This Week in College Football 11/1 - 11/5

[Guest Ether]

This article is a couple of weeks old but apparantly the ACC is now souring on the Gator Bowl:

 

http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/102605/3388985.shtml

Prime pick is for Peach, not Gator Bowl

 

BOB THOMAS

Morris News Service

 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The official announcement has yet to come from the Atlantic Coast Conference office, but from all indications, the Gator Bowl will lose its pick of the top team from the league beginning with the 2006 football season.

 

Since 1998, the first year of the Bowl Championship Series, the Gator Bowl has had the first choice of ACC and Big East teams - or Notre Dame - after the league championships were decided. The preferential selection spot has enabled Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett and his committee to bring together some memorable matchups, including Georgia Tech-Notre Dame (1999), Virginia Tech-Clemson (2001), N.C. State-Notre Dame (2003) and the most recent games pitting West Virginia against Maryland (2004) and Florida State (2005).

 

But beginning next season, the Peach Bowl will step into that position, selecting the ACC's top team three out of every four years to pair against the fifth-place Southeastern Conference team. The Gator would retain that option once out of every four.

This probably has to do with the ACC playing it's title game in Jacksonville and not wanting to have a school play back-to-back games in the same location, which is a likley scenerio with Florida State this year.

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The Gator Bowl is also getting a Big XII team in place of a Big East team/Notre Dame 2 of the next 4 years, with the Sun Bowl having the same set-up to compliment.

[Art Sandusky 0]

I can't believe people knock Alabama for lack of style. Come on.

[Guest Ether]

For the people who say a 16-team playoff would be better, well you're dead wrong. First off, this would kill the multi-million dollar bowl system, as every conference champion and attractive at-large team would be taken up by the playoff. Second, it would water down the regular season tremendously. Whereas, under an 8-team playoff, a team like VT might still have a chance to make amends if things go right, under a 16-team playoff, the whole Miami/VT game would be meaningless, because we'd know both teams would likely be in the playoffs anyway.

 

And do you really want to give teams like La. Lafayette a chance to compete for the national championship? How about Toledo? Mid-major teams deserve a chance to compete for the national championship if they play a decent schedule and go undefeated. Utah and Boise State last year? Go for it, sneak them in. But under the suggested system a team like Mississippi State could just join the Sun Belt, and boom, they have an automatic playoff berth every year. This doesn't happen in basketball because it's so easy to make the tournament anyway that no one would risk the prestige of being in an upper-tier conference, but giving the Sun Belt, MAC, MWC, and WAC champions automatic berths would make college football into an absolute joke.

 

I would disagree. Most of the bowls that would be killed off are ones that no one cares about. If you want to keep the major bowls intact there are ways to incorporate them into a playoff system.

 

As far as making games meaningless, a 16-team playoff would not. Using VT/Miami as an example, VT is guaranteed the ACC's slot if it beats Miami and wins the ACC title game. You're forgetting about the ACC title game likely involving Miami and Florida State. If Florida State wins, they get the ACC's bid. An at-large from the ACC would likely be Miami in this scenario. VT would be left out. Or, if VT would get an at-large bid, VT falls anywhere to a 6-10 seed and likely draws another tough team. Win the autobid, they get a #3 and likely play the MAC or C-USA champ. So yes, the games with a 16-team playoff would still be meaningful.

 

And no, teams aren't going to flock to weaker conferences. If that were the case, you would have Notre Dame and/or Penn State right now trying to get into the Big East since their bid is supposedly easier to obtain.

 

The issue that has the BCS in legal trouble with Congress and state governments is not "teams like Auburn and Alabama getting screwed out of a chance to play in the Natioanl Championship game", it's that the teams from the smaller conferences have virtually no chance of getting any of the money that the BCS generates because of the way the system is set up. A set-up where each conference champion is involved (16-team) can address this. An 8-team system will not because a large number of teams will be elimated before they play one game on the field.

[iggymcfly 0]

The congressional issue is ridiculous to begin with. The windfall of revenue that the BCS generates comes from fans across the country who want to see the best teams play. If they wanted to see the mid-majors play, then the Liberty Bowl would start giving out $13 million for their invitation.

 

The fact is that if the mid-majors are actually among the top eight teams in the country, they do get into the BCS. It's just that Utah was the only team good enough to qualify since the inception of the system. I don't mind making a couple shortcuts, (say any undefeated team in the Top 12 of the BCS standings gets an automatic bid), but you can't just let every crappy conference get their champion in.

 

According to the Sagarin rankings, La. Lafayette is ranked #125 in the country. That means that there are actually more I-AA teams better than them than are I-A teams that are worse. Putting them into a playoff would do nothing but trivialize the system, and give USC an extra home game against a cupcake opponent.

 

If there was an 8-team playoff with three at larges, (taking the Big East's automatic bid away), it would let any worthy mid-major team in, while still preserving the integrity of college football's regular season, and making the "every week's a playoff" statement, an actual reality.

[Bored 0]

When it comes to a 16 team playoff my suggestion for the non-BCS conferences is to just give the highest ranked non-BCS conference champ an automatic bid. Most years there is only one non-BCS conference school that really stands out. Other idea would be if you win your conference and are ranked in the Top 25 of the BCS (or whatever you'd call such a poll if there was a playoff) you get an automatic bid.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Pac 10 should make a play for the Gator Bowl spot. I know they probably don't travel all that well, but almost any Big XII team should bring plenty of rube fans to the game.

