College Football Is Stale and Boring

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

8 hours ago, Texas Jeff said:

Who knows?  Most schools play one decent school plus a slate of creme puffs.

At least when conference champions battle it out for a championship, you can argue that it's a "national" championship.

You may not like the SEC but they're in conference slate is stronger than most other conferences.  Those were the best overall teams rematch or not.  Alabama is a pro team in waiting.

[Murfdogg21 4412]

I don’t agree that NIL will cause parity or level the playing field, unless we are only looking through burnt orange glasses. Bag men, especially in the South, has been a thing forever but it really wasn’t until the Saban era that SEC got anointed as junior NFL by ESPN and talking heads, and we got 15 years of Bama and sporadic highs by Georgia, LSU, Auburn, and Florida. Saban will eventually die or retire, and maybe ESPN will realize they shouldn’t inadvertently squash the other conferences. NIL will be great for programs with unlimited donor and sponsor money, like Texas. It won’t be great for the bottom 2/3 of most conferences. College football was fun with underdogs pulling upsets on the reg, and never knowing who a year’s Cinderella would be. The future could be a perpetual playoff of the blue bloods. 

[Huckleberry 32703]

2 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

You may not like the SEC but they're in conference slate is stronger than most other conferences.  Those were the best overall teams rematch or not.  Alabama is a pro team in waiting.

Georgia's certainly was not. This is another issue where people think the SEC East is as tough as the SEC West just because they're both in the SEC. Georgia's conference schedule (pre SEC Championship game) was absolutely weaker than any Big 12 team's.

[Bill Lumbergh 7170]

Who knows?  Most schools play one decent school plus a slate of creme puffs.
At least when conference champions battle it out for a championship, you can argue that it's a "national" championship.

The playoff gets a lot of hate, but this is why I like it.

You can absolutely argue it was a true national championship, because two other teams who looked really damn good all year in other conferences got their chance, and Bama and Georgia crushed both of them.

I hated the sec rematch during the bcs era when it was obvious polling favored the sec and it felt like too much built in bias where other teams/conferences weren't given the chance to compete.

Michigan and Cinci had solid seasons, won conferences, and both were demolished by the two teams who made the final. I don't understand how you can say they didn't both deserve to be in the game after that showing.

I don't like what the playoffs have done to the bowls as they currently exist, but that doesn't mean that the bcs + bowls model was better. Make the bowls part of the playoffs, and players will stop opting out and fans will start caring about bowls again.

The 4 team playoff does kind of suck because it only gets you about 1/3 of where you should be with playoffs and it still does damage to the existing system. So just expand, and cfb postseason will be exciting again.

Of course, this was all in motion to happen more quickly before aggy threw a fucking temper tantrum and set things back, but we'll get there again.

[boilerhorn 1335]

Agree with @Murfdogg21 that NIL will not bring parity.  It will enable teams meeting the following criteria to enter the arms race:

• huge alumni base
• wealthy alumni base - with money "sitting on the sidelines"
• administrations willing to follow/enforce the rules

In general, NIL benefits Texas, Notre Dame, Michigan - and there may be others.  To a lesser extent, it benefits Oregon and USC; they've violated the spirit and the letter of the law for some time, but have enough resources to accelerate their payment game.

The reason UGA and Bama want NIL to be constrained and/or managed is that they realize their alumni bases do not have infinite funds - and the proud donor base has already been paying.

We are in the early days of NIL and the largest funds are coming from money that has been sitting on the sidelines.  At what point do donors start to assess the ROI of these investments?  At what point does NIL impact a donor's willingness to fund football/athletics operations?  Capital projects and coach salaries could be impacted.

What could blow up NIL and college football as we know it?  Bezos dropping $1B to make Princeton a D1 power or Musk dropping the same at Penn.  Because they are in the Ivy league, it is unlikely.  However, what if Jerry Jones, Rob Walton, and Jim Walton decided to endow the Arkansas football program?  In total, they are worth $130B (Jerry's the poor one at $10B net worth).  Again, it is unlikely, but Jerry might be willing to do it for his ego.

