Looking Tennessee 1A for example there were 16 first round playoff games last night...13 were blowouts

 

Tennessee doesn't allow everyone in and yet they still have blowouts.

 

Even Ohio had several blowouts in every class last night and they also severely limit the number of teams getting into the playoffs.

 

Point is that every state in every class will have blowouts in the playoffs, as long as players can protect themselves and compete there is no reason not to play those games. If it is a safety issue then it is on the coach and the school for not having the players prepared or realizing it.

I love football players getting to play football. I don't want to keep any kid from playing the game they love, but seriously...what is the point in games like these?

 

I get it, there are the Butlers who get to beat the Ryles out there in a given year...there are the occasional #4 teams who beat the occasional #1 teams on there based on whatever in the world is going on in their district. But do games like that efficiently defend the organized murder that takes place elsewhere in the state in the first round blowouts we see happen?

 

How many first round upsets are there compared to the other games where top ranked teams absolutely dismantle lower ranked teams?

 

These games happen in regular season and no one bats an eye, why is it an issue now.

Hell of trophy these teams are getting: a game where there is little chance to win and as some believe a great chance of being injured. Maybe we should be applauding these teams for having the heart and courage to play in these first round games.

 

Like another poster said if this is an opportunity for a team to get an extra week of practice and play one more game. Maybe the last they play as a senior. It's an opportunity for teams who have taken care of business in the season to rest players, try new things, and get the young guys some playing time (Jv season ends the last week of the season, and they practice too).

 

To those that complain: Ignore the first week. UK is now going head to head on Friday night with KY scholastic sports. Turn on the basketball game of the Cats demolishing some goat....wait ....

These games happen in regular season and no one bats an eye, why is it an issue now.

 

I think one issue is, the game we played would not happen in the regular season, our busses pulled back into Covington at 1:30 am from Ashland, we would not schedule that game in regular season, yes it is nice getting another game I guess, but the cost and possible danger of over a two and half hour bus ride to just not have much a chance makes no sense to me. I would probably not have as big a problem with it if they would match up districts that don't take half the night to get back home,just my opinion as we debate this very year.

I think one issue is, the game we played would not happen in the regular season, our busses pulled back into Covington at 1:30 am from Ashland, we would not schedule that game in regular season, yes it is nice getting another game I guess, but the cost and possible danger of over a two and half hour bus ride to just not have much a chance makes no sense to me. I would probably not have as big a problem with it if they would match up districts that don't take half the night to get back home,just my opinion as we debate this very year.

 

Should more teams drop out of post season play? It seems to be a bit of a trend. More teams are doing that this year than any other year I can remember. Maybe that is the solution. Any team that doesn't want to compete in the playoffs, just drop out of them. A school has to make that decision and drop out before the season starts. But if a school doesn't like what they expect to happen in round 1 of the playoffs and doesn't want to get competitive, then dropping out of district play and the playoffs like other schools have done might be the answer.

Another issue is #4 beating a #1. Quality of districts are not equal so I think the field should be seeded so a Ryle type team doesn’t lose first round, while several weaker teams move on to 2nd and 3rd round as fool’s gold.

I think one issue is, the game we played would not happen in the regular season, our busses pulled back into Covington at 1:30 am from Ashland, we would not schedule that game in regular season, yes it is nice getting another game I guess, but the cost and possible danger of over a two and half hour bus ride to just not have much a chance makes no sense to me. I would probably not have as big a problem with it if they would match up districts that don't take half the night to get back home,just my opinion as we debate this very year.

 

Somerset routinely schedules at least one long road trip game a year. Currently in a stretch of games with Beechwood (over 2 hours) and Raceland (close to 3 hours) and went back to back years to Pikeville (close to 3 hours) for Bowl Games. 2+ hour drive really isn't that uncommon for schools across the state year in and year out, prior to the playoffs.

Far to many blowouts and some schools have to travel over a 100 miles to get their brains beat in. I will continue to say that the playoffs need to be cutback. Only 1st and 2nd place teams in a district should qualify. Get the season over by the Thanksgiving weekend.

Far to many blowouts and some schools have to travel over a 100 miles to get their brains beat in. I will continue to say that the playoffs need to be cutback. Only 1st and 2nd place teams in a district should qualify. Get the season over by the Thanksgiving weekend.

 

And I will continue to ask why football should be different than every other sport. Is it because some teams have to travel further for round 1 games? That is the only difference I see between football playoffs and playoffs in the other sports.

How are gates split for playoff games? Is it up to the host school how they want to handle that or does the KHSAA have their own plan to compensate the schools that are either forced to travel long distances or forfeit.

 

To me, how the gate is split could make a huge difference whether a 4 seed that is a big underdog will continue to make 2-3 hour trips (each way) for first round playoff games. By the time you cover fuel, feed the kids etc, unless your getting a decent split from the home teams gate then financially I can see why some schools don't want to play those games.

 

To use the Ashland/Holmes game last night as an example. Holmes didn't bring many fans and the Ashland home site was only about half full. However even with the low attendance numbers there was likely still close to $10k in tickets sold. With a decent split, Holmes would have good reason to make the trip as both Ashland and Holmes should still come out ahead financially. However if Holmes didn't get a good split, then they wouldn't have had much of a reason to make the trip and if they don't make the trip, then of course Ashland doesn't make a dime either.

 

Long story short, it seems like a good way to combat the "is it worth it for a 4 seed to make a long trip" debate is for the host school to make sure the visiting team is compensated well enough to make it worth their while. I truly don't know how the gate works for the playoffs but if I were the athletic director of the home team and the visiting team called me saying they were going to forfeit due to travel expenses, I would make it worth their while to make the trip financially.

Far to many blowouts and some schools have to travel over a 100 miles to get their brains beat in. I will continue to say that the playoffs need to be cutback. Only 1st and 2nd place teams in a district should qualify. Get the season over by the Thanksgiving weekend.

 

THIS x 100. No reason for the football season to bleed into the first week of basketball games around the state.