A 16-team College Football Playoff wouldn't be catastrophic, it would fix things

[MisterGopher]

https://www.yardbarker.com/college_...trophic_it_would_fix_things/s1_13132_42184005

According to what Dellenger reports, the Big Ten and SEC would conduct play-in games for the College Football Playoff.

For instance, the Big Ten's top two teams would meet for the Big Ten title, with both teams guaranteed to make the playoff. Then, the third-place team would face the sixth-place team, plus No. 4 vs. No. 5.


The winners of those games would advance to the College Football Playoff. It's important to note that the losers of those games would be eligible for at-large selection.

With unbalanced schedules, even within conferences that have 16 or 18 teams, the play-in system makes perfect sense.

It takes the opinion out of it. Finish in the top six of the Big Ten or SEC, and you'll control your destiny.

The ACC and Big 12 would likely send their conference title game participants to the playoff, so these championships would be about seeding as much as winning a trophy.

Polls and conference comparisons wouldn't matter anymore, at least not nearly as much. That would help college football. So would a clean playoff bracket.

 

[upnorthkid]

might as well just pair off about 4 weeks earlier and the conferences can play a bracket style tournament to decide who gets into the CFP.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

I feel like all these "fixed" playoff articles are memes now ...

 

[GopherTheJugular]

I feel like all these "fixed" playoff articles are memes now ...

Yeah, the initial playoff of 4 teams was supposed to "fix things"...until it didn't. Then everyone wanted more...to solve the same damn problem. And now it gets talked about again...sigh.

I guess this is what happens when 10,000 times more people want to go into sports writing than there are jobs available in sports writing.

And the concept of the headline is getting old. Mention something, then say it'll do the opposite of what your readers might be thinking in order to build intrigue.

 

[PMWinSTP]

IMHO, there are zero reasons to have play-in games. Pick the top 16 and use a normal bracket. Home field goes to the higher ranked team in first two rounds.

 

[Word]

IMHO, there are zero reasons to have play-in games. Pick the top 16 and use a normal bracket. Home field goes to the higher ranked team in first two rounds.

You nailed it.

 

[LesBolstad]

How about no playoffs and all schools go back to the conference they were in circa 1985

 

[Spaulding!No!]

Maybe if we paid the players…

 

[WoodburyTim]

The coaches behind the scenes all push to keep expanding the playoffs. Then they can have an artificially low bar that sportswriters can cite, like making the NCAA Basketball tournament, on how they can keep their jobs.

 

[gophernut1]

This is about how do we create a system where college programs can pay "student/athletes" $30 million out of the schools athletic budgets and still continue to give the schools what they have been getting. Sure some programs won't be able to keep up, but the top 2 and the second 2 conferences will be able to make it work. Plus, instead of having only a handful of schools with a legitimate chance to make the playoffs come November will be quite high. Finish in the top 6 and you control your own destiny.