@WBT said, "It's almost like ESPN's drive to make college football a regional sport (in a low population, low income region at that) is bad for business."  

When you look at the present outcome, that model is mind-boggling.  I think they were following the NASCAR model.  Also regional and in similar regions, (at one time) fans spent more of their disposable income on NASCAR than any other sport.  However, NASCAR has parity.

[Nivek 16860]

Wrestlers don't get breaks after every move.

Neither does a racecar driver.   
 

Are you serious comparing football to MMA or wrestling for intensity?
And I think boxers/MMA do have it easier per minute as they can separate and effectively take it easy, but they do have longer bouts.

You brought up wrestling.   I think wrestlers have it easier.   It is not like anyone is watching/cares and there is no money on the line.    Pretty stress free.  Unless you get some ass to face action.   Westling is easier on the body as well.   No one is trying to break their ribs, bruise their internal organs or knock them unconscious.   

 

[DaysOff 7853]

On 1/11/2022 at 12:50 PM, shadow_operative said:

i lost interest in watching college football after i really got into watching soccer, and it's for a pretty simple and obvious reason.

watching soccer: 45 minutes of action, 15 minute half time, 45 minutes of action, game over.

watching college football: 4 1/2 hours of start, stop, flag, review, commercial, coach's challenge, commercial, score, commercial, kickoff, commercial, flag, commercial, punt, commercial, flags, reviews, commercials, etc.

watching college football is like punishment compared to watching most other sports. drives me fucking nuts.

 

Derka has a point. Even baseball is taking 4 hours. When I was a kid, Astros games started at 7:35 and were over by 10. Every game was still televised. What the fuck has happened to sports. I'm getting too old to waste that much time.

[Nivek 16860]

59 minutes ago, Murfdogg21 said:

I don’t agree that NIL will cause parity or level the playing field, unless we are only looking through burnt orange glasses. Bag men, especially in the South, has been a thing forever but it really wasn’t until the Saban era that SEC got anointed as junior NFL by ESPN and talking heads, and we got 15 years of Bama and sporadic highs by Georgia, LSU, Auburn, and Florida. Saban will eventually die or retire, and maybe ESPN will realize they shouldn’t inadvertently squash the other conferences. NIL will be great for programs with unlimited donor and sponsor money, like Texas. It won’t be great for the bottom 2/3 of most conferences. College football was fun with underdogs pulling upsets on the reg, and never knowing who a year’s Cinderella would be. The future could be a perpetual playoff of the blue bloods. 

The end of prohibition pretty much ended the illegal alcohol trade and put rum runners out of business.  There is no incentive to be a bagman when you can do it legally and out in the open.  There is more incentive to do it in the open, as it says 'hey come to Texas and get your $150k/yr just to be an o-lineman starting!"    NIL will help some schools more than others.  Especially those whose athletic departments are reliant on support from the school.    

Edited January 13, 2022 by Nivek

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

43 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

Georgia's certainly was not. This is another issue where people think the SEC East is as tough as the SEC West just because they're both in the SEC. Georgia's conference schedule (pre SEC Championship game) was absolutely weaker than any Big 12 team's.

Fair enough, how do you think Georgia would’ve done against big 12 teams ?

[Had Enough 2057]

Make the bowls part of the playoffs………bowls.

This line of thinking needs to go. Bowls are historically an event that ends in a game for both players and fans. What makes many of them just a bit better is the history and tradition. Some of that’s gone as we moved out of the Cotton Bowl or changed the matchups.

To have one team play in 3 “bowls” in one season really no longer makes them bowls. Referring to Alabama playing in the R+L New Orleans Bowl vs Oregon is kinda pointless.

Just use the locations and be done with it.

[Bill Lumbergh 7170]

This line of thinking needs to go. Bowls are historically an event that ends in a game for both players and fans. What makes many of them just a bit better is the history and tradition. Some of that’s gone as we moved out of the Cotton Bowl or changed the matchups.

To have one team play in 3 “bowls” in one season really no longer makes them bowls. Referring to Alabama playing in the R+L New Orleans Bowl vs Oregon is kinda pointless.

