Idiots... Just because I love the college game, doesn't mean I endorse the retarded system they use to choose a mythical champion. idiots... :evil:
I don't have a problem with it. If nothing is done, the popularity of college football will not be affected one iota. The only frustration is in the minds of those who crave a playoff. I see the B10 and P10 commissioners and the college presidents as the voices of restraint, maintaining balance in college football in the face of a want-it-now society spoiled by the finality of results in other collegiate sports. College football is not like the other sports, but the playoff proponents and the talking heads don't get that and apparently never will. I'm sure we will see intense lobbying by the self-interested TV networks and their on-camera lackeys when the bidding for the BCS bowl package opens up, whenever that is. It would be a shame if they got their way, but I don't think it will happen.
I am inclined to agree with Sid's comments. It is all about money now and not about the betterment of college football. There seems to be no way that the BCS will ever satisfy fans who want a playoff system. Don
You are correct. I am a fan that wants the playoff, and the BCS will never make me happy. I simply want the championship decided on the field as it is done in EVERY OTHER DIVISION of football. What that has to do with "want it now" I'll leave for Sid to explain. It certainly doesn't describe my personality. (Hell I waited 25 years to have a competitive basketball team!)
Scott, I agree with you. As far as wanting it now? I am willing to wait until later into every January to decide a real national champion rather than get a mythical one in early January. BCS football is the only college sport of any level not to have a playoff. The only one!
Scott, When I say "want-it-now" I am not indicting individuals. I'm describing a general societal mindset that has evolved over many years to where society in general is today. Heck, I'm part of that mindset in some areas of my life. All I'm saying is that the desire for finality and elimination of doubt via a playoff fits that mindset. It's just one man's opinion. Nothing personal.
No offense taken... (I didn't think it was a shot at me, but did want to hear what you meant, thanks!) I have to say in this case I don't see a negative to wanting finality/removal of doubt. What's the good of competition if you put in all the work, only to be denied a chance at a championship because of opinions? (13-0 Auburn) I realize there will always be some dissent even with a playoff, but arguing over who is the 8/9 best instead of the 2/3 best team is a world of difference. Your odds of getting the best are exponentially higher with a playoff... JMHO. 8)
My favorite scenario is a "plus one" NC game. I like the bowls and the polls and I like the way the regular season plays out as a crucial playoff itself. I would hate to see late regular season games become almost meaningless when a good team knows all it has to do is perform well in Dec. and Jan. to make it really count for the NC. Heck...I think you would see coaches in pre-playoff games resting "injured" starters at the end of the season, etc. Who wants that?
Scott, You make a solid argument, and that line of thinking may eventually win the day. I think my position, which at times has leaned toward some form of playoff but always seems to come back to where I am now, boils down to my age and the feeling that college football is OK without a playoff. Another factor for me is that it grates me when the talking heads start ranting about it, which makes me not want a playoff just because they do. I know that's not mature thinking, but for better or worse it's part of who I am. :?
I know I've been involved in this conversation many times before but it really bothers me how closed-minded the BCS conference commissioners are to a playoff. I tend to side with the anti-playoff crowd more than with the pro-playoff crowd but I think the commissioners should, at the very least, seriously consider a playoff's benefits. I prefer that the regular season means something and I think that the fact it does mean something is what makes college football so special. If you don't play perfect every week, you risk being left out. I love that do or die mentality that teams have to have every single week of the season. However, I always go back to a "plus-one" scenario in which another BCS poll would be released at the end of the bowl season and the two teams at the top would then play each other. That's NOT a playoff and it doesn't take away from the bowls or the regular season but it gives us, the fans, a shot at seeing an additional great ballgame and gets us closer to having a "true" national champion. Obviously the BCS poll isn't released after the bowl season currently and it would have to be tweaked to ensure that a rematch of the two teams that just played didn't occur but let's take a hypothetical look at the possible matchups we could have seen the last few seasons using this model. Since there is no BCS, I'll use the AP poll as a guide as I think it is a bit more accurate than the coaches' poll that is actually employed by the BCS. 2007: LSU vs. Georgia in a game that many wanted to see for the SEC championship game. 2006: Florida vs. LSU. This would be a case were the BCS formula would have to be tweaked a bit as the final AP poll had Ohio St. ranked 2 and you wouldn't want a rematch. 2005: Texas vs. Penn St. Once again, the team Texas beat finished #2, USC. I think everyone would agree though that this was a year were the BCS definitely got it right. 2004: USC vs. Auburn. I bet Auburn would have liked this result. 2003: USC vs. LSU. This is another one that would have been a game for the ages. One simple solution to the problem of the possibility of the BCS spitting out a rematch would be to have the bowl games go back to their traditional conference alignments. It's unlikely in that scenario that there would be a rematch. Another possibility, and one, I've mentioned before would be to seed the teams and then place them in the BCS bowl games accordingly. Chances are that that would be too much like a playoff for the commissioners. Of course, the BCS could be easily tweaked to heavily penalize a team for a bowl game loss. That would be a simple solution as well. It seems to me that the BCS commissioners could come to a compromise and a very good solution to this problem.
I've heard it before, but I fail to see how an 8 team playoff (for example)dilutes the regular season??? It would simply expand the field from 2 to 8 which would almost guaranty you get the 2 best. They would still have to go through the season with nary a slip to be in that grouping. No way you get teams taking a Saturday off because they have 6 more slots to gun for! :roll:
MCG, Room for error for who? There is a lot of room for error for the BCS bozos if you have 2 slots open and 3 undefeateds or you have 2 slots open and you have 1 undefeated and 5 one loss teams. I'll say it again the BCS is the only NCAA sport without a playoff. If this is such a bad idea, why do they do it for every other level of football and every other sport? :?