[Guest Ether]

I agree that Congress shouldn't be involved, but that is a discussion not suited for this folder.

 

Much of the popularity of the basketball tournament comes from seeing which mid-major team(s) pull off the upset when given the chance.

 

The problem with at-large bids is that many teams aren't given the chance. Utah only got in because of a favorable schedule (2 of their BCS opponents came to Utah with the BCS-opponent on the road being Arizona), some pressure from the media and politicians, and, most importantly, a high ranking to begin with. Nobody else, including Boise State and Louisville last year, had that much of a chance. Fresno State could win the rest of their games by 30 points - including against USC - and they still wouldn't get in.

 

As far as this year goes, TCU and the WAC winner (Fresno State or Boise State) would definitely be worthy candidates. The C-USA winner-either UTEP, Southern Miss, or UCF - probably wouldn't be that bad either, especially Southern Miss. The MAC and Sun Belt teams this year probably aren't the best, but hey, that's the reward for finishing #1 or #2.

[iggymcfly 0]

If Fresno State wins out, I guarantee you that they'll get a BCS slot. Two-thirds of the rankings are the polls, and as soon as Fresno State beat USC, they'd go up to about #4 or #5. As for the computer rankings, they're low now, but that's because they've beaten absolutely no one.

 

Just beating Boise State should be enough to move them up to the Top 25, and if they beat USC, Nevada, and La. Tech as well, all the computers would have them at least in the Top 15. Fresno State's got a guranteed BCS slot if they finish 11-1.

 

In fact, the way their schedule was set up, Fresno State was probably one of the 20 or 25 teams in the country that did control their own destiny. With Oregon there to get early-season recognition, and USC there at the end, a 12-0 Fresno State would have had a way better shot at a Rose Bowl bid than someone like Alabama who doesn't get a chance to play USC or Texas.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Even beating USC, I don't think Fresno would make the top 10 in the human polls. Probably #11 or 12, if they're already ranked in the 20s at the time. USC would certainly still be ranked ahead of them.

 

I tend to prefer the eight-team playoff because it preserves more of the lower bowls, giving the majority of teams that are good but not elite something to play for all season--and gives their tremendous fan bases something to care about as well. The inter-conference matchups and odd pairings bowl games yield make the stretch from a day or two before Christmas through New Year's my favorite sports stretch of the year, possibly with the exception of the first week of the NCAA tournament.

 

Admittedly, this wouldn't be a bad year for a 16-team playoff, since there seem to be very few truly elite teams. VT, Miami, Texas, Texas Tech, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, West Virginia, Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oregon, USC, UCLA, FSU or UF depending on who wins their season-ender, and TCU, if you go with Bored's rule.

[Guest Leelee]

Every year is good for a 16-team playoff.

 

Here would be my template:

 

The winner of every conference gets in, as long as they have a respectable record (i.e. no more than 2 or 3 losses, or at least Top 40 in the overall rankings). That would usually take up 8-9, at most 10 teams (11 if the Sun Belt ever had a good team in it). Then have 6-8 at-large bids.

 

It gives every team something to play for. It makes the regular season meaningful for more than a handful of teams. It doesn't mean your season is over after being ranked below 15 in the preseason polls. It stirs up a LOT more controversy over who deserves the at-large bids. It would probably make more money, as there's a purpose for all the playoff "bowl" games.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I think I prefer 8 teams and no preseason rankings, with the first polls taking place in the middle of October, after, say, the first 5 or 6 weeks of the season. 16 is viable, but I love bowl games. It won't happen anyway, but I like it.

 

The BCS adding a 5th game next year (it's next year, isn't it?) is going to be weird.

[CanadianChris 0]

I wonder how quickly John Saunders will be off the cock of the BCS once ABC is no longer affiliated with it.

[SilverPhoenix 0]

I almost wish Mike was here to scream about how South Carolina or Ole Miss could somehow possibly beat PSU...

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You're joking with this comment, right? Please tell me you're joking.

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Oh hell no. He made a long-ass post saying how the top 8 teams in the SEC could beat PSU, from the rational (LSU and Georgia) to the insane (Tennessee and South Carolina)...

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Link me to this shit. I want to be entertained. I personally hate SEC Homers, and will laugh at all instances of their stupidity.

 

And USF wouldn't beat WVU, cause of these two reasons.

 

1) West Virginia won't be sleeping at the wheel.

 

2) The Refs will give WVU any borderline call they got, cause they know if the Big East goes, they may be out of a job.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Oh, eat me. You're just jealous.

[therealworldschampion 0]

I almost wish Mike was here to scream about how South Carolina or Ole Miss could somehow possibly beat PSU...

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You're joking with this comment, right? Please tell me you're joking.

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Oh hell no. He made a long-ass post saying how the top 8 teams in the SEC could beat PSU, from the rational (LSU and Georgia) to the insane (Tennessee and South Carolina)...

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Link me to this shit. I want to be entertained. I personally hate SEC Homers, and will laugh at all instances of their stupidity.

 

And USF wouldn't beat WVU, cause of these two reasons.

 

1) West Virginia won't be sleeping at the wheel.

 

2) The Refs will give WVU any borderline call they got, cause they know if the Big East goes, they may be out of a job.

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I'm too lazy to go look it up, but check the "This Week In College Football" thread on the week that PSU beat Ohio State.