Just use the locations and be done with it.

That's kind of what I mean.

The bowls as a tradition are already done. Opt outs prove that. Players and fans don't care in the same way, and there's no coming back from that.

If your want to continue to have those venues as an important part of cfb postseason, they need to be part of the playoffs. That's all I'm saying. The bowls as they exist now have the same importance as the pro bowl, imo. Meaningless exhibitions often without the best players, which means you don't really get the cross conference comparisons you used to get in bowl season.

[Nivek 16860]

Fair enough, how do you think Georgia would’ve done against big 12 teams ?

Loss at Kansas. But seriously the whole “how do you think “ breaks down when there is some parity. When I was in Knoxville, nearly everyone there “knew”Texas was going to lose badly to USC. They kept telling me how we were overrated and had no shot. Reggie Bush. I recall a few of them even laughing at me a week before the game.

[Huckleberry 32703]

43 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Fair enough, how do you think Georgia would’ve done against big 12 teams ?

They'd have done fine but they may have struggled against defensive-oriented teams. My point wasn't that Georgia would have definitely lost in the Big 12, although they definitely would have been more likely to lose during a Big 12 schedule. My point was about how you repeated the fallacy that SEC team = tough conference schedule. That's just false.

[Nivek 16860]

The playoff gets a lot of hate, but this is why I like it.

You can absolutely argue it was a true national championship, because two other teams who looked really damn good all year in other conferences got their chance, and Bama and Georgia crushed both of them.

I hated the sec rematch during the bcs era when it was obvious polling favored the sec and it felt like too much built in bias where other teams/conferences weren't given the chance to compete.

Michigan and Cinci had solid seasons, won conferences, and both were demolished by the two teams who made the final. I don't understand how you can say they didn't both deserve to be in the game after that showing.

I don't like what the playoffs have done to the bowls as they currently exist, but that doesn't mean that the bcs + bowls model was better. Make the bowls part of the playoffs, and players will stop opting out and fans will start caring about bowls again.

The 4 team playoff does kind of suck because it only gets you about 1/3 of where you should be with playoffs and it still does damage to the existing system. So just expand, and cfb postseason will be exciting again.

Of course, this was all in motion to happen more quickly before aggy threw a fucking temper tantrum and set things back, but we'll get there again.

Georgia had its shot and lost by 17.

Baylor should have been there. Why does Georgia deserve a mulligan when they have charleston state on their schedule?

[Had Enough 2057]

That's kind of what I mean.

The bowls as a tradition are already done. Opt outs prove that. Players and fans don't care in the same way, and there's no coming back from that.

If your want to continue to have those venues as an important part of cfb postseason, they need to be part of the playoffs. That's all I'm saying. The bowls as they exist now have the same importance as the pro bowl, imo. Meaningless exhibitions often without the best players, which means you don't really get the cross conference comparisons you used to get in bowl season.

Damnit Bill just kick me while I’m down. I want to hold on to tradition as long as I can. It’ll be interesting to see where it all goes, but it won’t be better for me and my tastes. But yeah things have turned and aren’t coming back.

If and when playoffs are expanded, and I know it’s when, there’s no point in being concerned about sites in relation to Bowl sites. Some can’t accommodate anyway. I mean hell the championship was just in Indy. Traditionally, you don’t play that game in the Lucas Oil Bowl.

And shit like that does affect me cause I attend games and some Bowl games. Having to fight avenues to obtain tickets and travel plans all adds up. And that’s as a season ticket holder. College football is a fans game. It’ll be interesting to see if some ticket holders get priced out. Season tickets or 3 rounds of playoff tickets?

[gernblansten 3188]

1 minute ago, Nivek said:

Georgia had its shot and lost by 17.

Baylor should have been there. Why does Georgia deserve a mulligan when they have charleston state on their schedule?

Sort of this.  Conference championships should mean something, and for them to mean something, you need AQ for expanded playoffs.  Or, only conference champions get in the playoff.  The handwringing that would have happened because UGA wouldn't be in a playoff because they lost the SEC title game doesn't bother me.  I'm aware CFB is hard to compare to other sports because there are 130 teams playing very different schedules, but the reality is there are only a very limited number of teams that have premium talent rosters. 

