commentary brought to you by Pete’s Schweddy meatballs. Good times.
BTW, Kirk Bohls of the Austin American Statesman agrees with you with this article about potential impact of players skipping bowl games: http://www.mystatesman.com/sports/bohls-bowls-will-suffer-from-the-mccaffrey-effect-fournette-syndrome/zdHoIE6Vc6vceLZjfn9dUK/
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“Instead of picking two teams based on polls, strength of schedule and computerized rankings, now they pick four teams — based on polls, strength of schedule and computerized rankings.”
Those four teams are picked entirely at the whims of the selection committee members. Polls, strength of schedule, and computerized rankings are irrelevant. If there’s a good business case to ignore any metric, they certainly will. Just look at the importance of winning your conference. Three years in and they’re already backpedaling that one.
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He missed the bat-crap crazy rounds of conference expansion when discussing major recent money-induced changes to CFB. When do we play Texas A&M? 2074?
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Bah. A guy that doesn’t know ‘tomato cans’ from ‘cupcakes’ can’t be trusted to know what he’s talking about. 😉
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I like the really old system…wherein Alabama plays the OSU in the Sugar Bowl and if they win they are the only undefeated team (Nat’l Champ)and if not than Clem’s son ,the Wash Dawgs or OH just argue in the off season. There was not a damn thing wrong with the argument about who was number 1 continuing in the off season.I personally love the year that Colorado won the National Championship and Tech came in second….that’s my story and I’m stickin with it. This year is proof playoff football should be the play thing of the No Fun League. The Tide is the best team in America and if they don’t take it all it will prove the system is screwy not that they are not the best team in College football.
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