Playoffs? We're talking about playoffs
Posted: Thursday, November 22, 2007 10:13 AM
Calls for a playoff system are a constant refrain in the world of college football and they only figure to get louder as this wild 2007 season nears its end.
Only two teams will get their shot at that coveted crystal football. Perhaps a couple more schools will cry foul and contend that they were wrongly denied access to the BCS national championship game. All the while, others will complain about not receiving invites to the big bowls and fans will quarrel over the matchups and how they were made.
A playoff is often mentioned as the logical choice to help resolve these issues. Of course, there is merit in such a thing. A postseason bracket of some sort is used in every other corner of sports except a certain subdivision of intercollegiate pigskin.
But isn’t that why we love it so much? And would a playoff actually be less interesting?
If an eight-team, four-week process were established, we’d likely see the deletion of these conference championship games that we’ve become quite fond of. In some corners of the country, we’d be left with co-champions and get well acquainted with obscure tiebreaking procedures. Neither of those are a lot of fun.
Then, when it came around to setting the field, we’d be shoulder pads-deep in controversy relating to the bubble that separates the team seeded eighth and others right behind it. If you think settling on the top two teams is too difficult (and this season it certainly is), wait until hairs start splitting further down the ladder. It could get really ugly in those instances, when being relegated to a single bowl game is a consolation prize.
Once the matchups got set, there would be tons of excitement and office pools wouldn’t just be the rage in March anymore. However, think about the teams. What’s more interesting, competing in the Fiesta Bowl or “the first round?” And seven teams that started within the bracket would end its season with a loss. Only one school would head into the offseason happy.
Yes, it’s true, that model hasn’t hurt college basketball. But that’s always been the status quo there. And although the NCAA Tournament is an absolute monster, the hoops regular season doesn’t compare at all to the gridiron’s.
Establishing a college football playoff system would satisfy those seeking a more definitive champion (and an avalanche of additional revenue), but think about the athletes. Imagine playing for a team that won two postseason games before losing in the semifinals, would that be even remotely comparable to winning the ACC Championship Game and the Orange Bowl?
As somebody who prefers the way it was before the Bowl Coalition (which was later replaced by the Bowl Alliance and then the BCS) got involved in 1992, I’m not one to sing the praises of the BCS. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that moving any further toward some sort of playoff (even if it were just a “plus one”) would be a step in the wrong direction.
With what we’ve got currently, we’re treated to all these fascinating moving parts, somehow connected together. It makes every game important, adding to the wonderful uniqueness of college football. Maybe we don’t really realize how much fun this all is just because the possibility of something else is always out there.