The Yankees won the World Series in 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953.  But 1954 the Yankees didn't make the World Series despite winning 103 games because Cleveland won 111 that year.  Cleveland got swept by the 97 win Giants in the Series.  One could argue the Yankees were the best team, but they weren't the most deserving.  Maybe the Yankees should have won 112 games that year and they wouldn't have sat home.  11 win NFL team might miss the playoffs while an 8 win team gets in because divisions are different, and that's okay. 

Sorry 12-1 UGA, you stay home while 10-3 Utah goes to the playoff. I imagine UGA is better than Utah, but Utah actually won their conference game when they HAD to get a win.  The SEC championship game didn't matter to UGA because they were in even with a loss.  The 2017 Big 10 championship didn't matter either.  tOSU won it to finish 10-2 Big 10 champs but they missed the playoff in favor of 11-1 Bama that didn't win their division. Why?  Because tOSU had the stones to play an OOC game with OU and came up short.  Play strong OOC and win you conference and you get to stay home while non-division winner goes to the playoff.  Some moron will say "well Bama won the playoff because they're the best team so they should've been there."  Maybe tOSU would have won it if they were in. Maybe Bama should've beaten flipping Auburn if they wanted to be in the playoff.  CFB is a dumb, dumb sport these days. 

[Guest]

Was in 2007 when there were all the upsets constantly? Man that was a fun year.

[Bill Lumbergh 7170]

Georgia had its shot and lost by 17.

Baylor should have been there. Why does Georgia deserve a mulligan when they have charleston state on their schedule?

This is why I'm in favor of expansion, but at least Georgia and Bama had to beat some damn good teams to get there. That's improvement from the bcs model.

I'd like to know how Baylor would've looked against Bama, but you could also argue they lost their chance by losing two games in season, one of which was in November to a not great TCU team.

Too many teams will have imperfect seasons to make a 4 team model work. Expansion will allow a non conf champion Georgia vs conference champion Baylor with bad in-season losses be settled on the field. Until then, I'm happier with this model vs bcs. At least the final two aren't anointed by polls by people who aren't watching the games and computers.

[Sandman 3402]

2 hours ago, Nivek said:

Georgia had its shot and lost by 17.

Baylor should have been there. Why does Georgia deserve a mulligan when they have charleston state on their schedule?

I would argue that Baylor shouldn't get a shot either. They lost to OSU, who won the conference season by a game over Baylor. No need for that stupid rematch.

[nnm 36101]

On 1/11/2022 at 1:49 PM, immamac said:

Buncha broken brain ass mother fuckers in this thread. 

 

On 1/11/2022 at 2:10 PM, nnm said:

New surly motto?

Nice, @immamac

[Nivek 16860]

19 minutes ago, Sandman said:

I would argue that Baylor shouldn't get a shot either. They lost to OSU, who won the conference season by a game over Baylor. No need for that stupid rematch.

B12  Stupid rules are different from CFP Committee Stupid rules.  

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

25 minutes ago, Bill Lumbergh said:

This is why I'm in favor of expansion, but at least Georgia and Bama had to beat some damn good teams to get there. That's improvement from the bcs model.

I'd like to know how Baylor would've looked against Bama, but you could also argue they lost their chance by losing two games in season, one of which was in November to a not great TCU team.

Too many teams will have imperfect seasons to make a 4 team model work. Expansion will allow a non conf champion Georgia vs conference champion Baylor with bad in-season losses be settled on the field. Until then, I'm happier with this model vs bcs. At least the final two aren't anointed by polls by people who aren't watching the games and computers.

The best 2 teams were there in IMO. I'd prefer an expanded play-off system which would dilute the SEC vs SEC NC games in the future.

[Bill Lumbergh 7170]

Damnit Bill just kick me while I’m down. I want to hold on to tradition as long as I can. It’ll be interesting to see where it all goes, but it won’t be better for me and my tastes. But yeah things have turned and aren’t coming back.

