Q: Thoughts on the reported structure of the 4 team playoff? I personally like the idea of a selection committee but hate that being a conference champ is not a requirement. Really would like to see this expanded to 6 or 8 teams though. Hopefully this is just the start. Gotta crawl before you walk. Chris, CT
A: Yeah, there didn’t appear to be any big news coming out of there, at least not to me. We already knew there was going to be a playoff. Giving the majority of teams a chance to be among the group is the pressing issue and the reported structure didn’t speak to that at all – but that’s what everybody is waiting for. We could very well know the deal by the end of the month. I like the idea of the selection committee but it must be – about to use a word I’m despising by the second – “diverse” or have some diversity to it. In other words four SEC types can’t make up the committee. And I’d argue no SEC types should be on the committee. The conference gets preferential treatment as it is – but it’s earned it. It’s the best conference in the country, which could be its own problem if fairness comes into play here. Bottom line the SEC doesn’t need committee supporters. I like the conference champ being a requirement too. Big SEC commish Mike Slive doesn’t necessarily believe the conference champ should go, just the top four teams even though all the other conference big-wigs do like the conference champ in the mix. Of course that would mean only one SEC team is in the mix. That’s his problem. The polls would certainly slant toward SEC automatically, human and or computer. We’ll see. I think the fairest way to do this, if you’re going to change it up, is have at least six teams in contention at the end, four conference champions (put more emphasis on its importance and reward the champ) and two could be at-large bids; use the big bowl games as your playoff sites, open the title game to the highest bidder and roll on – until people start complaining about it all and the conference commissioners go back to the lab again in five years or so.
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7 Responses to Mailbag July 21: Thoughts On Reported Structure Of Four-Team Playoff?
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Hey Tanner Bama is good but they play the weakest non conference schedule year after year look it up?
I’m fine with this model, at least for now. College football and basketball are different where there is rarely the “Cinderella” story there is during March Madness. I’d rather see the best 4 teams, regardless of conference, fight it out for the championship. Last season I think we would have had something like LSU vs Stanford and Bama vs OK State so I wouldn’t argue with a format like that. The deserving teams would have been in the running. I would think this would make for some close, well played games moving forward rather than some of the stinkers and blow outs we get with the current bowl system. Obviously UConn and the Big East are completely out of the picture for now but at least this is a start to developing a real playoff system.
Why worry about them, they’ve been irrelevant for years now. I’d look for Bama again, maybe this year and the next.
Okay Tanner wink, wink, anybody in the SEC but the Tenn. Vols!
I’m just happy they are starting with a playoff period. It would be nice to include more teams but for now, it is what it is. And as far as the SEC, if they get 2 teams in mix for now, so be it. It is hard to argue that they don’t deserve it. They have more National Championships than all the other conferences combined so I guess they have a leg to stand on.
Also how in the world is the ACC considered one of the top five conferences when they sport a 2-13 BCS record since 1998. Big East is 7-7! Swoffard talks like his league is the straw that stirs the drink!
Bogus, SEC wins everybody else loses. Two SEC teams in top four every year. They don’t even have to play one top out of conference game to get there! It should be top eight teams then it would be fair.