Championship Weekend gave the chaos in college football we all deserved. While many of predictions last week went the other way, some of my thoughts were spot on. Washington/Oregon turned into quite the game. Bama upset Georgia. Florida State barely held on against Louisville thanks to QB injury drama. Even the Group of 5 teams upset the bigger names in their fields.
Of course, the big story of the week is the massive snub Florida State was gifted by the CFP committee. Whether or not FSU deserved that 4th spot over Alabama is an argument for a different post. And believe me, I have thoughts.
This week, however, I’m wondering what the College Football Playoff could look like if other systems were enacted. I know we’re expanding to a 12 team playoff next year so you might be thinking this exercise is a joke. I disagree.
I don’t think the Playoff Committee has the best interest of College Football at heart. They can’t. They are a bunch of people that have a deeply vested interest in their own agendas. It’s only human to put that over the opinions of others or even what’s objectively in front of them.
So, what if we had a playoff system that didn’t involve a committee for selection, but only for placement?
Let them Play!
What if, instead of having some random people in a room in Texas decide, we let the Conferences decide?
I get the argument: not all teams are created equal. Power 5 teams against Group of 5 teams is a lopsided mismatch. Only problem with that argument is that has been the case for every upset that has ever existed. What is the point of competition if every team or every athlete were 100% the same?
I fear that argument is not said in good faith. It is an excuse to make sure that a few of the “elite” money-making teams are coronated into the Playoffs rather than allowing for a competition to occur.
I want you to imagine a world were, although many teams would likely lose big to their opponents, there exists a team from the Group of 5 that makes it into the National Championship as a Dream Team. Could you imagine how cool that would be?
Finally, letting all of the Conference Champions play would level the playing field throughout College Football. Gone would be the days of awful transfer portal moves and two teams being able to actually recruit. Other teams could easily compete in the recruiting field because if you get the Championship, you’re in the Playoffs and can compete for the National Title. I don’t see why that’s a bad thing.
A Playoff of Champions
Let’s dive into the specifics. Who gets to play?
The concept is simple: let the conferences decide how they choose their Champion and let the Champions battle it out for the title.
(One HUGE asterisk for this system. I’ve been pondering this system for a long time before starting this blog. I still have faith in this system, but a lot has changed in College Football i.e. the collapse of the Pac-12. So, for this to work, we need to use our imagination that the Conferences either exist as they did before realignment or that we reinvent the makeup of Conferences overall. With that being said, let’s dive into the specifics.)
This is a 12 team playoff system comprised of the following:
- Power 5 Conference Champions
- Group of 5 Conference Champions
- Top Ranked Independent Team
- FCS Champion
While I don’t like the CFP Committee, someone has to seed these teams. Instead of being gatekeepers, the Committee would be tasked with ranking the Champions for seeding purposes only.
In my system, Power 5 Champions receive the #1-#5 rankings. #1-#4 get the First Round bye and host the Quarterfinal game in their home stadium.
#6-#12 get’s decided by the Committee from the remaining Group of 5 teams, the top ranked Independent school and the FCS Champion. These teams compete in the First Round for advancement into the Quarterfinals.
Quarterfinal winners advance to the Semis and eventually the National Champion is crowned. A very easy, straight-forward bracket.
This year, for example, the bracket might look like this:
Rankings:
- Michigan
- Washington
- Texas
- Alabama
- Florida State
- Notre Dame
- Liberty University
- FCS Champion
- SMU
- Troy
- Miami-OH
- Boise State
Remember, these are not a traditional Top 25 style rankings. They are simply a seeding ranking.
Every Game Matters
Don’t you think that this really makes every game matter?
In our current system, a team could “pass the eye test,” but not win games and still make it in the Playoffs. In this system, there is no eye test. Win and you’re in. If you can’t make it in the regular season, you don’t deserve to be in the Playoffs. It’s not that hard of a concept.
It also doesn’t punish Conference play. Right now, if Conference play is interesting, it will punish teams from getting into the Playoffs. A 3 loss team in a Playoff setting could probably still win a National Championship. It’s not about being “perfect” in a world where teams can create the weakest schedule they can find and dominate their opponent to “pass the eye test.” Play your hardest in regular season to get your Conference Championship, win the Championship and get a shot at the post-season. I don’t think it’s a particularly exotic opinion.
Conclusion
Look, I know that putting Boise St against Florida State would probably be a blowout. I understand that not all teams are the same caliber team as others. My only questions are: 1. what is the harm in letting other conference champions play each other? 2. how do we get rid of the mess we have this weekend of realistically having 5 worthy teams to be in the Playoffs (Georgia didn’t win their Championship game, they don’t deserve to play in the Playoffs)? and 3. how do we ultimately level the playing field across the FBS to stop the coronation of a Champion and bring back fair play in College Football?
Every sport has a team that is more deserving to be in a post season game than another, but failed at a critical time. It happens. We don’t need to have a second SEC Championship game. We already have the SEC Championship game. Give someone like Liberty a chance to see what they can do. That’s all I ask. Give them a chance, see what happens. It’s College Football. Anything can happen. Embrace the chaos and let’s have some fun with it.
Tomorrow – Part 2
Tomorrow, I will be looking at a vastly different Playoff system by bringing international soccer’s promotion/relegation system into College Football. If you hated today’s idea, you will probably hate tomorrow’s even more. Or it might make you think that there are ways to have everything we want. Stay tuned.