If and when playoffs are expanded, and I know it’s when, there’s no point in being concerned about sites in relation to Bowl sites. Some can’t accommodate anyway. I mean hell the championship was just in Indy. Traditionally, you don’t play that game in the Lucas Oil Bowl.

And shit like that does affect me cause I attend games and some Bowl games. Having to fight avenues to obtain tickets and travel plans all adds up. And that’s as a season ticket holder. College football is a fans game. It’ll be interesting to see if some ticket holders get priced out. Season tickets or 3 rounds of playoff tickets?

I'll always be nostalgic for the old bowls for sure. When I think about our Rose Bowl vs UM or Fiesta Bowl vs OSU, I'm sad that my kids will never experience bowls in that way. But it was honestly the proliferation of bowls that watered down the meaning first, and then the playoffs and opt outs killed what they once were.

At this point I feel like we can either have a bowl system with a highly contested national champion (most years, not every year can be as clear as 05), or a good playoff system that can't coexist with the tradition/importance of bowl games.

In nearly every sport, the goal is to arrive at one champion in the most objective way possible. As much as I'll miss the old bowls, I'd still pick the path that crowns a champion based on beating as many contenders as possible. That's the expanded playoff.

['stache 21774]

1 hour ago, Sandman said:

I would argue that Baylor shouldn't get a shot either. They lost to OSU, who won the conference season by a game over Baylor. No need for that stupid rematch.

I think a postseason rematch of a game from the regular season is fine. Most league's have this. My problem is a post-season rematch. CCG are post-season just like the playoff. I'm not aware of any other league where this happens. Maybe soccer because I know nothing about soccer.

[Sandman 3402]

18 minutes ago, 'stache said:

I think a postseason rematch of a game from the regular season is fine. Most league's have this. My problem is a post-season rematch. CCG are post-season just like the playoff. I'm not aware of any other league where this happens. Maybe soccer because I know nothing about soccer.

The reason I disagree is that it was a round robin, everyone played everyone. We all played the same schedule and OSU won by a game. There's no "what if?" , like 2007 when Kansas went 11-1 but lost to Mizzou and didn't get to play for the B12 title. 

[956 Worldwide 34444]

Man, if you’re doubling down on a two loss Baylor team belonging in the playoff over the team that won the national championship, just reassess and take a breath.

Baylor was a good, really well coached team. Aranda is a hell of a coach.  Baylor had a great season but the bottom line is they aren’t even a particularly special two loss team, they are about as good as number of two loss teams every year. None of whom have ever gotten to go to the CFP. 

Georgia would have stuffed them in a locker.  The two best teams played for the NC, it’s patently obvious.  Your issue is not that the wrong teams played for the NC. Your issue is that you don’t like which two teams were the best. 

[Nivek 16860]

37 minutes ago, 'stache said:

I think a postseason rematch of a game from the regular season is fine. Most league's have this. My problem is a post-season rematch. CCG are post-season just like the playoff. I'm not aware of any other league where this happens. Maybe soccer because I know nothing about soccer.

What if Bama plays Georgia and wins in the regular season.  Then Georgia gets hot and steam rolls the competition, then loses again in the conference championship game.  Do they deserve a spot in the CFP for a 3rd opportunity?  If they do get in and beat Bama is 1-2 record the same season an indication they are the best.  If the winner of the other conferences has 2 or 3 losses each does Georgia deserve another rematch?  

Should a team tank a regular season game, then win out in order to avoid the conference title game and get a free pass to the CFP?

[Disco Missile 456]

9 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

The two best teams played for the NC, it’s patently obvious.  Your issue is not that the wrong teams played for the NC. Your issue is that you don’t like which two teams were the best. 

I feel like that's it. This year the top 2 teams were as clearly the top 2 teams as it ever gets, and we saw a team win its first NC in 40 years. It was a great game and a great result. 

Asking for more mediocre opponents from mediocre conferences to be added into the mix just to make people feel better is....well I don't have a word to express the distaste but it feels like parents telling a coach to let their schlub of a kid play just because.

[chitown bevo 17]

10 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Man, if you’re doubling down on a two loss Baylor team belonging in the playoff over the team that won the national championship, just reassess and take a breath.

Baylor was a good, really well coached team. Aranda is a hell of a coach.  Baylor had a great season but the bottom line is they aren’t even a particularly special two loss team, they are about as good as number of two loss teams every year. None of whom have ever gotten to go to the CFP. 

Georgia would have stuffed them in a locker.  The two best teams played for the NC, it’s patently obvious.  Your issue is not that the wrong teams played for the NC. Your issue is that you don’t like which two teams were the best. 

I will admit I do not like watching a Bama/ga rematch. Best two teams....likely true. I cannot stand the process to get there. sick and tired of the eye test BS and people in a room choosing who will play instead of actual results on the field. would it have changed the outcome this season? probably not. In other years, for sure it would have changed things. the last thing I want is to expand to X number of teams just so a room full of tools in Grapevine can tell us why they chose XYZ this year and use a different reason then they did before, and this time have the option to stick 4 SEC teams in the playoff. Auto bids will limit the amount of teams the tools in board room can pick, this limits the power and bias factor.

[boilerhorn 1335]

If I were king (I will not be), it's an 8-team playoff with the following constraints:

• P5 conference winners are in
• 3 top ranked "other" teams are in.
• 2 teams per conference max

From that, we'd see

• 1: SEC: Bama
• 2: B1G: Michigan
• 3: Big12: Ok St
• 4: Pac: Utah
• 5: ACC: Pitt
• 6: At large 1: UGA
• 7: At large 2: Cincy
• 8: At Large 3: Notre Dame

You only augment the seedings to make sure that 2 teams from same conference do not meet in round 1.

IMO, the only reason for the 4 team playoff is to manage ire if/when BCS selects 2 teams from same conference.  Oh, and money.

[Nivek 16860]

If I were king (I will not be), it's an 8-team playoff with the following constraints:

• P5 conference winners are in
• 3 top ranked "other" teams are in.
• 2 teams per conference max

From that, we'd see

• 1: SEC: Bama
• 2: B1G: Michigan
• 3: Big12: Ok St
• 4: Pac: Utah
• 5: ACC: Pitt
• 6: At large 1: UGA
• 7: At large 2: Cincy
• 8: At Large 3: Notre Dame

You only augment the seedings to make sure that 2 teams from same conference do not meet in round 1.
IMO, the only reason for the 4 team playoff is to manage ire if/when BCS selects 2 teams from same conference.  Oh, and money.

2 teams from the same conference should absolutely meet in round one.

[Hagbard Celine 10763]

6 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Georgia would have stuffed them in a locker.

would have loved to have seen a baylor-georgia quarterfinal

and an okielite-bama quarterfinal

[Sawbonz 27436]

 

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1549]

this thread was triggered on 12/31/21 by the stale and boring Semis.  Problem this year was only 2 good teams, instead of 4 required to make Semis entertaining. The bowls were really good though.

CFP expansion won't solve the boring Final 4 until traditional powerhouses up their recruiting & retention game.

CFB has always sucked in the regular season with severe mismatches, but that gap has closed from the 1970s-80s period.  Still, don't be discouraged; when UT rises, we'll be back loving the sport. 

[markstanco 12509]

You may not like the SEC but they're in conference slate is stronger than most other conferences.  Those were the best overall teams rematch or not.  Alabama is a pro team in waiting.

Disagree. If you put 1 vs 1 and 2 vs 2 etc vs the big 12 or acc or b1g the top 2 or maybe 3 will beat the hell out of the top. But the middle and bottom will beat the hell out of the sec of the other 11 teams. It is a historically top heavy conference. They play 8 conference games with 4 dinks to get bowl eligible. 2-6 in conference? Bowl game.

Ironically aggy thinks they are really good going 8-4 every year because they are in the sec. 9-3? Contract extension.

[956 Worldwide 34444]

1 hour ago, markstanco said:

. They play 8 conference games with 4 dinks to get bowl eligible. 2-6 in conference? Bowl game.
 

This isn’t true.  The FCS games are eye rolling, but almost every year the top and most anticipated OOC games involve SEC teams.  The second best  thing to winning in the playoffs would be for an SEC contender to get knocked off a few times in one of these big showcase games, it would set the tone for the rest of the season with pollsters and perception.  That never happens though. 

[956 Worldwide 34444]

19 hours ago, Nivek said:

Georgia had its shot and lost by 17.

Baylor should have been there. Why does Georgia deserve a mulligan when they have charleston state on their schedule?

For fucks sake, Baylor played Texas Southern this season.  A 3-8 FCS SWAC school.

At least check your proposed alternate playoff participant’s  schedule before trotting out the FCS talking point. 

[956 Worldwide 34444]

16 hours ago, 'stache said:

I think a postseason rematch of a game from the regular season is fine. Most league's have this. My problem is a post-season rematch. CCG are post-season just like the playoff. I'm not aware of any other league where this happens. Maybe soccer because I know nothing about soccer.

It happened just this year in NCAA men’s soccer with Notre Dame and Pitt, who met in the ACC tourney then NCAA Elite 8.

It’s absolutely theoretically possible in NCAA basketball and NCAA baseball although I don’t care to run down examples.   It will be possible in almost any seeded NCAA tourney, including football. 

It doesn’t happen in the pros because those sports really only have two conferences that do their own playoffs until the title.  
 

The angst over SEC rematches is leading people into a weird place, like arguing that a playoff is better with a three loss PAC team and forgetting that two loss Baylor got one of its wins against a shit FCS team just like Georgia did. 

 

 

[mdmost 42865]

Well, I hope you guys like the 4 team playoff because the ACC just came out against expansion so we're looking at this same model until 2026 now. 

[Vertigo 20267]

27 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Well, I hope you guys like the 4 team playoff because the ACC just came out against expansion so we're looking at this same model until 2026 now. 

Mack and Dabo in the same conference is likely going to result in a stodgy old codger ACC commissioner on these types of matters. 

[Sir Ulrich 5187]

30 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Well, I hope you guys like the 4 team playoff because the ACC just came out against expansion so we're looking at this same model until 2026 now. 

I think this may just be a negotiation tactic. Their deal currently runs through 2036 but would their opposition to expansion change if ESPN ups their deal and helps entice ND to become permanent? 

[Nivek 16860]

For fucks sake, Baylor played Texas Southern this season.  A 3-8 FCS SWAC school.
At least check your proposed alternate playoff participant’s  schedule before trotting out the FCS talking point. 

Baylor, won their conference. Georgia didn’t. The FCS does matter to some of us. But at least baylor won the damn conference.

[bullet 1596]

20 hours ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

this thread was triggered on 12/31/21 by the stale and boring Semis.  Problem this year was only 2 good teams, instead of 4 required to make Semis entertaining. The bowls were really good though.

CFP expansion won't solve the boring Final 4 until traditional powerhouses up their recruiting & retention game.

CFB has always sucked in the regular season with severe mismatches, but that gap has closed from the 1970s-80s period.  Still, don't be discouraged; when UT rises, we'll be back loving the sport. 

Well one of the boring semi-finals was when underdog Georgia stuffed the favorite Michigan.  That's the problem with the current system.  They don't know who is best or who the 4 best are.  The #1 seed has won only twice, same as the #4 seed.  #2 seed has won 3 times and this was the first time the #3 seed won.

[Deej 76568]

The first thing that needs to be corrected is every conference needs to play the same number of conference opponents. 

[BluTechsan 393]

On 1/13/2022 at 7:33 AM, Bill Lumbergh said:

The playoff gets a lot of hate, but this is why I like it.

You can absolutely argue it was a true national championship, because two other teams who looked really damn good all year in other conferences got their chance, and Bama and Georgia crushed both of them.

I hated the sec rematch during the bcs era when it was obvious polling favored the sec and it felt like too much built in bias where other teams/conferences weren't given the chance to compete.

Michigan and Cinci had solid seasons, won conferences, and both were demolished by the two teams who made the final. I don't understand how you can say they didn't both deserve to be in the game after that showing.

I don't like what the playoffs have done to the bowls as they currently exist, but that doesn't mean that the bcs + bowls model was better. Make the bowls part of the playoffs, and players will stop opting out and fans will start caring about bowls again.

The 4 team playoff does kind of suck because it only gets you about 1/3 of where you should be with playoffs and it still does damage to the existing system. So just expand, and cfb postseason will be exciting again.

Of course, this was all in motion to happen more quickly before aggy threw a fucking temper tantrum and set things back, but we'll get there again.

Why is the Bama demolishing of Georgia excused?

It did happen.

Neither Michigan or Cincy played worse in the  playoff than did UGA in that CCG.

No one is questioning the obvious talent of UGA and Bama.

What folks are tired of is the endless excuse making whenever an secsecsec team loses and ecstatic fellatios when they win.

[Had Enough 2057]

Why is the Bama demolishing of Georgia excused?
It did happen.
Neither Michigan or Cincy played worse in the  playoff than did UGA in that CCG.
No one is questioning the obvious talent of UGA and Bama.
What folks are tired of is the endless excuse making whenever an secsecsec team loses and ecstatic fellatios when they win.

So are you saying Michigan or Cincy could have played better or at least approached it differently if they played a second time?

[bullet 1596]

1 hour ago, BluTechsan said:

Why is the Bama demolishing of Georgia excused?

It did happen.

Neither Michigan or Cincy played worse in the  playoff than did UGA in that CCG.

No one is questioning the obvious talent of UGA and Bama.

What folks are tired of is the endless excuse making whenever an secsecsec team loses and ecstatic fellatios when they win.

Georgia looked really good except for that one game.  Alabama looked really good against Georgia, Cincinnati and Mississippi St. and not so good the rest of the time, including against aggy.  Losing to aggy ought to disqualify you from the playoffs.

[Eskimohorn 5615]

If the NFL were like college:

Chiefs vs Packers in Jerry World
Titans v Bucs in Orange Bowl

Winner in Super Bowl

Bills probably better than Chiefs but they didnt pass eye test with style points, faded down the stretch and have a smaller fanbase so they’re out.

Bills v Rams in Rose Bowl
Bengals v Cardinals in Fiesta Bowl
Patriots v Cowboys in Sugar Bowl (yay!)
49ers v Raiders in Holiday Bowl
Eagles v Steelers in Nashville Bowl
Chargers v Colts in Alamo Bowl
Saints v Dolphins in Jimmy Kimmel Bowl

Dak Prescott wins Heisman

[Hagbard Celine 10763]

39 minutes ago, bullet said:

 and not so good the rest of the time, including against aggy

they looked shittier against barn than they did against aggy

[notre dame joe 172]

On 1/13/2022 at 6:16 AM, Murfdogg21 said:

I don’t agree that NIL will cause parity or level the playing field, unless we are only looking through burnt orange glasses. Bag men, especially in the South, has been a thing forever but it really wasn’t until the Saban era that SEC got anointed as junior NFL by ESPN and talking heads, and we got 15 years of Bama and sporadic highs by Georgia, LSU, Auburn, and Florida. Saban will eventually die or retire, and maybe ESPN will realize they shouldn’t inadvertently squash the other conferences. NIL will be great for programs with unlimited donor and sponsor money, like Texas. It won’t be great for the bottom 2/3 of most conferences. College football was fun with underdogs pulling upsets on the reg, and never knowing who a year’s Cinderella would be. The future could be a perpetual playoff of the blue bloods. 

Playoff means that Boise St can never win it.  There hasn't been a dark horse that got even close to a national title since the playoff was instituted, and very few of them in the 2 team playoff called the BCS. 

On 1/13/2022 at 8:04 AM, Nivek said:

Georgia had its shot and lost by 17.

Baylor should have been there. Why does Georgia deserve a mulligan when they have charleston state on their schedule?

Why is no one mentioning that they played a meaningless SECCG. It was an elimination game for Bama but UGA would have been well advised to concentrate on avoiding injury.